This is a pretty seismic moment in the history of Alpine. Returning in 2017 with the magnificent A110, its second car was always going to be a tricky album to follow up with. Even more so as it ushers in a new all-electric era for the brand.
So then, here’s the car to take on that somewhat treacherous task – the Alpine A290.
Unlike the bespoke A110, this is modern Alpine’s first crack at turning an existing Renault product into something racier, a proper hot hatch built on the bones of the new retrotastic R5.
Alpine A290, front 3/4, static
You’d be forgiven for assuming Alpine would take the easy approach of shoehorning a bigger motor into the A290, putting on a few badges and calling it a day. Not that it would be a bad thing in theory, as early reviews of the reborn R5 are pretty good.
Yet there’s more at play here. Although built alongside its donor car, the A290 benefits from some pretty substantial changes under the skin.
That starts with a bespoke aluminium subframe to house the front-mounted electric motor, producing 217bhp in its most potent GTS guise. Revised suspension with hydraulic bump stops are fitted, as are front and rear anti-roll bars.
It also gets torque vectoring by way of braking, and four-piston callipers are lifted from the A110. Mechanically speaking, only the multi-link rear axle remains untouched from the R5.
Alpine A290, rear 3/4
So we’re about to tell you this is a hardcore, lively, bonafide electric rebirth of Renault Sport in new clothing, right?
Well, climb into its Nappa leather seats and put your hands on the flat-bottomed steering wheel complete with a bright red overboost button, you’ll feel like you’re about to put a coin in a rocket-fuelled Yorkshire Terrier. It doesn’t quite transpire that way.
217bhp and 221lb ft are not small amounts for a car weighing 1479kg, but it doesn’t offer that instantaneous in-your-face acceleration that EVs have become associated with. It’s pretty quick – the claimed 0-62mph of 6.4 seconds easily believe – and progression is smooth but it’s not exhilarating.
With the motor at its full potential though, more power would in turn require a bigger unit plus likely more battery cells. That would mean more weight, something that would compromise what the A290 does at its best – cornering.
Alpine A290, front
Set it in Sport, leave it there and it can be an entertaining little thing. Steering isn’t the sharpest but it’s responsive and well-judged, which paired with a compliant chassis, will happily let you throw it around.
There’s an air of sensibility hiding behind the fun, though. You can get the car rotated with a bit of lift-off oversteer, but torque vectoring is always waiting to get you corrected again. It lacks a bit of fizz and playfulness, but it’s not a totally muted experience.
Braking inspires a lot of confidence despite being a by-wire system. There’s a good stiffness to the pedal, while the transition from regen to the discs is neatly handled even with recuperation in its most aggressive setting, something you can choose via the cheesy, geek-satisfying inclusion of an F1-style toggle switch on the steering wheel.
Alpine A290, rear
It does all this without compromising on the city car traits of the Renault 5. We’re yet to drive that car, so we can’t offer a direct comparison for the time being, but there’s little to suggest it’s compromised.
The 10.3m turning circle remains, visibility is excellent out the front and cameras make up for it not being so great out the back. It rides neatly despite the more performance-oriented passive dampers, and there’s little in the way of wind and road noise. That’s all to say, yeah, it’s very livable.
It’s not without a few flaws for the daily stuff, though. There’s zero foot space in the back so unless you’ve got children, your passengers will hate you. A quoted 236 miles of range isn’t awful from a 52kWh battery pack, but its max charging rate of 100kW is a little disappointing by current standards.
While you’re sat at a charger though, you’re probably going to look 10x cooler than anything else at your chosen motorway services. Bonus points for the rally-inspired quad headlights and, although the carryover of black-painted bodywork makes it look a little too like a crossover, other changes over the R5 like its small ducktail spoiler and intricate 19-inch alloy wheels really ramp up the street cred.
Alpine A290, interior
Neat interior changes we haven’t already mentioned include a set of gear selector buttons mimicking the A110, some more leather deployed on the dashboard and a sweet backlit A290 emblem which changes colour depending on your chosen drive mode. It all looks the part, and some solid build quality means it feels it, too.
How much, then? Well, prices aren’t finalised but for this GTS, you’ll be parting with about £38,000. Add an extra grand onto that for a Premiere Edition for some boujee livery choices. There is a 178bhp GT if you fancy saving five grand or a GT Performance which has that power with some of the GTS’ luxuries, but we’d just go the whole hog.
We’ll have to wait until we can get both cars together to make a definitive verdict on which is the pick – as they’re both excellent in isolation – but that’s on par with the range-topping MINI Cooper SE. No coincidence, we suspect.
Alpine A290, wheel
For now, though, the Alpine A290 is no doubt a brilliant take on the electric hot hatch formula, even if it doesn’t quite invoke the same drivers’ car spirit as the A110 or unhinged hilarity of Renault Sports of old. Alpine’s engineers on the launch more than hinted a more hardcore version isn’t out of the question though, so watch this space.
