Alpine A110 review

The Alpine A110's interior looks pretty special at first glance. There's leather on the steering wheel, doors and dashboard, as well as a sprinkling of carbonfibre trim. There are even bits of its aluminium chassis on show for a touch of racing car drama.

You don’t have to hunt hard to find cheaper materials, though. The interior plastics may be textured, but most are hard to the touch; that's the price you pay for the car’s lightweight ethos. You might also recognise plenty of switches from various Renaults. Overall, the A110 is nowhere near as plush inside as a Porsche Cayman or Toyota Supra.

The infotainment system is pretty poor next to the Supra's, too. You get a relatively small 7.0in touchscreen mounted in the middle of the dash, with DAB radio, Bluetooth connectivity and sat-nav. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto aren’t available; instead there's a (very fiddly) smartphone app that you can download to control certain phone functions through the car.

Even though most of the menus are relatively easy to understand, the system's usability and responsiveness is behind the curve, plus many of its icons are so small you can't hope to hit them without a definite glance away from the road. In Légende and S trim, the A110 comes with a punchier Focal sound system as standard, which you can team with an optional subwoofer. 

All versions have a height- and reach-adjustable steering wheel. Pure and S trim get a lightweight driver's bucket seat and Légende trim has a 'Comfort' seat (a cost-option on the Pure). The bucket seat has a fixed backrest but is very supportive; the Comfort seat benefits from six-way adjustment to tailor your driving position more freely.

A digital instrument cluster is standard, offering different displays depending on whether you're in Comfort, Sport or Track mode, and it's easy to read in all of these.

Visibility isn't the A110's strongest suit. Even by sports car standards, the rear screen is tiny and its thick front and rear roof pillars also hamper your ability to see out. The S trim has front and rear parking sensors as standard, though, while Légende adds a rear-view camera as well. Both are options on the Pure trim, but all versions come with bright LED headlights.