Alpine A290 review

Think of the new Alpine A290 as being like the front row of a rock concert. Yes, you could enjoy much of the same experience from the seats towards the back – but for the hardcore fans who want as much excitement as possible, the front row is the place to be.

If the A290 is the front row, the quieter option is the closely related Renault 5, and while the two models share retro-futuristic looks, the A290 adds plenty of features you’d want on a hot hatch. Alpine has given it more power, wider wheel arches, bespoke tyres and, with the exception of the rear axle, entirely new underpinnings.

Alpine A290 video review

As Alpine’s first electric car – and the trailblazer before its entire range goes electric – the A290 has a lot to prove. Does it have what it takes to win over buyers considering an Abarth 500e, a Mini Cooper Electric JCW or a Smart #1 Brabus?

That’s what we’re finding out in this review, as we rate the Alpine A290 against the best electric car rivals in key areas. Read on to find out how it performs...

All versions of the Alpine A290 have one electric motor that drives the front wheels, but depending on which version you choose, you’ll have either 178bhp or 217bhp to play with. In both cases, that’s more than any version of the Renault 5 (not counting the forthcoming Turbo 3E supercar).

We’ve yet to try the 178bhp GT version, but the official 0-62mph sprint of 7.4 seconds suggests it’ll be plenty fast enough for most. We have tried the 217bhp GTS, which has a 0-62mph time of 6.4 seconds.

Indeed, when you put your foot down, the A290 GTS pushes you into your seat with a good amount of vigour, especially if you press the red Overboost button (which guarantees instantaneous max power). It feels sprightlier than the 153bhp Abarth 500e but not the 255bhp Mini Cooper Electric JCW.

The GTS does have a tendency to torque steer – where the steering pulls to one side or another under power. Mind you, it’s not as much of a wrestling match as it is in the JCW.   

You certainly won’t struggle to get up to motorway speeds quickly or overtake slow-moving traffic, especially if you use the Overtake button on the steering wheel. Pressing that skips the otherwise gradual and linear power delivery and instantly gives you all the A290 has to offer.

As with any hot hatch, it’s arguably more important what happens when the road gets twisty than blasting down straight roads. As an electric car, the A290 is slightly heavier than petrol rivals such as the Ford Focus ST so it's not quite as nimble. The Cooper Electric JCW is even heavier but its stiffer suspension means there’s less body lean in the bends.

Still, the A290 has good, predictable handling, along with steering and brakes that (while not quite JCW good) inspire confidence. There’s also plenty of grip to rely on.

Then there are the brakes. Alpine has said it wants you to feel no difference when the A290 switches from regenerative braking to mechanical braking and back. It's succeeded, and all your brake-pedal inputs feel very natural. In lower regen settings, the deceleration when you ease off the throttle feels more like engine braking.

As we touched upon, the A290’s suspension is not as stiff as the Cooper Electric JCW’s. The difference is quite pronounced, and the JCW is rather punishing in the ride department. The A290’s ride on the other hand is comfy and not too far from being as compliant as that of the Renault 5.

It’s quite refined too, suffering from very little wind and – unlike the JCW – road noise, even at motorway speeds. Better still, the A290 doesn’t have any fake engine noise. Instead, it plays a futuristic sound based on the electric motor’s actual noise. You can switch it off in the menu and it’s far less offensive than the somewhat annoying noise you get in the Abarth 500e. 

While the Renault 5 is available with 40kWh and 52kWh (usable capacity) battery options, only the larger battery is available in the A290. It offers an official range of up to 226 miles in the GTS and 236 miles in the GT. The JCW has an official range of 250 miles, and the 500e a pretty abysmal 164 miles.

"Considering the A290 GTS aims to be a hot hatch and is quite firm, it’s surprising how comfortable it is to drive around town, and the well-judged steering helps when threading through city streets." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

You sit fairly low down inside the Alpine A290, with the door sills and centre console wrapping around you and adding to the sporty feel. What’s more, the driving position is comfortable, lining you up well with the steering wheel and pedals. There’s plenty of support from the heavily bolstered seats. 

The driving position doesn't do much for visibility though: while your view out at junctions is good enough, the wide rear pillars obstruct your view out of the rear. Luckily, to make parking easier, every A290 comes with rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera.

One thing we really like about the interior is that you get physical buttons to control the air-conditioning. It’s something the Mini Cooper Electric and Smart #1 Brabus miss out on and, ultimately, makes changing the A290’s settings much less distracting while you’re driving.

Every A290 comes with a 10.3in infotainment touchscreen which, as with Renault car models, uses the Google operating system. That’s a good thing because it makes it much easier to use than the systems in rival cars, giving you simple menus and things like the Google Maps sat-nav app as standard.

Like in the Renault 5, the touchscreen is easy to read and packed with features, including DAB radio, Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

On top of that, Alpine has added some custom features, giving you the option of showing in-depth telemetric data on the screen and getting coaching on how to improve your driving. You can even complete challenges, from setting the best 0-62mph times (best saved for the track) to achieving certain levels of efficiency over a long drive.

There’s no doubting the A290’s showroom appeal, with the mix of colours and materials, and sporty details that set it apart from the Renault 5, such as the Overboost button and the white centreline on the steering wheel.

It’s fair to say some materials, including the plastic on top of the dashboard, feel quite scratchy, but unless you’re going to be prodding around the interior, they're not offensive. It certainly feels leagues ahead of the MG4 XPower and as well built as the Mini Cooper Electric.

"I think it’s safe to say that the A290’s Google-based infotainment software is some of the best out there. That’s especially true of the voice-control system." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

While the Alpine A290 is pretty compact in its dimensions, a pair of six-footers sitting in the front won’t find themselves struggling for space. Indeed, there’s plenty of head and leg room, and enough shoulder room that you won’t be rubbing shoulders.

Front storage space is sufficient rather than impressive, with door bins that’ll swallow a small bottle of water, a space for a phone below the air-con controls and a small space in the armrest.

You feel the tight dimensions more when you’re sitting in the back. Children and smaller adults will fit back there, but anyone approaching 6ft tall will start to find that it’s pretty cramped when it comes to leg room.

In that respect, they’ll likely find that their knees are digging into the seat in front of them. In fairness it’s similar to the Abarth 500e and there’s actually more head room than in that rival.

The A290’s 326-litre boot space is the same size as in the Renault 5, meaning you should be able to fit more than you could in a Mini Cooper Electric or Peugeot e-208 but less than in the larger MG4. Either way, your weekly shopping or a couple of holiday suitcases should pose no trouble.

As with most small cars, you can fold down the rear seatbacks in a 60/40 split when you need to carry more clobber (although this will, of course, mean turfing out rear passengers).

"If you often drive four adults around, I'd say you'll want to consider something other than the A290. Rear leg room is really tight, and more suited to children." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Alpine A290 demands a considerable premium over its Renault 5 counterpart, especially if you fancy the GTS model. Every A290 is more expensive than the Abarth 500e, while the Mini Cooper Electric JCW is roughly in line with the GT in its top-spec Performance trim.

It's worth noting that petrol hot hatches such as the Ford Focus ST Edition are arguably more fun to drive and often cost roughly high-end A290 money.

If you stick with the less-powerful A290 GT, you get plenty of standard kit, including 19in alloy wheels, automatic LED headlights, automatic air-con, adaptive cruise control, heated front seats and an EV heat pump.

The A290 GT Premium mainly adds cosmetic upgrades. Indeed, on top of the GT’s equipment, it only really gives you bespoke exterior styling, leather on the interior, a heated steering wheel and an upgraded stereo.

The GT Performance ups power to 217bhp, gets Michelin Pilot Sport 5S tyres and red brake calipers. It looks like the pick of the bunch on paper, but we should mention we’re yet to confirm that by trying it ourselves. 

The GTS has its own trim which is similar to GT Premium, with leather on the interior, a heated steering wheel and the premium audio system. You also get a set of GTS-specific wheels.

The A290's maximum charging rate of 100kW means taking it from 15-80% charge should take around half an hour if you use a faster public EV charger. It Vehicle-To-Load capability so you can plug in, for example, a kettle or laptop and run it from the main battery.

Alpine didn't feature in our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey but Renault (Alpine’s parent company) came ninth out of 31 brands, which is pretty good. The A290 comes with a three-year, 60,000-mile standard warranty.

The Alpine A290 scored four stars out of five when it was tested for safety by the experts at Euro NCAP, which is not as good as most new car but by no means terrible. Every A290 comes with plenty of safety equipment, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assist, reverse pedestrian warning and a driver attention monitoring system.

"Given that the A290 is a hot hatch, I'd say you’re best going for the GTS. Sure, it costs more and the range isn’t great, but it gets the extra power and feels sportier." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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