Alfa Romeo is a historic brand with a sports car heritage and several races can be matched. It has created some of the most sensational things to drive, creating some of the most beautiful cars the world has ever seen. But the quality issues of the past few decades have hurt the once-beloved brand and led to financial problems. Now Alfa Romeo is about to stage a comeback, and we're here to see how far it has come. Alfa Romeo's first fully electric car will join the ever popular segment of the compact crossover. But does it have what it takes to compete with a huge number of competitors out there? The model we are testing today is the Alfa Romeo Junior Eletricabeloche.
It comes with a 280 hp motor attached to the front axle, making it the most powerful version. Our test car came with big 20-inch wheels that certainly didn't help the range, but they look amazing. The rear end of the junior is a throwback to the old model with a bar connecting the taillights. It is underlined by the beautiful "Alfa Romeo" inscription. The rear LED bar also acts as a small ducktail spoiler. Without such an impressive design, the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica would not look like any other crossover on the market because there are no other particularly distinct features around the back. The interior is beautiful in typical alpha fashion.
All of the materials you often touch are very nice and soft, but the plastic used at the bottom of the interior still rates the overall material quality as good, especially in the segment, although the cheapest we have seen. When the door opens, you get a nice multifunctional steering wheel that combines Alcantara and leather. It feels good and fits snugly on the palm. Behind the steering wheel is a stem for wipers and turn signals, and at the end is a button for controlling the driver's display. This is a very clever integration and it takes time to get used to, but it allows for a cleaner design. The driver display measures 10.25" and offers several nice-looking layout options. The top of the dashboard is occupied by vents and 4 quick buttons, so you can use it freely at any time.
These are shortcuts for hazard lights, home buttons for infotainment, door locks and car assistant functions. The center console starts with a wide wireless charging pad that can also be used for storage, as it is placed in a very convenient location. The entire console of our test vehicle is trimmed with Alcantara and feels great to touch. Unlike the latest Alfa Romeo models, the Junior start/stop button is not on the steering wheel, but in the middle of the center console, and its implementation is slightly wasteful, as it appears to require more space than necessary, and may instead increase storage I love it. The cup holder is deep and adjustable width, this is really convenient. The armrests are also covered with Alcantara, adding to the wonderful sense of luxury inside.
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On the other hand, the sun visor does not have a light, which is quite puzzling in modern vehicles, not to mention those who have ambitions to become objects of a lifestyle. Ceiling lamps are also a bit of a disaster in that once you turn them on, it's very hard to turn them off. This is an integration that is adjacent to safety issues and is unacceptable for easy and convenient things. On a more positive note, the Sabelt Corsa seat of Alfa Romeo Junior is great, provides tremendous support and fits your body like a glove. The rear seats are almost laughably small. Accessing them is too tight due to the irregular door shape and the space is limited due to the bulky front seats.
The trunk of the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica is the average of the size of the car. Due to the sloping roof and its wide opening, they are not the easiest to fully utilize though. Under the seat the storage volume rises to 1,265l, but it is difficult to utilize due to the fact that the seat does not fold fully flat. A good addition is a very small frunk (front trunk). It can hold just about one charging cable, it's still better than not having storage before at all. Driving the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce is the highlight of owning a car. Even though the FWD crossover does not exactly inspire confidence, it handles sharply and works on all kinds of corners with great accuracy. Thanks to the low center of gravity due to the battery it is planted at a higher speed and feels stable.
There is also a recollection of an old mini or Abarth who is eager to conquer corners and bring pleasure while driving. The Junior suspension features an aggressive camber to help grip. The Junior Beloche weighs 1,635 kg, and today it is considered low, but it feels even lighter than it is. Power is delivered smoothly and you do not leave craving for more. Because it results in wheelspin there is no instant punch when accelerating from a stop, instead the junior accelerates smoothly and confidently. The power is good enough for the FWD model, but we also appreciate the AWD version with drive characteristics similar to the punch.
The steering gives precise feedback from the below road and you can always feel the level of traction you have. The Junior Eletrica is also a very maneuverable vehicle. The car can point to the exact point you want, it is a great feeling to experience and is much more suitable for sports cars. Thanks to the shortcut buttons on the dashboard, the Safety Assistant can be easily turned off with Alpha Junior. They are not too awkward because you don't really feel the need to turn off all the time, but it's good that this procedure is simplified. The rear view camera has tremendous quality and you get the shape of your surroundings in reverse. This is a primitive version of the 360 degree camera, but we'd rather just have the real thing.
The ride is tough and there is no way to hide it. Bumpy roads and turns on bad surfaces are easily felt in the cabin. This allows for an amazing driving experience, but in the city-oriented car segment, we believe that most people prefer extra comfort instead. Alfa Romeo uses an infotainment system that is currently used by many Stellantis models, and has multiple models, which is an excellent system with many features and excellent responsiveness. A common drawback is a small font for some of the settings that will help you find the right button to press hard while driving. The home screen menu is practical and provides access to most of the applications and settings you may need.
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The fact that there are physical buttons you can always use to reach the home screen is a nice touch that adds practicality. You can also customize what appears on top of it and in what part it appears. Even though there are lines of physical buttons for climate control, there are also on-screen menus that have exactly the same functionality. Alfa Romeo has a pre-installed game that can be played while waiting to charge to pass the time. Such features are becoming more popular and you can see why. The navigation system is not special, but it works well and accurately. It also indicates whether it needs to be charged while driving a longer route and suggests a charging station along the way.
The ambient lighting inside is great and even some much more expensive and more premium cars can take note of the way the Alpha has done it. The cabin of Junior Eletrica is one of the noisy things we have experienced. The combination of a raised body, a short wheelbase and cheap insulation means a lot of wind and tire noise inside. Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce is the most powerful version of the model, but by modern standards it is far from a drag monster. With sprints from 5.9 to 0km/h in 100 seconds in our tests, the alpha is slightly faster than the manufacturer claims. These results are admirable for the segment and have nothing to complain about.
The brakes are very impressive at just 32m (104'11"), and even more impressive is that this result was constant and repeated multiple times in a row. The brake pedal is very sensitive and takes a long time to get used to, but if you use regenerative brakes, you hardly need to use it. Sadly, there is no option to stop completely with one-pedal driving. The Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce charges up to 100kW with a DC charger. We tested it and the advertised charging time of 30-10% in 80 minutes perfectly matched our test results. It's not super fast these days, but it's enough for occasional trips beyond its single charging range.
The competition for small crossover electric vehicles is fierce and will continue to grow based on endless customer demand. Alfa Romeo managed to make Junior clear enough and give him more characters than most of the available options. The Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica Veloce is a car that feels like a breath of fresh air in the boring crossover Ev world. It looks distinctly on the outside and uses large material inside to make the driver and passenger feel special. Around the car there is a unique touch that shows that it was made not only with mathematics, but also with passion. The driving experience is sublime for the segment and you can feel the Italian charisma coming from the car.
In itself, the Alfa Romeo Junior Eletrica Veroche is a good car. Sadly, it does not so well stand up to rivals who complete the technology of a small crossover and fall into the gap between greatness and waste. Therefore, its virtues are likely to be underestimated by the majority of intended buyers and interpreted as shortcomings when looking for city-oriented crossovers, yet the less powerful version is significantly cheaper and has a long way to go to deal with the problem. Better range and less harsh ride should get at least a few chances, along with excellent value for money.
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