Alfa Romeo Junior (2024 - )

The Alfa Romeo Junior is here, and before you guess, no, it isn't a tiny city car to replace the MiTo supermini – remember that model?

Perhaps somewhat unintuitively, it’s an SUV, although as sport-utility-vehicles go, it’s very much on the small side. Due to its sportiness, it could even be a modern-day rival to the traditional hot hatchback.

Originally called the Milano (before some Italian folk got annoyed because it’s actually manufactured in Poland), the Junior is brand new and all-electric.

It is available in three trim levels.

The entry-level Elettrica gets 18-inch diamond-cut aero wheels, a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, DAB radio, automatic climate control, keyless entry and start, fabric seats, a heat pump, and rain-sensing wipers.

Eight-colour ambient lighting, LED headlights, taillights, and a synthetic leather steering wheel are also included.

The mid-range Elettrica Speciale houses satellite navigation, a leather steering wheel, a hands-free powered tailgate, premium heated front seats with lumbar support, including power adjustment and a massage system for the driver, and sports pedals. Ambient lighting, dark-tinted rear windows, and a sports styling kit are also included.

The top model, the Elettrica Veloce, boasts 20-inch alloys with performance tyres, a black roof, premium heated seats, sports pedals and door sill kick plates, sports styling, and red front brake callipers.

The bottom two trims have a 156PS electric motor with front-wheel drive, while the Elettrica Veloce model has 280PS in the same configuration.

Although Alfa Romeo is now used to building SUVs – it sells the Stelvio and Tonale, too – the Junior looks markedly different, at least from the front.

If you squint, the upper half of the front end reminds us of the Alfa Romeo SZ, with its 3+3 headlight arrangement – albeit much flatter than the 1990s SZ. It also has bodywork shaped to form the iconic Alfa shield grille. Within the shield is a carved-out cut-out of Alfa’s logo, and beneath that sits a large lower grille with an aggressive front splitter.

At the side, the wheels seem large, and there's plenty of cladding. The rear light arrangement is contained within a horizontal LED light bar beneath the rear window, protruding to look like a spoiler.

Inside, the cabin design impresses, thanks to a meaty steering wheel with a lower silver spoke and a narrow arrangement for the centre console controls, garnished in silver with the engine start/stop button at the top.

The air vents are at the top of the dashboard, just above the 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, while larger, rounded air vents out to the sides resemble jet engines.

The infotainment screen is slightly angled towards the driver and sits in a large unit built into the dashboard. While it looks cool with sharp, attractive graphics, the screen we tested could have been more responsive. Thankfully, there are physical controls beneath it, which are used to adjust the air conditioning.

While the interior is a hit in terms of its looks, some of the materials in the cabin feel a bit cheap, with plenty of hard plastics on display.
 

With 156PS on tap, the Elettrica Speciale goes from 0 to 62mph in 9.0 seconds, which is plenty - but not amazingly quick.

It isn’t heavy, either. The model is around 25% lighter compared with some competitors – and that certainly helps when you take on a bend. The body lean is relatively well controlled, and the Alfa’s steering is precise and light. However, it weights up nicely in the corners and offers good feedback.

Ride comfort isn’t brilliant – indeed, there are comfier alternatives – but then Alfa Romeos have always been geared up for agility rather than absorption, so this hardly comes as a surprise – and the comfort level isn’t a deal-breaker.

Overall, the Junior is quite enjoyable to drive, although we couldn’t help but come away from our test feeling like it was holding something back.

That is to be found in the Veloce version. Alfa Romeo’s spirit is in performance, after all – and the Veloce’s much quicker 0-62mph time of around 6.0 seconds is worth considering, given it’s the true definition of what an Alfa Romeo should be.

Hearts, not heads, buy or lease Alfa Romeos, and it not only packs in an additional 124PS but is also lowered, has a widened track, and has a stiffer suspension setup. It has bigger brake discs, larger alloys, and a Torsen mechanical limited-slip differential.

The Elettrica and Elettrica Speciale versions aren't bad by any means, but the sense of occasion that Alfa Romeo owners would typically be looking for feels restrained. There is nothing wrong with the lower models, but the upgrades on the Veloce are well worth it for keener drivers.
 

Despite being an SUV, the driving position is relatively low, which makes the Junior feel sportier and more akin to a hatchback.

Our test car had powered adjustment in the driver's seat, which made finding a decent driving position easy, although you'll only get manual adjustment in the entry-level model.

Visibility is good out of the front, as the windscreen pillars have been kept reasonably thin. However, they're enormous at the rear, thanks to the tapering rear windows and the bulging shoulders of the bodywork, which hampers over-the-shoulder visibility. Thankfully, all versions come with rear parking sensors as standard, and the mid-range Elettrica Speciale trim also has a rear-view camera.

There is enough legroom and headroom in the front, so even taller drivers won't complain, but things could be more generous in the back. A slight slope in the roofline gradually reduces the rear headroom, while legroom is less generous than in some challengers. 

The Junior also features a hump on the floor, which middle-seat passengers will have to straddle. Mind you, the seats are slim, which provides rear seat passengers with passable knee room. Fitting three adults in the back will be tight unless they're all on the slim side, though.

The cabin's storage space is respectable, with reasonably sized door bins, a generously proportioned glove compartment, and a storage tray underneath the dashboard.

Likewise, boot space is substantial compared with the Junior's foes, measuring 400 litres and expanding to 1,265 litres with its rear seats folded forward. However, the rear seats only fold in a 60:40 split, although that’s fairly typical of most small SUVs.

It is not bad overall, but some rivals will be easier to live with daily. We keep mentioning competitors, but most are within the Stellantis conglomerate. It owns 14 car brands – including Alfa Romeo, Vauxhall, and Peugeot, so alternatives to the Junior include the Vauxhall Mokka, Jeep Avenger and Peugoet e-2008. Outside the Stellantis circle, Hyundai’s Kona Electric, Kia’s Niro EV, MINI’s Aceman – and even BYD’s Atto could be considered opponents.

No petrol, diesel or carbon emissions means the Junior’s running costs should be as cheap as chips.

Zero emissions mean it'll be favourably treated for Benefit In Kind tax, which will please would-be company car users.

Road tax is free for now, too, although you’ll be charged from April 2025.

The Junior comes with a 54kWh (50.8kWh usable) battery and a claimed range of 255 miles, but this drops to 215 miles in the Elettrica Veloce version. 

While its maximum charging speed is relatively slow by today's standards, its 100kW rate is still sufficient for a 10-80% top-up of the batteries in under half an hour.

A home 7kW wall box will perform a 0-100% recharge in eight-and-a-quarter hours, although all but the entry-level trim supports up to 11kW home charging speeds.

For now, Alfa Romeo is including a standard home wall box charger, including installation, which is worth up to £1,000.

Historically, reliability has been Alfa Romeo’s biggest weakness, but that could change with this, the manufacturer's first-ever all-electric car.

Still, you’ll be glad to have it backed up by a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty while the battery gets its own separate eight-year, 100,000-mile guarantee.

Overall, the Alfa Romeo Junior is a tempting buy – or lease.

It is nice to drive and offers superior handling to many of its similarly priced adversaries. Like all Alfa's, the Junior is also lovely to look at and offers a big boot for a small SUV.

Despite this, some competitors offer more spacious cabins and better interior materials, while the Junior's range and charging speeds differ from several rivals.

However, if you enjoy the driving experience, value handling, and performance, the potent Veloce could be the one for you. If you’re going to live with the Junior’s downsides, you may as well enjoy the best the new Alfa has to offer.

But whichever version of the model you go for, you’ll always be able to make your presence felt. Alfa Romeos are just so damned pleasing to the eye that none of the Junior’s niggles will matter to you - or anyone else - in the end. 

We are back to hearts over heads again.