Junior, how is the electric Alfa Romeo "designed to excite"

The first electric Alfa Romeo in history focuses everything on driving pleasure.It's not yet goodbye to fossils, but it's an epochal turning point for the brand.

Is called Junior the first series electric Alfa Romeo.“A symbolic welcome to a new generation of Alfisti” underlines a note. The electric car of emotions, “perfect balance between handling (i.e. dynamics, driving pleasure) and high comfort in the daily routine”;the note refers specifically to the version Fast, the most powerful, the one we will tell you about shortly in our test.Certain, it's not a goodbye to fossil fuels that of Alfa Romeo (farewell which, if confirmed, should take place in 2027), or rather Junior there too hybrid versions (with 1.2 engine and front or all-wheel drive), but it is still an epochal turning point.

After various attempts (all however prototypes or small niche productions), Alfa Romeo chooses the Junior, a compact SUV (Sport urban vehicle define it by highlighting its sporting qualities), to enter the electric car market.And it does so with a version at the top of the range and with an explicit name, Veloce (the most accessible electric version is simply called Junior and is the one with 156 horsepower), focusing above all on power (207 kW, 280 of the “old” horses), agility, lightness (that sustainable lightness which for the electric car becomes efficiency).Prices for the electric Alfa Romeo Junior start from 39,500 euros.

First Brenner, then Milan, finally Junior:the controversial genesis of the name of the first electric Alfa Romeo

In short, what it should have been called Milan (and before that Brenner), then became Junior (but the name never appears on the car) following the complaints with the Minister of Business and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso who had expressed a negative opinion on the name, explaining that "a car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland", seems the perfect car to respond to one of the most widespread fake news circulating on theelectric car, who would like it to be boring and generally less satisfying.

And never mind if the first electric Alfa Romeo is produced in Poland, also the first car of the brand not produced in Italy;if it makes no sense to raise walls (and duties) towards China, let alone if it makes sense towards an EU member state.And never mind, again, if the electric Junior is the result of globalization, which allows the Stellantis group (owner of the brand) to produce different electric cars on the same platform, such as Peugeot 2008, Opel Mokka and Corsa, but also Fiat and Jeep models.

Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce:identikit of an electric car designed to entertain

The important thing is that each model retains its own personality.And in the case of the Junior the characteristic (which also emerged in our test) is certainly that driving pleasure that has made the history of the Alfa Romeo brand.The rest are numbers: 410 kilometers of autonomy declared in the mixed cycle, which rise in "theory" to over 590 (but only if you drive in the city and, therefore, make the most of the braking regeneration), less than 30 minutes to recharge from 20 to 80 percent ( provided you use 100 kW fast charging), one 54 kWh battery.

So far the words.Now let's get to the facts road test (actually on the track, in that experimental center in Balocco, in the Vicenza area, where numerous Alfa Romeo models were developed and where it was possible to test the first examples of the electric Junior still in the homologation phase).A completely random choice, at least if you want to enhance the aspects related to driving pleasure, the performance, the fun of an electric, this last aspect perhaps the most evident among those that emerged in our test.

Dedicated to those who think (still?) that electric cars are boring

Anyone who has owned an Alfa Romeo knows well what we are talking about.A design that expresses movement, mechanics that combine the skilful balance of weights (which means fun but also stability and safety) with more technical solutions (front-wheel drive, direct steering, lowered ride height, a differential that favors sporting behaviour).In short, the fast Junior is an electric vehicle designed for those who favor driving pleasure in the most traditional sense of the term.

To the artificial sound which reproduces the noise of an endothermic car, we much prefer silence, which we have always considered one of the rewarding characteristics of an electric car.Stop, we're not interested in delving further for now.But the result is remarkable:the Junior is one of the most satisfying electrics among those we have told you about so far, let's say with some analogies to the last one Mini Countryman, another electric car that almost puts what the English have always called before efficiency go-kart feeling.

Normal, Dynamic or Advanced efficiency?

While driving pleasure on the Junior remains a priority, in reality things change depending on the driving mode chosen: Dynamic, the most fun and sporty is the one suitable for curves, which exploits all the power and the best sporting qualities, also influencing braking which becomes more "natural", similar to an endothermic car; Natural, the equivalent of Normal, as can be imagined is the most suitable mode for daily use, a compromise between performance and efficiency; Advanced efficiency, the Alfa version of Eco, limits power, reduces consumption (but also the performance of the air conditioning, for example), uses regeneration during braking (to which the well-known Brake function also contributes, which also reduces the use of the brakes).And speaking of autonomy and charging, among the on-board systems there is EV Routing which, through the navigator, once the destination has been set, automatically calculates any stops along the route.

Size, weight and comfort

But an electric must also have other characteristics, not everyone experiences home-work as if it were a daily competition with themselves, right?And here other aspects of the Junior come out.The dimensions are overall urban (the length is just over 4 metres), the weight relatively contained.The driving position, although sportier than other SUVs, remains higher, maintaining the advantage of better visibility on the road intact.

Of course, on manholes, tram tracks and city cobblestones the Junior could be less comfortable than other electric ones (the conditional is a must given that our test only briefly touched on the conditions mentioned, although present on the circuit), it also causes the large circles (20 inches, a sports car size so to speak, far too much for an electric like this;with a more generous "shoulder" of the tire and a narrower footprint improve comfort and increase efficiency).

What the Junior offers in terms of space

Dynamic aspects aside, the objective of reflecting the sporting characteristics of the brand can also be felt in the Junior's interior.This can be understood from the shape of the digital instrumentation in front of the driver, but also from the 10.25-inch touchscreen display, located in the center of the dashboard but facing the driver.And if in the past infotainment wasn't exactly the most convincing aspect of an Alfa Romeo, on the contrary, in this case the Junior benefits from technologies shared with other Stellantis models, including the presence ofartificial intelligence, with ChatGpt which allows you to ask the car through voice recognition complex questions related or not to the journey.

Space is good, suitable for 4 people (behind there is the transmission tunnel in the floor, justified by the presence of endothermic versions in the price list), the seats are comfortable (very sporty on this Veloce version), large boot accessible from an electric hatch and a convenient compartment for the charging cable under the front bonnet, so even when wet or dirty it doesn't create problems with other luggage.

Safety:so respecting Zone 30 is simple

As a rule, the standard equipment of driving assistance systems, the Adas, which depending on the trim levels include a rear camera, parking sensors, semi-autonomous parking, adaptive cruise control, lane maintenance, sign recognition (including speed limits, to which the car automatically adapts if desired, an effective way to also respect the Zone 30, about which there has been recent controversy between fake news and denials). Also very useful is the Driver attention alert which, as can be imagined, monitors the driver's state of attention.