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Dream garage = power garage

Say Alpine, you say motorsport. Just last weekend, by the way, the Formula One team put two drivers on the podium in Brazil. So sportsmanship is deeply rooted and is now being translated into a sporty electric era. The Alpine A290 is Alpine’s first all-electric car, but certainly not its last. Earlier we had a sneak peek of the A390, the “sport fastback” that is coming. So, a lot of life in the French brewery!

An appearance with an act of presence

Oui oui, the A290 probably reminds you of the Renault 5! The A290 is based on this frivolous Frenchman 5 and it shows on the outside, with a nice angular design that almost defines the word hot hatch . The Alpine looks powerful with its expanded wheel arches, sporty bumpers and sloping rear end. Compared to the 5, the track width has been increased by 6 centimeters, giving the front a nice prominent appearance.

A quirky light signature could not be missing. In the same style as the A110, we see separate daytime running lights reminiscent of the spotlights on rally cars of yesteryear. This link is reinforced by the lights in a cross shape, derived from the tape that used to be stuck on the lights. We like it! The hood also has the same “grille” as on the 5, but with (unlit) Alpine inside.

The wheel arches are accented with a high-gloss black surround, but all the more interesting is what is inside the wheel arches. Alpine, in cooperation with Michelin, has developed Pilot Sport tires for the new electric range. The rims are standard 19-inch in size. There are two designs, with a square “Iconique” design and one derived from snowflakes. Last but not least, behind the rims are the Brembo brakes that are also used in the A110.

And that rear end, that’s something you can hardly ignore with a width of 1.82 meters. Fun fact, the Renault 5 Turbo with the really fat ass, was “only” 1.75 meters. So the A290 is even thicker! At the rear, sportiness is emphasized by a ducktail and a thick diffuser. And of course, in several places on the inside and outside you can see the tricolore , should you ever forget which country the brand originally comes from.

Subcutaneous excellence

The A290 sits on Renault’s AmpR platform. A solid basis for a hot hatch with a skateboard-like body, with the battery in the middle and the wheels placed remarkably far out. The wheelbase is 2.53 meters and the car has an overall length of just under four meters. The result? A nice nimble little cart, weighing just 1,479 pounds.

So the basis is good for a sporty driving experience. With the battery in the bottom, the A290 has a low center of gravity that ensures stable handling. The multi-link rear suspension is in place just like the Renault 5. Alpine engineers did make the necessary modifications for a sportier driving experience. Think specific stabilizer bars, hydraulic bumpstops and a slightly tighter suspension, as well as modified throttle and brake response – derived from the A110.

Lift-off oversteer is even written about . The A290 may have front-wheel drive, but with a bit of feeling you can thus get the butt along in the corners. En route , by the way, you get to know the A290 and its handling better and better in the Alpine Telemetrics menu. Not only does it display live data such as cornering G-forces or even lap times, the A290 offers genuine challenges that should take your steering skills to the next level. Mind you, do these challenges in a place where you have space, though.  

Powertrain Alpine A290

Not only does the platform already make for a fine driving car on paper, the powertrain contributes to this as well. The A290 features a 52 kWh battery and front-wheel drive. Depending on the version, you’ll have 180 hp and 285 Nm of torque (GT and GT Premium), or 220 hp and 300 Nm of torque (GT Performance and GTS). The battery should be good for 380 kilometers of driving pleasure (WLTP) in the GT and GT Premium. Otherwise, it is 364 kilometers in the Performance and GTS. In the fastest version, you shoot from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in 6.4 seconds (7.4 seconds otherwise).

Should you have rushed through the range a little faster than planned, you can charge the A290 with 11 kW AC or up to 100 kW DC. A heat pump is on board as standard for automatic control of the battery temperature, and including charging stops on your route is also an option within the Google Maps navigation. Should your A290 still have power left over, power can be delivered back via V2L (Vehicle to Load) or V2G (Vehicle to Grid).

Très chic, très sportif

Inside, the sportiness splashes off. As a driver, you take your seat in handsome sports seats with generous lateral support. In the GT Premium, GT Performance and GTS, the seats are upholstered in blue and white nappa leather, finished with stitching and a logo in the backrest.

In front of you, the steering wheel catches the eye, again with Nappa leather trim and a nice 12 o’clock dash. Three buttons stand out, starting with the recharge button. With these, you choose from four degrees of regeneration and thus also determine the balance between engine braking and physical braking. Also catching the eye is the overtake button. Press it to utilize maximum power and torque for ten seconds – something reminiscent of a Formula 1 car!

In addition, the drive mode buttonallows you to set the desired driving mode according to throttle response, steering feel, ambient lighting and a sound of your choice from the Alpine Drive Sound system. That’s right, an electric hot hatch that makes sound! In collaboration with Devialet, Alpine has developed a sound system (available starting with the GT Premium) that amplifies the sound of the electric motor. Don’t expect pops and bangs like in the Ioniq 5 N, but is it this acoustic feedback that some electric cars lack.

The center tunnel features the controls for the automatic, with the same buttons as in the A110. The design with a triangle structure here is reminiscent of mountain peaks – something you see more often on the A290. By the way, it’s nice that the gearbox can be operated here, as the lever behind the steering wheel in the Renault 5 proved not always convenient. As far as we were concerned, Alpine should have placed the start button centrally on the center console as well.

Physical buttons, fine!

The cockpit is highly digital with a 10.25-inch screen centrally for infotainment, optically connected to the 10.1-inch screen for the instrument cluster. The displays have striking and beautiful graphics, also many triangles, and offer plenty of depth and information for the driver. Earlier we mentioned the Alpine Telemetrics, which adds a game-like fun factor to the car. The system also runs on Android OS, with pleasant operation and high levels of connectivity. Over the air updates, for example, are also possible. Below the screen we find physical buttons for climate control. Dege mate digitally laid out, but the operation of the climate control is (fortunately) still with buttons.

Besides its sporty character, the A290 is also meant to be an everyday car. In the back, you have a luggage space of 326 liters for your daily croissants et baguettes. As an adult passenger, you don’t have much to do in the back. You’ll have to wait a while for the A390 if you want a full-size family car from Alpine. We wouldn’t think it out of place if Alpine came out with a hardcore three-door variant of the A290. Without a rear seat, the rear end might also turn over faster in corners….

En course

And that’s exactly what you work toward in driving the A290. On the one hand, it is a downright hot hatch that can be playfully steered from one corner to the next. On the other hand, the A290 is mostly smooth. You don’t bounce over bumps, which is quite pleasant on small drives. But don’t think that makes the A290 a softy – if you push the limit, the A290 will be only too happy to introduce you to it.

You can go a step further, literally and figuratively, if you know how to dose the throttle correctly in a corner. When you’re in the middle of a corner and take out a little bit of the going, the rear end wants to take a step to the side. It’s not a full-on drift, but a correction proves necessary! Nice! At the front, the front-wheel drive pulls eagerly on the specially developed Michelin Pilot Sport tires, and the torque control system distributes power well.

Soon the next corner presents itself. The steering wheel is comfortable to hold and the steering is direct with plenty of feedback. You dive into the corner with precision and grip towards the edge of understeer. When accelerating out of the corner, don’t forget to press the overtake button to get on the gas immediately with full power. Although the A290 is fast, it sometimes takes a while before you really get the momentum going. The fun is no less and certainly every corner is a little party.

Résumé

Alpine is coming out with an electric sports car offensive, and boy, are we ready for it. The A290 proves that an electric drive doesn’t lead to a boring car, or one that only impresses on the straight and narrow. The brand has developed the car to the point where it is the driving that impresses so much. The A290 is light, agile and offers absolute driving pleasure if you know how to find the gas pedal. If you want to take it a little slower, the A290 is a handy and comfortable car for everyday driving.

The Alpine A290 is available from €38,800 in the GT trim. The GT Premium is available from €42,000. Want the powertrain with the most power? The GT Performance comes from €41,800 and the ultimate version, the GTS, costs €44,800. There is also a limited edition available, the GTS Première Edition. If you are willing to put down €46,300, you will be one of 1,955 lucky owners. By the way, the number is a reference to the year the brand was founded.