By Gareth Butterfield 
I know what you’re thinking, an electric Alfa Romeo feels like a contradiction in terms. This is the iconic brand that brought us the glorious V6 “Busso” engine, and launched modern greats like the Guilia Quadrifoglio.
But Alfa Romeo is under the wing of volume specialists Stellantis now, and manufacturers simply can’t afford to peddle slow-selling performance cars without having a big-hitter on their books.
Which explains why we’re being offered a brand new Alfa Romeo. Yes, it’s an SUV and, yes, it’s electric (there is a hybrid version available too) but it is still a new Alfa Romeo. At least I find that quite exciting.
It’s called the Junior, and there’s definitely no shortage of Italian flair about the styling. The front looks a bit fussy, but it does grow on you. The rear has a distinctive and aerodynamic sharp uptick, and the side profile is forgettable, but acceptable in the right colours.
Then there’s the interior. Look straight ahead and you’ll see a sculpted pair of shrouds above a sporty steering wheel with the traditional Alfa logo.
There are two gorgeously detailed air vents either side of the attractive dashboard, and some premium materials to land your hand on.
Then you look down to the centre console and notice a gear selector and other switchgear that would be familiar to any Stellantis-brand owner, and the illusion of grandeur wanes somewhat. I do like the centrally-mounted stop/start button though, it’s very sporty.
There’s a 10.25-inch TFT screen, a configurable driver’s display, and a welcome smattering of physical buttons. It’s still all a bit familiar though. An Alfa with Citroen buttons just doesn’t seem right.
There are two trim levels to look out for, the Veloce is the sporty one, and the Speciale is the plush one. A lowlier version is available, but you really shouldn’t.
If you want a hybrid, choose the Ibrida and the EV is called the Elettrica. I like the Italian names, even if they do feel like a bit of a superficial bolt-on.
What is a bit more typically Alfa, though, is the handling. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a sports car, it’s always going to be a heavy small SUV, but there’s a welcome precision to the nicely-weighted steering, the ride settles down nicely, and it’s just on the right side of sporty. It’s not going to set your pulse racing, but it’s surprisingly good fun on a decent B-road.
The battery is a 51kWh unit, which is said to be good for 255 miles WLTP in the base spec version, but expect to get just over 200 miles in the Speciale and Veloce. It can also only take up to 100kw on a DC charger, which slows down recharging time. Although it is a small battery, so it’s not drastic.
Happily, efficiency is strong in the Junior. I managed 4m/kWh quite happily and this will mean running costs should be easy to manage.
And this is one of the happy consequences of the Stellantis ownership, value for money. A Speciale would set you back around £35,000 before options, and there’s plenty in the way of standard spec.
Shop around and you’ll find some good deals, and this is an Alfa Romeo you can probably rely on more than any of its petrol predecessors.
So there’s a lot to like about the Junior. It’s refreshing to have a “fun” option in the world of bland compact crossovers, and there’s just enough Italian flair to make it stand out from its siblings.
Choose one in the right colour, with a decent spec, and you’ll have something that genuinely stands out. As long as you can overlook the Peugeot parts bin additions, that is.
