The Junior is Alfa Romeo’s third SUV and its first series-production electric car
New compact crossover will go on sale later this month in electric form, with hybrid to follow
The Alfa Romeo Junior, the Italian brand’s first electric car, will arrive this summer, priced from £33,895.
The Polish-built crossover, which was originally called the Milano before political uproar, packs a 54kWh battery and can achieve a range of 250 miles in its most economical form.
The standard Elettrica and Speciale launch edition (priced from £35,695) make 154bhp, while the top-rung Veloce makes 237bhp – and has a range of only 215 miles.
Standard kit on the Elettrica comes in the form of 18in aero-optimised alloy wheel, rear parking sensors, black gloss mirror covers and LED lights.
Inside, a 10.25in infotainment screen – mounted in a retro-style ‘telescopic’ binnacle – is fitted with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility.
At £42,295, the Veloce gets 20in diamond-cut alloys, red brake callipers and a blacked-out roof and grille.
Inside, it gains electrically adjustable Sabelt sports seats upholstered in black and red suede, sat-nav, adaptive cruise control and a rear-view camera.
All Junior EVs get a heat pump and an 11kW on-board AC charger. They also get a 400-litre boot and a cable storage bay at the front, supposedly inspired by the front storage areas in Alfa’s old rear-engined supercars.
Positioned as the spiritual successor to the Giulietta and Mito compact hatchbacks, the new Junior majors on accessibility but offering both premium appeal and driver engagement in a bid to “attract a new generation of Alfisti”.
Alfa boss Jean-Philippe Imparato said that the Junior was designed to help the brand go “from exclusive to inclusive”.
He highlighted that it would sit in the same line-up at the ultra-exclusive 33 Stradale supercar, adding: “Alfa is the only brand that is able to sell a car at €2 million and €30,000.”
Imparato added: “Many of Alfa Romeo’s fans still miss the Mito and Giulietta, and now we revamp their stories. Welcome home.”
Measuring 4170mm long by 1780mm wide and 1500mm tall, the Junior adopts several bold new design cues but nods back to Alfas of old with features like the swollen wheel arches, a ‘coda tronca’ bluff rear end and SZ-inspired headlights.
The most distinctive feature is the new interpretation of Alfa’s traditional ‘scudetto’ front grille, which on electric versions features stylised elements from the firm’s logo.
Claiming “the lowest weight in the segment and optimal mass distribution”, Alfa talks up the “best-in-class” driving dynamics of the Junior, noting that the chassis was tuned by the same team responsible for the hardcore Giulia GTA super-saloon.
The Veloce variant, positioned as the most driver-focused in the range, is fitted with the same Torsen limited-slip differential as the Abarth 600e. There are front and rear anti-roll bars, with the firm claiming best in class driving dynamics.
It also has “the most direct steering in the segment”, Alfa said, with a ratio of 14:1, alongside a 25mm suspension drop, stiffer anti-roll bars at each end and “high-performance” tyres.
Chunky 380mm front brake discs clamped by four-piston calipers round off the agility-focused chassis overhaul.
As with the Citroën C4, Fiat 600, Jeep Avenger and Peugeot 2008 with which it shares a platform (and its basic dimensions), the Junior is available with the choice of electric or mild-hybrid petrol power.
The Junior Ibrida combines a 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with a 48V starter-generator and a 28bhp electric motor in the six-speed automatic gearbox for 134bhp and the possibility of short-distance EV running.
It’s front-wheel-drive as standard, but a four-wheel-drive version will arrive later – “a first in the premium segment”, Alfa claimed.
There’s no word yet on the likelihood of a full-bore Quadrifoglio version, but Imparato has previously said he “will always study the possibility to make a performance version” of each new model, as long as it is “fully consistent with the product portfolio message we send”.
“If I consider that I’m not able to offer the right level of performance steps of Quadrifoglio, I will not do a Quadrifoglio version,” he clarified.
The Junior will become available in the UK later this month. It will be launched in 28 markets over the next six months.
