Alpine A290 (2025 - ) Electric review

At the time of writing the Alpine A290 qualifies for the lower of the two tiers for the government Electric Car Grant, which makes the asking price a tad more appetising. It’s still more expensive than the Renault 5 on which it is based, but you’re getting a lot more performance and prestige so pays your money on that score. More generally an electric car should be cheap to run, especially if you can charge at home or you’re a company car driver. While insurance and other costs will be more than a standard Renault 5 the Alpine A290 should prove a lot cheaper to run in general than the petrol hot hatches many buyers will be coming from.

French cars are much more reliable than they were in the past and Alpine’s parent company Renault has long experience of building electric cars. Admittedly, they have fewer moving parts than their petrol- and diesel-powered counterparts, so there’s theoretically less to go wrong and we’ve no reason to suspect the A290 will be anything other than robust.

Both the Renault 5 and this Alpine offshoot have plenty of standard safety equipment, including lane departure warning and autonomous emergency braking to stop the car automatically if the driver fails to react to a hazard. Alpine has also included a button to access a custom setting for all the car’s safety systems, so you can configure the technology up exactly the way you want it and enact that with two pushes of the switch. It’s a handy way of dialling back the excesses of some safety systems that are demanded by law but work inconsistently in the real world. In keeping with its sporty image the A290 also has uprated brakes over the regular Renault 5, the more powerful versions also scoring specially formulated Michelin tyres, both supporting the higher braking and cornering forces the Alpine encourages.

The A290’s cabin is unsurprisingly close to the Renault 5 on which it’s based, but Alpine has added some sporty and upmarket touches. Chief among them are the seats, which are more supportive and get some premium upholstery options. The driving position is good but you do have to watch out for the wide plastic bodywork as you get in and out of the car, given the risk of putting your foot through it or just getting muck on your trouser legs. With five doors access to the back seats is decent as well, and the space back there is just about adequate. There’s a fairly sizeable boot as well but be aware that top-of-the-range examples sacrifice a tiny bit of space to make room for their more upmarket sound system. Whichever A290 you choose, though, you’ll get the same basic suspension set-up, which feels sporty and comfortable all at once. s

Spot the theme but the A290’s interior is basically that of the Renault 5 with some sporty touches, the result as stylish as it is functional. The Google-powered touch-screen, for example, works just like an Android smartphone with all the familiar apps and a responsive and intuitive interface. Navigation comes from Google Maps, which is fully integrated into the car’s systems to display charge status and options along your route for topping up as required. Other apps include a system recording driving data on the circuit and even provides challenges for those who go on track days. Other Alpine-specific touches include gear selection via buttons on the centre console, which we prefer to the standard Renault 5’s stalk-based selector, though you lose your cup holders in the process. You’ll also notice the dedicated steering wheel, with its motorsport inspired adjustable regen dial and a red ‘OV’ button for an extra burst of speed when overtaking. Gimmicky, perhaps, but fun. Upper-spec versions get some nice-to-haves like Nappa leather upholstery and a fancier Devialet speaker system, as well as blue roof rails and additional exterior trim. But in all versions the Alpine feels enough of a step up from the standard Renault 5 to justify the additional cost.

The A290 is available in two power outputs, the base one getting 180 horsepower while the GT Performance and GTS get 220 horsepower, which you feel on the road in the fact it’s a whole second faster off the line and from zero to 62mph. True, the Peugeot 208 GTI it will inevitably be compared with in due course looks faster yet on paper. But the A290 is a big step up from the standard Renault 5, and enough to take it from usefully nippy to entertainingly rapid along with the necessary upgrades to suspension, handling and brakes to enjoy that to the full. Saying that if you floor it in the more powerful version you will feel a bit of wriggling through the steering wheel as the front tyres put the power down, which some might consider a flaw. But enthusiasts may actually appreciate as a nod to powerful front-driven hot hatches of the past. Ditto the suspension, which is sharper and more sporty than the regular Renault 5. But not so much as to turn the Alpine into a bone-shaker on rough roads, this, the extra bite of the tyres and more powerful brakes all combining with the extra performance into fun, feisty driving style those who grew up on hot Renault hatchbacks of the past will enjoy. For all the sportiness the A290 is still quiet and comfortable in more everyday driving, with excellent refinement even with the boxy shape.