Junior – will its first EV save Alfa Romeo?

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If first impressions count for anything, this 4.17 m long and front-wheel drive crossover looks a winner. There again, Alfas often have done at the time of their market launch and then…the parent company has tended to leave them unpromoted, unloved, and limping.

The Elkann-appointed big bosses never seem to have taken consistent interest in what could be a massive money maker of a division. Elaborate plans are announced with great fanfare and then watered down or changed until they are unrecognisable. Still, the present signs are good but the sceptics must also be listened to. We have been on the path to the promised land so very many times before. 

Here and now, the Alfa line-up consists of the super-expensive 33 Stradale, below which there is a huge price gap to the aged Stelvio SUV and its Giulia sedan brother. These two Giorgio platform models are still outstanding in their respective classes but hardly anyone buys them. Or even knows they still exist, a tragic and unforgiveable state of affairs. Stellantis claims there will be replacements in 2025 and 2026. 

Thrillingly, the next Giulia and Stelvio will retain their RWD/AWD bias and shift to an architecture which supports both liquid and electric drive sources. It’s less than ideal that the Junior is being launched exclusively in Elettrica (EV) form. But the Ibrida (mild hybrid) is coming, and soon. 

Stellantis has also learned from its, shall we say, brave attempt to price the Tonale at sky high levels. The market had an interested sniff of that SUV then went and bought Volvos and Audis and BMWs and Benzes and Evoques instead. This brand has just 0.3 per cent of the European market and sold only 33,050 vehicles during the year to the end of September, down 13 per cent (source: ACEA).

Pitching the first electric Alfa at a competitive level with an enticing sub-three hundred pounds a month launch deal shows the UK importer knows it needs to get the Junior launch just right. Particularly after all the confusion due to a last minute name change from the original Milano. 

Stellantis continues to feud with the Italian government over other issues: some in the Meloni coalition have professed themselves scandalised by the idea of building any Alfa Romeo in Poland. Thus that spat over an Italian city’s name being chosen for this key new model. 

‘Junior’, a badge from long ago, had to be suddenly revived. In any event, it works well, denoting size. Oh, and the plant in question is Tychy, the production line also making relevant petrol/electric versions of the Jeep Avenger, Fiat 600, Abarth 600 and Lancia Ypsilon.

This might seem harsh but isn’t meant to be. Unless it had the bespoke body and dashboard, this tiny-tall hatchback could easily be offered by one of many Stellantis brands. So thank goodness that there are so very many historic and quirky exterior details. More importantly they combine to make for a distinctive and IMHO rather lovely looking car. 

Alfa spoons it on, referencing the ‘3+3’ elements making up the front lights (that took me a second: the racing and production models called 33), along with the ‘truncated tail’. I immediately saw the Alfasud when viewing the Junior’s rear but the official inspiration is said to be the Giulia TZ from before my time. Vertical rear door handles say Alfa 147 and there are likely to be other old car hints elsewhere. 

How about that reinterpretation of the logo? A shame that the lovely coloured one is gone, replaced by silver on black. It’s on the bonnet and that made me realise the big grille which at first glance resembles a felled Angel Of The North is something else entirely: the Alfa Romeo supersized-serpent-swallowing-a-man. Taken from the coat of arms of the city of Milan. Look again and you see the cross too but it’s lost part of the t-shape.

What I couldn’t locate anywhere outside or inside was the model name. Is the company really so convinced that people will love the look of the thing that they’ll DuckDuckGo or Google ‘small Alfa Romeo’ to learn what it is? That’s either gutsy or stupid. 

The marque’s name is in a lovely font across the tailgate and on the press tester Speciale was attached to either side of the bonnet. Which is what pretty much everyone will think the car is called even though this is the higher of two UK market trim levels. Base grade has no literal identifiers. 

VW can leave the word off the famously fast version – if that’s what Alfa is copying here – but the Golf has been around for half a century: everybody knows what kind of car has only GTI on its rear. Still, Cupra also fails to put a model badge on its vehicles and they each sell really well. Perhaps it will be the same with the Junior.

The design team had to work with an existing platform and tight dimensions. Taking that into account, these people did a tremendous job. Inside, there are again old Alfa hat tips such as the rounded instrumentation hoods and 1970s-style fabrics and fonts. All of which works very well indeed. Stellantis is excellent at creating consistent themes for its cars’ styling and the Alfa Romeo ‘look’ is premium-sporty-Italian. 

It also helps that the giant OEM clearly uses the same parts inside (and under the bonnets of) its many, many models. By happy coincidence, the twist-for-AUTO-then-again-for-parking lights-and-once-more-for-headlights column stalk reminded me of not just old Alfas but many other intelligently designed cars. None of this awful new and inferior by-the-driver’s door glossy black vague-in-action buttons. Almost all German cars are slowly being made worse by things such as this. 

So it also is that the Junior has a just-right sized screen, real lovely-action buttons for the HVAC system, beautifully-weighted rather than flimsy doors (is that what the affronted government minister meant when claiming this is not an Italian car?) and windows which all lower fully. The logo appears in relief on the revealed dashboard-ends when either front door is open. A terrific touch.

Is it mean to mention that whilst I love the vinyl padding ahead of the front passenger and either side of the transmission tunnel I found the dark grey and glazed-effect black plastics to be all a bit 2010s? Dust and fingerprints are guaranteed to appear on the latter and other OEMs don’t use so-called ‘Piano Black’ (plastic ebony) much nowadays. 

Two other things. The usual l o n g…press and wait…for starting and stopping most Stellantis cars is in residence. You do become used to it, along with another tardy response: for a back-window sweep when twisting the wiper control. What isn’t OK is how little space there is for rear occupants. And why does an electric car have a transmission hump? That’ll be the CMP2 platform even though it’s claimed that the architecture for the EV is bespoke.

Some logically-brainy humans worked on this car and likely fought for the sensible features. Even the steering does a good impression of Alfa directness and the number of turns (i.e. very few) is also typical of the marque’s models. The newly-announced, higher-power EV also gets tweaked steering. If only the Elettrica had a distinctive sound, which it doesn’t. Why not? I mean, even the Renault Zoe did. 

The line-up is, as mentioned, split between electric and mild hybrid cars. The importer markets three EVs, two of which are called Junior 156 and Junior Speciale. These have the same 115 kW (156 PS) motor. 

Above this pair the not yet available Veloce boasts 207 kW (280 PS) and 345 Nm as well as a limited-slip differential, recalibrated steering and a 25 mm suspension drop. That power output is the same as for the Veloce versions of the Tonale, Giulia and Stelvio, which is interesting.

Maximum range for the Veloce is only 215 miles. An official ‘up to 250’ miles (WLTP) is claimed for the lesser-powered pair. Charging is at up to 100 kW and there is a 50.8 kWh net/54 gross battery for all three variants. 

Alfa Romeo reckons it holds over 10,000 orders for the Junior. Those of us who wish the division well would love to see the deliveries tally reaching six figures within a few years. The thing is quite fun to drive, Alfa’s signature dna chassis choices featuring (i.e. dynamic, natural = normal, and advanced efficiency = eco), these genuinely changing how the car behaves. 

Certainly the imminent Veloce plus the newly added Ibrida should help things along nicely. The MHEV has Stellantis’ well-known 1.2-litre I3 turbo engine and 22 kW/55 Nm motor combination, the electric booster integrated within a six-speed DCT. As with the Elettrica, drive is to just the one (front) axle.

Let’s call the Junior what it is: a small-tall electric hatchback with a quirky appearance and room for four average height adults. Plus a good sized boot. There is a very big market for such vehicles, especially in Europe.

The press tester had an under-bonnet sticker noting it had been built in August, so an early car then. Build quality? Faultless. Did the infotainment system reboot itself or freeze during the seven days I spent with it? It did not. Instead, everything worked instantly and perfectly. Would that most German supposedly premium brand cars gave you the same experience.

Is the Junior the car to save Alfa Romeo? There is certainly nothing stopping it from being the model to do precisely that. Please though, Stellantis, keep adding new variants. Give it all-wheel drive, a 100 PS mild hybrid powertrain, other trim levels and so on. Add these in 2025, 2026 and 2027, and why not a GTA too? In short, do what Porsche does. 

This great little car will give many new customers a reason to buy and to love an Alfa. We just hope that Stellantis doesn’t add the Ibrida then forget about the Junior. Which it might do due to being preoccupied with the roll-outs of the next Giulia and Stelvio and a bigger model above those two. 

In theory, the marque’s best days may be yet to come. John Elkann and whomever he and his board replace Carlos Tavares with need to nurture Alfa Romeo. Will they do that? 

Junior Elettrica pricing starts at GBP33,895 OTR. A launch promotion is offering the 156 for GBP299/month and the Speciale for GBP329 (GBP35,695). Each has the 115 kW motor. The Veloce will arrive in early 2025 and cost from GBP42,295 or GBP399 pcm. These 37-month deals include a GBP1,000 deposit contribution and an APR of 6.9 per cent.