As you might reasonably expect, there have been winners and losers in the move to electrification of cars. The larger, luxury cars have been clear beneficiaries. Electrification adds a further layer of silence and refinement which suits them. The increasingly well managed delivery of prodigious power also works in their favour. These cars aren’t judged on their weight. Light and sporty they are not, nor are they intended to be. When it comes to fun and engagement, EVs have largely been found wanting. They’re too heavy and cumbersome to rival lighter sports cars and hot hatches of yesteryear, so most manufacturers haven’t even bothered trying to produce them. The Alpine A290 GTS, however, just might represent a changing of the tune.
Here’s an electric hot hatch which ticks a lot of boxes if you’re in the market for old school thrills and spills. It’s light for an EV. The ‘for an EV’ caveat is important here because it’s still north of 1500Kg once you’ve got yourself in it. By hey, cars are just a lot heavier these days and batteries certainly don’t help. The Alpine A290 GTS is getting on for 300Kg more than a Toyota GR Yaris and 100Kg more than a Honda Civic Type R, the gold standards of the modern hot hatch. A far more enticing BIK rate, however, makes the Alpine’s appeal further reaching. At £37,500, the Alpine A290 GTS is also significantly cheaper for cash buyers than that rightly vaunted pair.
So far so good. Is this the embodiment of a new age of electrically powered motoring fun?
Living with the Alpine A290 GTS
One of the ways in which Alpine has kept the weight down is simply by fitting a smaller battery. The 52kWh unit excludes the A290 GTS from grand touring duties. Across my 201.2 miles in it I achieved 2.3 miles per kWh, meaning an average range of 119.6 miles.
This will also exclude some people from buying it straightaway. There has, however, been something of a shift in people’s perception of range anxiety. The simple question is: how often do you do 100 miles of driving in one sitting?
For those who answer “often”, EVs are still someway short of delivering the reliability of range required. Whilst the charging infrastructure has improved, it still lags way behind the convenience of a petrol pump.
Where the Alpine A290 GTS will carry most appeal is to company car users with a regular commute, those who can charge easily at home and those looking for a second car. In reality, however, the GR Yaris and Civic Type R are best served as second cars, too.
If you’ve got the capability to charge at home, the range here poses few issues. From commuting to work to heading out for the fun of it, the Alpine A290 GTS was a joyous companion.
Of course, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but it helps that the Alpine A290 GTS looks absolutely superb. Along with stablemate the Renault 5, the French design team have nailed the aesthetics. Alpine Vision Blue is £900 well spent and the only option as tested, bringing the total price to a compelling £38,600.
Practicality is strong, too. I got kids seats in and out with ease and transported three adults comfortably enough for an extended drive.
What’s the Alpine A290 GTS like to drive?
This, ultimately, is where the Alpine A290 GTS needs to be judged. And it doesn’t disappoint. The spec sheet initially comes across as somewhat underwhelming, but the dizzying numbers put down on paper by most EVs don’t always translate to a brilliant driving experience. Alpine’s approach has been more old school – and it works.
220hp and 300Nm of torque combine for a 0-62mph time of 6.4secs. Plant your right foot and the A290 GTS squirrels away with a kick of torque steer from the front wheel drive setup. It’s a delightful throwback. It also means that you can exploit more of the power, more of the time. In so many cars these days you’re reduced to fractions of a second on the throttle before you’ve reached the horizon.
Here, with the steering alive in your hands and the superbly communicative Alpine Sport with hydraulic bump stops and multilink rear suspension feeding back the road’s surface in intricate detail, you can lean on the limits of the car with clarity, precision and longevity. In short, it’s a blast.
You might be thinking that the trade-off here is an overly harsh ride. Whilst it’s stiff, it’s also surprisingly forgiving on the UK’s myriad road imperfections. Only the worst potholes that evade your attention truly trouble the ride. There’s no wincing over speedbumps and, another advantage of the Alpine A290 GTS, there’s no wincing down tight country lanes or multi-storey carparks either.
Conclusion
It’s easy to see why the Alpine A290 GTS and it’s sibling, the Renault 5, are starting to show up with increasing regularity on UK roads. This car looks fantastic and the driving experience supports the aesthetics. Beyond that, the Alpine A290 GTS represents a giant leap forward for EVs.
It was always going to take a bit of time, certainly more time than people initially had patience for, for manufacturers to hone their EV craft. They’d become so competent at producing engined cars that many expected the same from EVs straightaway.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the Alpine A290 GTS is that they’ve taken a step back and thought about what could make this a great driver’s car. Whilst Tesla initially wowed with stonking performance that most tried to copy, Alpine has gone in a completely different direction here.
They haven’t chased barnstorming acceleration at the cost of everything else, instead opting to hone the overall experience. The A290 GTS is a much better driver’s car than most EVs because of this. That they’ve managed to keep the price sensible, too, is a further tick in the box.
Whilst the usual EV caveat about range is exacerbated here, if you can charge at home and don’t undertake regular long journeys, there’s considerable appeal.
I was unsure what to expect before my week with the Alpine A290 GTS. Would it have enough power? Enough range? Enough je ne sais quois? From first sight to last drive, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. It’s compact and fun, everything a hot hatch should be. And there’s the rub, for this is a proper hot hatch, for the first time battery powered. For that reason alone, this is something of a landmark car.
