Alpine A290 GTS 2025 review

It’s been several years since Alpine left the Australian market. The slinky shadow left by the A110 will be swallowed whole by the taller-riding cars set to fill the gap, however. The French firm is following a similar path to electrification as its Renault mothership – at least for now – this A290 hot hatchback is the first fruits of its labour.

You won’t need long to identify its base car. The Renault 5 comeback has been the automotive story in Europe, the dinky little EV scooping up nearly every award going. The A290 scored a joint Car of the Year win alongside it but did so as a more niche proposition, priced around 50 percent higher and with its focus more on performance than range.

Yet it’s still just as tempting on paper as it appears in metal, cute rally spotlights ‘an all. Prices start at £33,500 in the UK – around $70k – for an A290 GT with 130kW, 285Nm, 0-100km/h in 7.4sec and 380km of electric WLTP range on a single charge.

The A290 GTS version we have on test here is another £4000 ($8000) and offers 160kW, 300Nm, a 6.4sec 0-100km/h claim if with a reduced 365km of driving range.

It makes a striking first impression – one which continues as you climb inside. The dazzling blue Alpine emblem on its steering wheel will raise a smile, as should the gear selection buttons lifted right from an A110 and plonked on the centre console.

These features provide a neat, tangible link to what Alpine is better known for – while eradicating one of the vanishingly few bugbears of the R5, its fiddly column selector.

Indeed, there’s an iPhone-like simplicity and intuitiveness to operating this car – you simply get in, pop it into D and figure everything out easily and without distraction along the way. Even turning off its ADAS nannies is easy if you’re so inclined.

It feels inspiring right off the bat, riding with subtle assertion despite its stocky 19in alloys, offering pleasingly natural throttle response and turning into corners with real composure.

There’s a moment it mimics a traditional French hot hatch so closely, my left hand reaches out for a manual gear lever – one the exact size and shape of the old Mk3 Clio RS, for what it’s worth…

While its suspension has obvious focus, its hydraulic bump stops are a mature solution to smoothing off all but the most broken rural roads.

The A290 tackles really challenging tarmac with a softer edge than its rivals – the especially gnarly Mini John Cooper Works Electric, especially – doing so with a mite less excitement as a result. It embraces a keener driver – it’s just not quite as rambunctious in corners as that Mini or its petrol-powered Renault Sport forebears.

It’s evident that, for dynamic talent and sheer fun factor, Alpine has left headroom above this car for something spicier to come at a later date.

Same goes for its relatively modest performance. It’s fast enough to be exciting and balances brisk pace and useable range rather well, but hot hatch diehards will likely crave a quicker and more thrilling iteration.

Top marks for its 1479kg kerb weight, though, not least in the context of a 1725kg(!) Mini JCW. While electrification will always dent the agility of cars this wee, Alpine appears to have done a better job than most of nipping away kilos where it can. Crucial when its hall of fame is lined with lightweight specials.

Yet there’s no shortage of tech inside. Its big central touchscreen sits above some physical switchgear (praise be!) and will either mirror your smartphone or operate intuitively on its own.

In-built Google Maps works with the A290’s brain to help plan convenient charge stops across your journey while linking to accurate traffic data. It didn’t put a foot wrong for us and made Apple CarPlay feel like a nice bonus rather than an outright necessity.

The screen also boasts lots of data functionality, such as lap timers and G-meters, plus numerous circuit coaching and challenge functions that we’d have loved a little go-kart track to explore.

Is it uncouth to take a sensible little EV on a trackday? The A290 at least gives you reason to consider it. As do the Brembo brake calipers and bespoke Michelin tyres of this GTS. It costs a decent chunk more than an R5; big-brand components help justify the leap.

We’re also big fans of its Recharge dial, which adjusts the brake regen through three levels with fun tactility – even if you’re best sticking to the lightest regen setting to avoid your brake lights annoying the car behind. It also stops shy of a one-pedal mode.

Its red Overtake button feels a piece of whimsy, not offering anything you won’t gain by simply nailing the accelerator. But we love that such perceptible effort has been put into the factor that’s most important in a hot hatch – fun. There’s a pair of different synthesised powertrain sounds to complement the experience, too.

Setting up your own Perso drive mode – to balance lighter steering with a sharper throttle and your favoured ‘engine’ noise – is the right way to go for faster driving.

The front sports seats are comfy enough for long distances, although its rear bench is for smaller folk only. This is a city car at its core and can’t swallow the whole family – that’s something its upcoming A390 sibling ought to take care of.

Its 326-litre boot is useful and there’s a handful of cubby holes, though curiously no cupholders. Clearly the French would rather we coolly sit our coffees in a stylish café than grab them crudely on the go…

The little A290 should otherwise slot into your life pretty neatly. Its 100kW peak DC charging is modest nowadays, though its 52kWh (useable) battery ensures even tame public chargers top it up with reasonable haste. A lighter car means a smaller battery, after all, with far-reaching benefits.

Alpine claims 15.9 kWh/100km efficiency from this more powerful GTS, and in stifling hot conditions and mixed (but occasionally rapid) driving, we scored 17.2.

With less forceful acceleration and air-con brought into play, its official figure looks easily in sight – and thus 250-300km of range feels achievable away from the test bench and in the real world.

There’s a heck of a lot to like then, and crucially this is a car that feels great regardless of its powertrain – much like its R5 relation. The French have always been rather deft at hot hatches, a trend which looks set to continue in the electrified age.

Let’s hope Aussies get to experience it too.