The Alfa Romeo Junior Comes Of Age

A lot of things in life go through a cycle of contemplation, conception, gestation, and birth. Cars are no different and at some stage naming has to take place. And the parents of the new small Alfa Romeo decided it was to be called Milano. Which was nice, but apparently nobody had mentioned that Italian law intended to stop foreign-built products pretending to be Italian. And the new Alfa was to be made in Poland. So the new baby is now called Junior.

You may or may not know, but Alfa has been making beautiful cars for over 100 years. Enzo Ferrari was their most famous test driver, and later racing team principal, learning the trade before famously branching out on his own.

And now Junior must introduce a new generation of buyers to the Alfa brand. Being of Italian heritage, it has to be stylish. Although it is based on the Stellantis family’s eCMP2 platform – which has given rise to the likes of the Jeep Avenger and Fiat 600e, amongst others – it has to carve its own niche.

Stellantis was born of an arranged marriage of financial convenience, allowing the sharing of costs to develop new cars, each brand retaining what it can of its own identity. Part owned by Fiat (Agnelli family) and the Peugeot family, their cars make up nearly 20 per cent of the Irish car market. Gone is the exorbitant spending to create unnecessary uniqueness. I remember a time in the 1980s when the wonderful Alfasud had a horizontally opposed four-cylinder engine with inboard discs, all the better for handling. Although this was (and still is) loved by enthusiasts, it did not translate into profitability for the company. There was a bit of an issue with rust, as was common at the time.

Distinctive

Anyway, the Alfa Junior styling is distinctive, with tasteful lines, colours, seats, and that unique grille. There is a family resemblance to the larger Tonale. But they haven’t managed to get their own unique exhaust. Pity.

There are similarities to the previously tested Fiat 500 hybrid, with the drivetrain feeling very familiar. This is a good thing because the hybrid can achieve 6.0l/100km economy with enthusiastic driving, or nearly 50mpg in old currency. The full title of the test car is the Junior Ibrida (Italian for Hybrid).

The combined bhp of the three-cylinder petrol/electric hybrid is 145bhp, with 28bhp of that from electricity. The figure you’ll feel most is the 231Nm of torque helping to give a 0-100km/h time of about 8.9 seconds.

Grip

Handling is linear and sure-footed, with a nice grip. Dare I call it enjoyable? You’ll get plenty of warning as you approach the limits of adhesion. No doubt the slightly firm suspension helps, but it will remain surprisingly comfortable unless abused.

Although the hybrid system doesn’t propel the car on electric power alone very often, it helps smooth out the six-speed automatic gearbox (technically a dual-clutch transmission) and provides an extra boost when needed. The engine is quiet in most situations, and in town it’s often difficult to notice when it starts or stops.

One feature I particularly liked is how the Junior can ‘creep’ forward on electric power alone, especially in slow-moving traffic. The press release claimed this could happen up to 50 per cent of the time, although with my driving style it occurred less frequently. Likewise, when you lift off the accelerator and begin to slow down, the car often relies on the electric motor rather than the engine. Naturally, if you accelerate more firmly or the battery charge is low, the engine restarts. There’s also a Sport mode if you prefer to keep the engine running and ready to respond at all times.

The dash is angled nicely towards the driver, and the steering wheel has several physical buttons for various functions. There are also buttons under the multimedia screen for climate control. Like a lot of new cars, when you get to a certain age you might need help to navigate the multimedia menus. Apple CarPlay is available on the Junior, but I wasn’t able to access it.

Premium Pack

My test car came with the Premium Pack, which adds an electrically adjustable driver’s seat – though the front passenger still has to make do with manual adjustments. Front space is perfectly adequate, but this is a relatively short car and, with 415 litres of boot space, there’s an inevitable trade-off. Rear legroom isn’t especially generous. Swings and roundabouts, as they say.

The car is marketed as having SUV styling. Personally, I sometimes wonder where the line is drawn between an SUV and something that merely looks like one – but that’s a debate for another day. The Junior is both shorter and lower than the segment’s best-seller, the Toyota Yaris Cross, yet it offers 16 per cent more luggage capacity. It also passes the all-important ‘bike in the boot’ test, accommodating a bicycle with only the front wheel removed.

Standard equipment levels are generous. Highlights include automatic air conditioning, keyless start, autonomous emergency braking with vulnerable road user recognition, LED headlights, electrically adjustable door mirrors, rear parking sensors, and adaptive cruise control.

For those wanting more, the optional Technology Pack adds features such as blind-spot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, and traffic jam assist. There’s also a Premium Pack, which upgrades the cabin with a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gear selector, heated premium seats with a massage function, aluminium sports pedals, and rear privacy glass.

Three electric versions are available: Elettrica, Elettrica Speciale, and Elettrica 240 Veloce. The first two produce 156bhp and offer a claimed range of up to 410km (WLTP, of course). The Veloce raises output to 240bhp, although official range figures were not available at the time of writing. Using a 100kW DC fast charger, a 10 to 80 per cent recharge should take around 30 minutes.

At the time of writing, the Alfa Junior Ibrida and Elettrica are priced very similarly, both starting from €34,995, including grants and VRT relief.

It’s well worth a look if you enjoy driving.