FIRST DRIVE: Alpine A290 – New Hot Hatch Champion?

The A290 is Alpine’s second coming after the splendid A110 sports car – and it could scarcely be more of a change! Joining the family alongside the (ageing but brilliant) turbocharged, mid-engined, rear-drive sports car is… a front-wheel drive, electric hot hatchback.

Yes, yes, we know EVs haven’t quite hit the mark with enthusiasts yet. But hot hatches are few and far between these days, and the A110 was stand-out special, so we should both be excited and give Alpine credit for bucking a gloomy trend.

How then, does the Alpine A290 stack up? Over to Top Gear Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Jack Rix, to find out…

WANT MORE TOP GEAR?

00:00 Intro
01:21 The Alpine A290
03:01 Power and performance
05:26 Handling
07:21 Styling
09:23 Interior
10:18 Gadgets
13:40 On track
15:39 Conclusion

MORE ABOUT TOP GEAR:

This is a commercial channel from BBC Studios.

[TopGear]

What do you think: is the new Alpine A290 the car to save the hot hatch?

[oskar]

You hinted at why in your first sentence...the "affordable" part. No modern "hot hatch" approaches being affordable. Companies all got carried away with performance, expensive seats, huge wheels, expensive tires, tech, fancy lighting/interiors, power figures, etc.

[paulhancock]

Would I take one over a GR Yaris? Absolutely not but it's a step in the right direction and it's a really cool and desirable object... Not just a soulless electrical appliance. Good job!

[andrewtingate]

As far as being a hot hatch goes, it seems like it does it well. The days of 1.6 turbos are gone sadly but this and the ioniq 5 N are only the beginning of electric hot hatches and im actually happy they're trying it, instead of just killing them off.

[AngusRShamal]

Every review complain about the "high" curb weight of this Alpine, even though it's one of the lightest in it's segment.
So I thought, let's look up some specs of the hot-hatches you've mentioned here — just for fun:

Golf GTI mk8: 1381-1501 kg
Golf R mk3: 1476-1562 kg
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N: 2194-2248 kg (EV)
Toyota GR Yaris: 1, 110–1, 280 kg
Honda Civic Type R: 1429 - ? kg
Abarth 500e: 1, 410 - 1720 kg (EV)
Mini Cooper SE JCW: 1670 - ? kg (EV)

Alpine A290: 1, 479 - 1579 kg (EV)

[homiefizzle]

217 HP for £33k is ridiculous, I know power isn't everything, but it's not like it's offering a super engaging experience either...

[existentialselkath]

So it's power, 0-60, and weight, is comparable to a Nissan leaf, but it's almost 40k! How is this a hot hatch?

[LorenzoTuratti]

If there was an Alpine version planned since the beginning, why wasn't the R5 built with a rear-engine/rear-wheel drive? With an EV, everything is simpler, and the Alpine would have made much more sense

[kindface]

And its little brother, the Renault in yellow absolutely nailed it in aethestics too for 10 grand less.

[TijgerTim]

The first Clio RS was a 138PS sub 1-tonne, sub 8-second hot-hatch. Now over thirty years later, the A290 GTS weighs over 50% more, and therefore needs nearly 60% more power to drop the 0-62 acceleration another 1½ seconds...

[sanderveenman]

So tired of car channels wanting to make us believe that 38K is "in the right place" for a tiny electric car. Its a joke

[magnustan]

Can’t wait for solid state batteries, but i think Renault and Alpine did a very nice job from everything I’ve seen. It’s looks great, is a good size, not too expensive for 2024 and power figures are just about right. 220hp doesn’t sound like much but I imagine that electric torque will make it feel very fast. The Corsa-e that my family rents using car sharing from time to time feels mega quick for a small hatch and it only has around 140hp and 250Nm.

[IncoG]

Not a bad looking thing, but i like the look, of the front, of the normal Renault 5, way better. Those X running lights on the Alpine, just looks off, and the missing Renault badge too. The normal wide daytime running lights on the stock Renault 5 is spot on.

[albertperks]

Love the sound, it looks great to. That must be the first EV I've seen that I thought I would actually like to own.

[westwalian]

I drive a Polo GTI (2023) which has the same performance as the Alpine, and looks very similar in shape and size. The Polo too has that level of refinement for normal driving conditions as well as the grunt factor. Mine cost £28k last year, and the Alpine is £38k. I think for £38k I'd want something extra - perhaps more acceleration. EVs need to get cheaper.

[dominicrusho]

ABSOLUTE GARBAGe it should have a V12 with 1000BHP and cost £8k max 👎

[Flared]

I still think making this the hot version of the new R5 instead of an homage to the mid-engine Turbo seems like a missed opportunity to me.

[pauliewalnuts]

217hp & 0-60 in 6.4 seconds are typical hot hatch numbers. Everyone thinks EVS are fast, but as they become more affordable, they're going to have smaller electric motors to cut cost.

They have to "wow" with impressive power now, but the models people will actually be able to afford will have modest electric motors, similar to their ice counterparts.

[shibby]

Can't wait to read the reports of someone accidentally pressing that red button on the steering wheel while manoeuvring in a multi storey 😂😂

[marcakko]

Thank you for thr review nice to watch .

For perspective the cupra born 230eboost weights is 1840kg so this alpine is 340kg lighter so Renault have done well to save that much weight thats like 4 medium adults lighter so definitely going in the right direction . The bmw i3s weights 1365kg and that has skinny tyres and very thin seats and full carbon fiber structure so Renault have done well .

I do think though once the 4wd version of this alpine comes out with around 300bhp+ that will be the one to watch for sure as this front wheel drive version doesn't seams spicy enough for most people spending thet kind of cash.