The moment is precious: it's the one where we start to see a car appear in the landscape without being tired of it yet, when every time we come across a Renault 5, the"wow effect"still works. It must be said that the designers have done a lot to revive this icon, whether we knew it at the time (the 70s) or not. A “newstalgia” – as Renault calls it – that works at least as well with its Alpine-badged cousin, the A290. More muscular, more aggressive, it strongly evokes its performance as a hot hatch, as the English say. Here, we could say GTI. Small cars like there were so many in the 80s, pimped with big engines and looks on steroids, synonymous with performance (and sometimes front axles overwhelmed by the influx of power…). Having fallen out of fashion with stricter speed limits, crises, and trends, they're now making a strong comeback in 100% electric mode. It's logical. Here is our opinion on the Renault Alpine A290 after a test with the pedal to the metal.
Visual identity: explicit!
As is often the case, it all starts with a look. This is what designers pay particular attention to in order to give expression and personality to their creations. And in the case of Alpine, the signature is typically recognizable by its four staggered headlights, like those of the iconic A110 from the beginning. Here, the daytime running lights echo the gimmick of the crosses on rally headlights (a sticker that was used to prevent glass from breaking). The widened tracks establish the car's look, firmly positioned on its 19-inch wheels with highly sculpted rims, highlighted by the fender extensions and XL side skirts. The specific rear doors also make their contribution, as do the small rear spoiler and diffuser. In short, there's going to be some sport with this little toy packed into 3.99 m!
A fun cockpit
Settling in, comfortably settled in the lovely semi-bucket seats in Nappa leather, the first thing you notice is the steering wheel: very much in the sporty spirit, with a flattened surface and a rim dedicated to gripping in the ideal position, the contrasting midpoint in the line of sight. In addition to the usual controls (driving aids and screen navigation), it incorporates promising little colored buttons, Formula 1 style. In blue, the regeneration setting (no one pedal mode at this stage), in red, a boost function and in black, the driving modes. video game cockpit. The picture continues with the dual screen (about ten inches each) with specific interfaces on the alpine theme... with peaks whose peaks turn red in sport mode in the instrumentation. The central screen facing the driver helps him become a pilot with coaching prepared by the car's test drivers, while telemetry functions allow the calculation of data from a driving session, with acceleration Gs and times achieved on the circuit. By delving into this very vast and "gamified" offer, we will also find performance or endurance challenges to take on. Everything is done with Google Automotive, which currently makes the Renault group one of the best equipped in this field. That's enough to vary the pleasures, but before focusing on the driving sensations, a word on the practical aspects of the car. Rear passengers are less well-off (as in the R5) and it is difficult to envisage long journeys with good-sized adults. On the other hand, the trunk volume of 326 l is more than enough for a weekend for two. With 220 hp and 300 Nm of torque delivered to the front wheels alone, there were concerns about the sporting efficiency of this little bomb. But that was without taking into account the finesse of the electric motor management developed by the Dieppe brand's engineers. A patented system manages the arrival of torque upstream to avoid any loss of traction control, before being subtly distributed between the wheels by an electronic differential. The result: no sudden reactions when exiting corners, especially since the grip of the specially developed Michelin Pilot Sport S5 tires is formidable. With a 0 to 100 km/h time of 6.4 s, the performance box is ticked but the Alpine A290 did not want to make it a hard-core sensation machine, we are here more in subtlety and homogeneity. And the repeatability of performance, to avoid the disappointing effect after a few accelerations with all the red lights of some competitors... The A290, even in its GTS version, is easy to handle, lively, agile, and everyone will find their way around it. On the other hand, it's harder to pull off fun slides behind the wheel without instructions. It's fast without being tricky, fun without being demonstrative, and makes you forget its 1.5-ton weight. And it remains comfortable for everyday use thanks to its excellent shock absorbers with hydraulic stops. By playing with the OV button, which triggers a sort of boost, you can reach the car's maximum acceleration without mashing the right pedal, while regeneration is easily adjusted on the steering wheel with the RCH lever. As for the braking by wire(a rarity), it is particularly well calibrated and offers an excellent feeling. In addition to the sound ambiance that accompanies the different modes (without trying to mimic a combustion engine), the on-board sound system is by Devialet (615 watts and 9 speakers). But we have already seen more ample sounds elsewhere. Speaking of sounds, the annoying alerts of certain ADAS can be easily disconnected from a dedicated button on the dashboard. Thank you! The top speed is limited to 170 km/h, which seems reasonable given the fuel consumption, which quickly tends to rise. In sporty driving on mountain roads, which are certainly very demanding in this respect, we reached up to 25 kWh/100 km, while it is approved for 16.5 kWh/100 km (achievable in very quiet driving). Enough to see the autonomy melt from its theoretical 364 km to 200 km. The 52 kWh gross battery accepts DC fast charging limited to just 100 kW, which gives a jump from 15 to 80% in 30 min. Fortunately, its excellent autonomy planner with Google Maps allows you to find the saving terminal and prepare the battery for recharging. Note that, like the R5, the A290 can provide bidirectional charging, potentially feeding power back into the grid (V2G) and saving a little money. Regarding the price, our top-of-the-range GTS version is available at €44,700. Its manufacture in France allows it to access the ecological bonus to (somewhat) ease the burden on the wallet. Enough to help you swallow the pill if you fall in love with it, which is quite possible when you get behind the wheel of this fun and chic little car! Competition is currently limited in this segment of small electric sports cars, Mini, and Stellantis with Lancia, Alfa Romeo, and Fiat aside. The Alpine has great consistency in its balanced definition between sportiness and everyday usability. It seeks efficiency more than excess: enough to appreciate it over the long term without tiring.
The gift of agility
Our opinion at the end of the test
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