Alfa Romeo Junior Electric Review & Prices

Alfa Romeo has achieved two firsts with the Junior. Not only is it the Italian brand’s first electric car, but it’s also its first properly small SUV. The Junior isn’t a pureblood Alfa Romeo though, as it’s based on the same platform as its cousins in the Stellantis Group - namely the Vauxhall Mokka Electric, Peugeot E-2008 and Citroen e-C4.

It’s like a chicken korma in a vibrant sauce. It may appear to be a spicy vindaloo, especially if it’s bright red, but beneath the sauce is a rather plain dish. It only takes one bite to realise it, too.

The Junior may not be as sporty as its looks suggest, but it’s a pleasant car to live with, much like its Stellantis stablemates. It’s a capable alternative to the likes of the Volvo EX30, Smart #1, Hyundai Kona and, if you’re shopping at the top of the price range, the Tesla Model Y.

Compared with the mechanically similar Mokka and E-2008, the Junior features plenty of Italian flair in its design. There’s a super-sized Alfa Romeo motif in the classic triangular grille, with aggressive, pointy headlights and mildly flared wheel arches giving the Junior a purposeful stance. The rear of the Junior is the most interesting part of its design, with a bluff rear end crowned by the upside down U-shaped taillights.

Alfa Romeo Junior: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 207 - 255 miles
Efficiency: 4.0 - 5.0 mi/kWh
Battery size: 51kWh
Max charge speed: 100kW
Charge time AC: 7hr 15m 0 - 100%
Charge time DC: 30 minutes 20 - 80%
Charge port location: Left side rear
Power outputs: 156 - 280hp

The interior is nowhere near as stylish as the exterior, unfortunately. The Junior is chock full of hard, scratchy plastics and the only soft-touch surfaces are covered in a cheap-feeling neoprene-esque material. Even the glovebox cover has a sharp edge to it, and the easily recognisable switchgear from the Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall feels out of place in a sporty brand such as Alfa Romeo.

Front seat space isn’t bad, but the rear of the Junior is cramped and rather dark with small windows. Three children can fit in fairly comfortably, but adults will be tight for knee room. The 400-litre boot is spacious though, with more room than the Citroen e-C4 though the Renault Scenic and Kia Niro have the Junior beat for space.

Entry level Juniors are simply called the Junior Elletrica, or electric in English, with the mid-range Speciale model and the range-topping Veloce rounding out the bunch. A 156hp motor comes in the regular models, which are good for around 250 miles of range. The sporty Veloce is fitted with a 280hp motor and a slew of under-the-skin upgrades to improve performance at the expense of range, which falls to just over 200 miles.

It’s a comfortable car which does a good job of soaking up lumps and bumps in the road, especially around town, but the motor feels lethargic and there’s very little sense of grip through the steering wheel which gives you a touch of uncertainty in fast bends. Motorways are comfortable with little wind or road noise, but Alfa Romeos are historically sporty cars - and the Junior feels anything but.

If you want a stylish, comfortable SUV to potter about in then have a look at our Alfa Romeo Junior Electric deals. If you want some Italian style in a different size, check out our Alfa Romeo deals on other models or browse used Alfa Romeos for sale instead. Carwow can even help you sell your car when the time comes to switch.

The Alfa Junior range kicks off at just under £34,000, which makes it pricier to buy than the Citroen e-C4 or Vauxhall Mokka Electric but cheaper than the DS 3 E-Tense or Peugeot E-2008. All of these cars share technology, batteries and motors, so the Alfa takes up its position as the middle child.

An MG4 EV offers more range for less money but otherwise the Alfa seems like reasonable value for the performance you get. However, a Volvo EX30 or Kia Niro EV have more range and more power for not much more money.

The Junior Veloce is good fun, but the standard model is a bit of a snoozefest on a good road

In town

The Junior feels pretty well identical to a Peugeot E-2008 when it comes to driving. That’s not a bad thing around town, though. The throttle is nicely progressive - not always a given on electric cars, which can feel quite hyperactive - and the steering is sharp and accurate.

Visibility out of the front is good, though the rear pillars are very thick and the rear window quite narrow so you don’t get the best view out of the rear. The Junior rides low-speed bumps quite firmly, leading to a bit of bouncing around at town speeds - but that’s the case with lots of other small EVs, especially ones on large alloy wheels.

On the motorway

If you were expecting an Alfa Romeo to be the last word in straight-line performance, befitting of the firm’s glorious motorsport history… you’ll be disappointed. The Junior’s 156hp feels pretty sluggish on the motorway, and you’ll need to more or less floor it on sliproads or during overtakes.

While there’s plenty of power low down, over about 50mph it soon begins to tail off. A Volvo EX30 or Kia Niro EV have more generous power outputs, and feel more at home on the motorway as a result. That’s not helped by the fact the Junior limits overall power output in ‘Natural’ mode - if you want the full 156hp, you need to be in ‘Dynamic’ mode.

The Junior’s ride smooths out at high speeds, so it’s quite comfortable, and it’s not too noisy either. The standard adaptive cruise control works pretty well, too, so it should be quite relaxing when you’re doing a long stint behind the wheel. Or as long as the Junior’s circa-200 mile real-world range will allow.

On a twisty road

A twisting road really shows up the Junior’s most disappointing aspects. It’s perfectly safe, stable and neutral on a good road, but there’s almost zero fun to be had in chasing corners - and that’s just not what an Alfa Romeo should be about.

Remote-feeling steering, not very much power in reserve and unnervingly spongy brakes means you’re unlikely to find yourself tempted to take the fun B-road home. It’s a real shame when you think that Alfa’s other cars - particularly the Giulia and Stelvio - excel in this area.

The Veloce does claw some points back, as it has significantly more power as well as a limited-slip differential which means it can corner much faster. We’ve only tested this on a tight karting track so far, but we’re sure it’ll be much more fun than the standard model on a good road.

Reasonable space for the car’s size, but alternatives have bigger boots and more spacious rear seats

The Junior’s front seats are pretty comfortable, especially in the Veloce model where you get really supportive sports seats. But even the standard models hold you quite well in the corners, and have plenty of adjustment for drivers of all sizes.

Storage spaces are about average. There are decent door bins, capacious cupholders and a wireless phone charging pad with space around it for odds and ends from your pockets. The glovebox is tiny, though, as it has to share space with the fuse box.

Space in the back seats

Kneeroom for rear passengers isn’t brilliant. A six-foot passenger will fit behind a similarly-sized driver, but you wouldn’t want to carry anybody much taller than that for a long period. Headroom isn’t amazing either.

Rear passengers get a couple of USB ports, but that’s about it - there’s no centre armrest and no door bins for storage. While you can carry three across the rear, the centre seat is set higher than the other two and the cabin’s quite narrow, so there isn’t a lot of shoulder room for adults. There’s also a hump in the floor, limiting space for their feet.

You get ISOFIX points on both outer rear seats, and installing a child seat isn’t too difficult as the doors open quite wide.

Boot space

With 400 litres of space, the Junior has a little more room than a Citroen e-C4 (380 litres) or a Volvo EX30 (318 litres). A Peugeot E-2008 or Kia Niro EV have more room, though, with 434 and 475 litres respectively.

The Alfa’s boot has a flat floor and no loading lip, and the seats fold flat easily in a 60:40 split leaving a nice flat loading area. There’s also an adjustable boot floor, which you can lower to give more space - but it’d be easier to leave it in its higher position so you get a storage space underneath it for cables.

There is a frunk, of sorts, but it’s very shallow and only suited to cable storage. You’ll have to coil it up quite carefully to fit, so we suspect most owners will simply sling it in the boot instead.

Infotainment system works well, but the interior feels cheap and there are too many buttons recognisable from Peugeots, Citroens and Vauxhalls

The Junior’s interior doesn’t feel particularly special, which again is a shame. You don’t have to be particularly eagle-eyed to spot that almost every switch is shared with the Peugeot E-2008, and those that aren’t are borrowed from the Fiat 600 instead. The starter button, gear selector and drive mode switch should all feel special in a car designed for keen drivers, and they simply don’t. The latter is also placed really far back on the centre console, so it’s a stretch to reach it.

While Veloce models get a big swathe of Alcantara across the dashboard to feel more premium, the regular car gets a cheap-feeling fabric instead. It also gets a hard plastic dash top and door cards - not very premium. A Peugeot E-2008 feels much posher inside, with higher-quality materials.

The Junior also inherits its infotainment system from other Stellantis cars, but this isn’t a bad thing as it brings a sharp widescreen display that’s quite responsive. The interface isn’t always the easiest to navigate but you can customise your homescreen easily to make sure you always have a shortcut to the place you want to go. And it’s good that Alfa has fitted a strip of physical climate control switches, so that you don’t have to fiddle about in the touchscreen simply to adjust the temperature.

The regular Alfa Romeo Junior has an official range of up to 255 miles. From our experience with other cars that use this battery and motor combination, we’d say that around 200 miles of real-world driving is a good estimate - one that’ll obviously go down if you’re too liberal with the application of your right foot.

That’s not too bad considering the Junior has quite a modest-sized battery, and reflects good efficiency and reduced running costs. If you need to go further, though, there’s no option for a larger-battery model like you get with some alternatives - so you’ll have to look to something like a Volvo EX30 Extended Range, an MG4 Long Range, or a Kia Niro EV - all of which will comfortably do over 250 miles in the real world.

The Veloce has a claimed range of 207 miles, reflecting its higher performance. We haven’t driven this model on the road yet but we’d estimate around 160 miles to be achievable - watch this space.

With a maximum charge rate of 100kW, Alfa claims you can top up the Junior’s battery from 20 - 80% in around 30 minutes. That’s about par for the course with cars of this size. As a fully electric car the Junior is very cost-effective for company car tax, and it doesn’t pay any road tax or London Congestion Charge until 2025.

Euro NCAP hasn’t tested the Alfa Romeo Junior yet, nor has it tested the electric versions of any of its sister cars. The Peugeot 2008, Vauxhall Mokka and DS 3 have all been tested in their petrol forms between 2019 and 2022, and scored four stars, which is an acceptable if not outstanding result.

The Junior gets a full suite of safety systems as standard, of course, and even the driver attention monitor and lane-keeping aids aren’t too obtrusive. The collision warning system is strangely slow to chime in once it notices a potential bump though, almost like a gentle morning alarm.

It’s easy to set up a shortcut to turn off all of the additional safety systems at the start of your drive, which is what we’d be doing.

The Junior is obviously too new to have any reliability data. Alfa Romeo scored a respectable mid-table 13th out of 32 brands in the 2024 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, and the Junior’s sister vehicles have been out for some years now with no major issues reported. Warranty cover is a fairly standard-for-the-industry three years, with the first two being unlimited mileage. The battery itself is covered by a separate eight-year/100,000-mile warranty, which is pretty standard too - but adds a layer of reassurance if you’re worried about the longevity of an electric car.