Written by James Dennison and Ryan Gilmore Updated: 18 July 2025

Overview

Should you buy an Alpine A290?

We think the Alpine A290 is a good buy if you’re after something small, electric and fun. It’s further proof that the hot hatch isn’t going the way of the dodo as manufacturers ditch petrol hot hatches. It retains all that’s good about the Renault 5 E-Tech it’s based on, and Alpine has done a convincing job of making it quicker, plusher inside, and even more fun to drive.

It’s not totally infallible though, the steering is a touch too light and try as it might, Alpine hasn’t been able to make the electric powertrain properly rewarding to work with. It retains the rear legroom issues that plague the 5, and it has inextricably lost its cupholders.  

But it’s hard to go wrong with such solid underpinnings, and the Alpine A290 is both enjoyable to drive and refined enough to be used daily with no bother. It’s a capable all-rounder and we like it rather a lot.

What’s new?

The Alpine A290 is the performance version of the Renault 5 E-Tech, an electric supermini that we think is the best small car on sale today. Alpine has increased power outputs, upgraded suspension, and made changes to the interior and exterior. It’s not hard to miss thanks to details such as the muscular arches, X pattern in the front lamps (a tribute to classic rally cars), and large aerodynamic aids such as a rear spoiler and diffuser.

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All this is in aid of making a small, fun electric performance car – an area where there’s been mixed results so far. There’s the painfully stiff MINI John Cooper Works Electric and fast-but-dull MG4 XPower loitering in the lower ranks to contend with, but also the enjoyable Cupra Born VZ and excellent Abarth 600e. It’s quite the mountain for Alpine to climb.

Renault has previous with small, lightweight hot hatchbacks – there’d be an entire wing in the hot hatch hall of fame dedicated to Renaultsport Clios – and the Alpine A110 is still our favourite sports car, so there’s a lot resting on the A290.  

We’ve spent a good amount of time behind the wheel of the Alpine, both in France and now in the UK. Given how impressed we’ve been with the Renault 5 E-Tech, can the new A290 prove just as desirable? Read on to find out.

What’s it like inside?

If you’ve seen the inside of a Renault 5 E-Tech, you’ll immediately spot the familiar shapes and controls in the A290, no bad thing as the 5’s interior looks excellent. There’s still a 10.25-inch digital dashboard display and a 10.1-inch infotainment screen, easy-to-use physical temperature switches and a good driving position – albeit with more supportive sports seats.

Alpine has done a good job of pulling the A290 upmarket with nicer materials, especially on GT Premium and GTS models which sport fancy Nappa leather. All cars get A290 logos and details throughout the cabin, as well as the sports steering wheel complete with F1-inspired buttons and dials. These control the overtake mode (a childish but addictive boost button that delivers maximum power with warp drive sound effects), regen (for the energy regeneration when braking) and drive modes.

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One thing we are disappointed to see is the total lack of cupholders in the cabin. This is because Alpine has changed the centre console to install buttons to control gear selection in a nod to its A110 sports car, but either way it’s a surprising omission for a seemingly practical hatchback. We’d much rather see a solitary cup holder than the dedicated key holder the car does feature.

Comfort

The sports seats fitted to the A290 are for the most part excellent. They’re nicely supportive, comfortable, and offer a good level of manual adjustment. All trim levels get heated seats as standard; a heated steering wheel is standard on GT Premium and GTS models.

Alpine A290 boot space and practicality

Our largest complaint with the Renault 5 is the compromised rear space, especially if the front passengers have their seats pushed all the way down, severely compromising rear foot space. Rear legroom isn’t great either, but smaller passengers should be able to endure a trip in the back with no issues.

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Boot space is a solid 326 litres, larger than the shoe-box-sized 210 litres found in a MINI, but smaller than the 360 litres offered in the larger Abarth 600e. There’s no frunk (storage under the bonnet), but there is underfloor storage in the boot for the charging cable.

Safety

The Alpine A290 hasn’t been crash tested, but it shares the same four-star rating as the Renault 5 E-Tech according to Euro NCAP. The A290 scored best for adult and child occupants with a score of 80%, while vulnerable road users scored 76% and safety assist was 68%.

As standard, the A290 includes adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist, distance alert, and a selection of airbags.

There’s an optional safety pack for an extra £300 that includes a slew of extra safety assistance technology designed to prevent crashes. This kit includes lane departure prevention when overtaking, blind spot monitoring, occupant exit alert, and reverse parking exit alert.

What it’s like to drive?

The Alpine A290kg weighs 1,479kg – heavy for a traditional hot-hatchback, but light as electric cars go. Using clever suspension modifications Alpine’s engineers have been able to extract the most from the A290’s handling to the point where it’s good fun in the corners, similar to a Renault 5, but tauter and more eager to turn in.

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Grip levels from the front tyres are very high – aided by a clever system that brakes the inside wheels in order to hold a tighter line through corners. The steering – while quite light in weight – is positive and direct and gives you plenty of confidence when it comes to placing the car on a narrow road. What’s more, the brake pedal has been specially tuned to give the best possible feedback (often an Achilles heel in EVs) and the results are impressive.

Adventurous drivers will no doubt enjoy the Alpine Telemetrics service that gives live performance data for the car, as well as giving you tips on how to get the most out of the A290’s handling. There’s even a ‘challenges’ section, that rewards you with bronze, silver and gold medals for achieving certain tasks such as best 0-62mph time.

We reckon Alpine has judged the performance of the A290 well. It’s quick, but not too fast and as such you can enjoy it at road speeds. However, for those after the traditional hot-hatch sensation of working a small engine as you run it through each gear, the A290’s EV powertrain may be somewhat sterile in comparison. There are two generated sound offerings to increase engagement, but neither quite do the trick.

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It must be said, however, that everyday driving manners are impressive. The suspension is firmer than a Renault 5, but not so much as to spoil the ride, plus refinement and usability (the A290 has a super-tight turning circle) are both accomplished.

Alpine A290 electric motors

The A290 is available with two power outputs – 180hp and 220hp. The former offers 285Nm of torque (pulling power), a top speed of 99mph, and 0-62mph in 7.4 seconds. Go for the 220hp model and this improves to 300Nm of torque, a top speed of 106mph, and 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds. Regardless of which one you opt for, power is delivered to the road via a single electric motor on the front wheels. Battery size, meanwhile, is 52kWh.

Range and charging

If you choose the 180hp model, the WLTP driving range is 236 miles. This drops to 226 miles for the 220hp model. So far, we’ve only driven the more powerful version and in our experience a real-world range of 170-180 miles is realistic but will drop notably quicker with any spirited driving.

Either way, a 100kW DC fast charger should deliver a 15-80% charge in around 30 minutes. Usefully, vehicle-to-load (allows the vehicle’s battery to power external devices) and vehicle-to-grid (allows the vehicle to feed excess power back to the grid) functionality is standard.

Ownership costs and maintenance 

The brilliance of a petrol hot hatch is the enjoyable driving experience comes without an eye-watering fuel bill or running costs. The electric A290 can take this even further, depending on how it’s charged. A home charger on the right energy tariff offers exceptionally frugal charging costs while a public fast charger will cost a lot more.  

Some good news is that all trim levels fall under the threshold for the Luxury Car Supplement, meaning vehicle excise duty (VED) for year’s two through five will be £195 per year (subject to any inflationary increases), not the £620 bill currently levied at cars costing more than £40,000.

There’s a three-year, 60,000-mile warranty with the option to extend coverage for an extra three years, while the battery has a separate, eight-year, 100,000-mile warranty. There’s also three-year service plan available to help spread maintenance costs.  

What models and trims are available?

There are four trim levels to choose from with the A290 – GT, GT Premium, GT Performance, and GTS. GT and GT Premium models use the less powerful motor; the GT Performance and GTS use the more powerful one.

All A290s are well-equipped with a wireless phone charge pad, heat pump, Arkamy’s speaker system, and Google-integrated infotainment system as standard.

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Upgrade to a GT Premium for Nappa leather interior and a posher Devialet sound system. The GT Performance loses the Nappa leather and fancy speaker system but gains stickier Michelin tyres, uprated brakes, and Alpine’s premium telemetric system. Top-spec GTS takes all the performance goodies from the GT Performance and re-adds all the plush niceties from the GT Premium.

Click through to the next page to see a breakdown of ratings for every aspect of the A290 or take a gander at how we test cars to reach our conclusion.