Written by Luke Wilkinson Updated: 27 June 2025

Overview

Should you buy an Alpine A390? 

It’s too early to say, but the signs are promising given the excellence of parent company Renault’s current EV lineup. Ultimately, we’ll need to drive one on the road before answering that question, and at any rate orders don’t open until early 2026. 

If you’re thinking along the lines of a Porsche Macan or BMW iX2 and you’re not in a big rush, the Alpine A390 could well be a worthy contender. Whether or not it drives just like a five-seat A110 on the road is yet to be seen. In terms of acceleration and intuitive handling I could definitely feel shades of sports car in the A390. 

Responsive and joyful to drive even on a wet test track, this is one I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of in the UK. 

---

What’s new?

14

Everything! If you’re any good at recognising storylines, then it’s quite likely you’ll have already worked out Alpine’s intended direction of travel for the A390. If not, here’s the plot: specialist sports car maker develops mass-market SUV to reach a broader audience and make more money, without compromising its core values, so it can continue making sports cars. A well-trodden path in recent years. 

Alpine says it hasn’t used any A110 parts in its quest to make an SUV that handles like one, although that’s perhaps unsurprising given the difference in size. But more of a shock is the fact it hasn’t carried anything over from the electric Renault 5-based Alpine A290 hot hatch. 

14

There’s not a lot of detail we can share ahead of the A390’s official reveal, other than it gets electric motors front and rear, and 400v architecture. There’s more interest the deeper you dive though – like the fact this car has a unique wheelbase (the distance between the axles) and features three motors rather than two. It also has its own suspension, steering system, and brakes, plus different battery chemistry and heat management. 

That’s all good news for that ambitious goal of making it handle like a sports car. Ultimately Alpine can’t do much about the car’s overall weight – the battery contributing a significant and unchangeable amount – but it can (it says) make it feel agile and light using some clever tech. Which I can talk about at length, having driven it. 

14

What’s it like to drive? 

There is a caveat there, I’ve only tested it at Michelin’s wet test track in France. The previous launch event for this car was on snow and ice though, so we’re getting more relevance with every invite. 

And actually, a wet surface gave me the chance to experience the handling of the car at extremes that would be harder to reach in the dry, so it’s a worthwhile exercise. Alpine’s principal weapon in the quest to hide the A390’s kerbweight is something called Active Torque Vectoring. 

What it does is cleverly shuffle the power around the car’s wheels depending on where it can be most effective, and that’s shaped by the driving mode you’re in, so the sportier modes allow the back end of the car to step out more in a corner. 

14

The Alpine A390 feels like it had a great base to start with though, thanks to the low centre of gravity afforded by the battery and a 49:51 weight distribution. This combination makes it feel very balanced and ultimately leads to clearer and more intuitive responses to inputs on the steering wheel or pedals. 

Four driving modes (Normal, Sport, Track and an individual setting) allow you to set up the car to handle the way you want, from very tied down and secure, to a much slacker feeling in Sport and Track, the latter allowing some pretty big slides before the electronic safety net pulls it all straight. Altogether, I thought this worked really well, enhancing the driving experience rather than limited it by interfering.  

14

What’s it like inside, and what models and trims are available? 

We won’t know until the official reveal later in 2025 I’m afraid, but we can tell you about the steering wheel, which features an overtake button and recharge toggle inspired by the F1 car, apparently. 

There’s also a clever interior soundtrack designed to help the driver (rather than just piping in a fake engine noise) and this includes elements inspired by the A110, such as a bassy rumbling sound at low speed. 

You get two versions and three volume levels (including the ability to just turn it off) and each of the three electric motors was strapped to a test bench so an authentic sound could be recorded.  

On the next page you’ll find a recap of what I do and don’t like about the Alpine A390 as well some provisional ratings. And don’t forget, you can find out all about how we test cars on our dedicated explainer page. Here’s why you should trust us, too.