Alfa Romeo Junior review

Well, let’s start with the Veloce here given that it’s the one designed to be fun to drive. Of course, it’s FWD and has 276bhp and near-instant torque, so it could get untidy and collapse into torque steer: the new electric Mini Cooper does that when the road is bumpy.

But no. In normal mode the Veloce stays disciplined, taut and accurate. Dynamic mode gives you the full power, and loosens the ESP. There's some torque steer here, but it's not unmanageable, and feeling the wheel wriggle in your hands as you exit a bend under full power is an amusing indication you've given it all there is.

On the next bend, lift off the throttle as you approach the apex and you feel it tuck the nose and edge the tail. That sort of steer-by-throttle in a FWD car is a rarity these days, but it never feels ragged.

It's worth mentioning the brakes. There are no regeneration paddles but you still have options. In D mode, the blending strategy emphasises using the discs, which wastes energy but does give a firmer pedal. In N and A (advanced efficiency) modes, the pedal blending leans more towards regen, which means that slightly odd initial delay and soggy middle that most EVs suffer from.

There's also a B button for max regen, but since you can get that from the brake pedal, it's best reserved – as in most EVs – for when you're going down a long hill.

And the acceleration?

The D mode's full 276bhp is properly sprightly, not just away from low-speed obstructions but for main road overtakes and motorway speed too. In numbers, 0-62mph is 5.9 seconds and the maximum speed 125mph. On a test track it was still pulling with vim beyond 90mph.

In N and especially A, you get less power and torque unless you mash the pedal past a click point deep in the carpet. That means a longer pedal map, handy for being smooth in town driving.

What about cruising?

On motorway-type roads it's pretty stable given the quick steering ratio: this isn't one of those cars that needs lane centring assistance. Such an ADAS system is fitted as standard but wasn't live on our late-prototype tester.

The ride is taut but when we drove it in Italy, it avoided crashiness or the rubbery, secondary shudder that plagued previous small Alfas. It's quiet through the air even at big speeds.

And how’s the 154bhp Junior?

Ah yes. It turns out the Junior is a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde car, because while we’ve been impressed by the Veloce, the standard car is a little disappointing. Like the Veloce it does keep road and wind noise hushed, and on smaller wheels it soaks up bumps reasonably well. There's a fair amount of body roll in corners though, and both the steering and brake pedal are far too light and don’t offer much feel.

It’s not terrible, but if you’ve just jumped out of the Veloce you’ll wonder why those traits couldn’t be transplanted into the base car. 

Is it still quick enough?

Well, it’ll do 0-62mph in 9.0 seconds flat, so it’s really not that speedy. Top whack is just 93mph and it’ll only accept DC fast charge at up to 100kW, so even the recharging process won’t be all that rapid. The standard car does also get DNA drive modes, but in A mode the acceleration really is slow. Still, at least it does what it says on the tin: we managed a decent 3.9 mi/kWh on a mixed run. 

In all honesty though, it’s probably not the driving experience that lets the boggo Junior down. Much like all the other Stellantis EV crossovers, it’s not very engaging. It’s... fine. Unfortunately, the Junior can’t claw it back in other areas. Click through to the Interior tab of this review for more detail.