Alfa Romeo Junior Electric Review & Prices

This is the Alfa Romeo Junior – an all-electric SUV with impressive performance and bold, stylish design. Officially known as ‘Junior Elettrica’ thanks to its Italian roots, it shares much of its mechanical underpinnings with the Jeep Avenger Electric, Peugeot E-2008 and Vauxhall Corsa Electric. So it’s a bit like ordering a continental breakfast in a London hotel.

As a result of all this, the Junior gets the same 51kWh battery as you’ll find in the Avenger Electric, and the same 154hp electric motor, as well as a range of around 250 miles for the entry-level versions. The battery charges at a maximum of 100kW on DC power, which is a little disappointing, and at 11kW on AC power, meaning it will easily charge up overnight on cheap-rate electricity. 

However, there is another Junior and one which does a better job of living up to the Alfa badge’s sporting history — the Veloce version has 280hp and can sprint to 62mph in 5.9 seconds. It has to make do with just over 200 miles of range, so you’ll have to top it up more if you want the extra power.

If that’s still not enough for you, there will also be hybrid-engined versions of the Junior, but those arrive later.

That quickness of the Veloce version at least allows the Junior to back up its sporty looks on the outside. It’s far from the prettiest car that Alfa Romeo has ever made, but with that distinctive V-shaped grille at the front, the wraparound headlights, and the pert rear with its Maserati-style brake lights, this is a very attractive car on the outside, at least by the standards of small SUVs. 

Inside, things are a little more mixed. The dashboard uses some neat screens, including the same set of gorgeous digital dials as seen in the Tonale SUV. The central infotainment screen is a bit less successful, using the same software as Peugeot and Jeep which is a bit too fiddly, but at least there are proper, physical buttons for the air conditioning, which helps a lot. 

The Veloce version gets big, high-backed bucket seats in the front, with a triangular cut-out that makes them look like futuristic robots sent back in time to hold you comfortably in place. Things are a bit less impressive in the back, where legroom is in short supply and the Junior Electric feels cramped. And there’s only one USB socket in the back — that’s going to start a fight at some point. At 400 litres, the boot is fine but nothing special. 

Overall cabin quality isn’t so great either, as there are just too many cheap plastics around, although the way things are bolted together feels pretty good at least. 

We’ll update this review with driving impressions once we’ve been behind the wheel. In the meantime you can find a great price with Carwow’s Alfa Romeo Junior Electric deals. You can also browse other used Alfa Romeo models, and when it’s time to sell your current car, Carwow can help with that, too.

Oddly, given that Alfa Romeo is in theory a properly premium brand, the Junior is actually slightly cheaper in its basic form than the cheapest Jeep Avenger Electric. The difference is only a few hundred pounds, but that might be enough to tip the balance for some, not least because of the Junior’s sharper styling.

The Junior is also considerably cheaper than the BMW iX1 and Mercedes EQA, to the tune of more than £10,000, but then both the BMW and the Mercedes have longer ranges and considerably bigger cabins than the Alfa. 

Perhaps the incoming electric Mini Aceman is a better comparison, and that’s around £2,000 cheaper for the basic model, although with slightly shorter range than either Junior trim.