30/01/2025 Any new Alfa is a good thing, right? Yes of course! The motoring world is a better place with Alfa Romeo’s on our streets. The five-seat compact SUV/crossover has a name that was not the design teams’ first choice, it was due to be called Milano after the famous Italian city. The reason for the change was due to the car being built outside of Italy and the firm was pressured into using a different name – hence Junior. The name hints to the fact it is the new entry point to the historic Italian brand.
Junior is a multifuel car and initially comes as an EV (Elettrica) with two power outputs (156hp/280hp). A petrol hybrid (Ibrida) 136hp version is on the way in Q1 of this year. Junior is a sister car to several other cars from brands in the Stellantis group (e.g. Opel Mokka/Jeep Avenger/FIAT 600 etc.). As a group car sitting on the e-CMP2 platform, it features loads of tried and tested Stellantis parts and powertrains. The upside to this commonality is that it should/will be a lot more reliable than Alfas’ of old – remember the Mito! The Junior comes with a 5-year warranty and that is simply great for an Alfa.
Outside, the Junior has impressive street presence. The Alfa grille dominates a well-styled front end that also features a centre-mounted registration plate and classy clamshell bonnet. Side-on there are some nice creases in the bodywork and the almost obligatory hidden rear door handles – that look great but small children can’t reach, if they can, the handles are still awkward to operate! but more importantly distinctive Alfa alloy wheels. The rear of the car resolves nicely, hinting at a premium-car level attention to detail that nods to a historic Alfa’s design. Owners will enjoy hand washing this car as there are plenty of design elements to enjoy.
Inside, you will need to raise your feet a little higher than most cars to step over the door sill, there are nods to Alfa with a cockpit that tries to be driver-focussed. The cabin and seat materials are good but there is plenty of hard surfaces with some Alfa embossing offering literal relief. If there was a prize for air vents the Junior has perhaps the best-looking front air vents in the class, featuring illuminated Alfa emblems.
The cabin of our ‘Speciale’ test car was equipped with a few options such as heavily bolstered sporty front seats. These GT-inspired hip-huggers certainly make the front occupants feel a bit special but they rob space from the rear where passengers’ legroom is tight to begin with. The split floor boot holds a respectable 400 litres. There is a charging cable-sized frunk under the bonnet.
The electric motor pushes out 156hp to the front wheels and is powered by a 54kWh rechargeable battery. 0-100km/h takes 9 seconds and feels a little quicker in reality. There is an 11kW charger onboard and using its CCS cable it can fast charge at up to 100kW. Alfa quotes a maximum driving range from full of 406km (WLTP combined) and an average energy consumption figure of 15.3kWh/100km. The battery has the industry standard 8-year limited mileage warranty.
On the road, the 1.56 tonne Junior delivers a driving experience that is better than most EV rivals thanks to some slight suspension tuning. it goes, turns and stops without any vices. If you are after greater driving involvement you can spend a little more to get more dynamic performance from the ‘Veloce’ version. The Veloce has 280hp/345nm and does 0-100km/h in 5.9 seconds, it also has a higher top speed. As you would expect there is buckets of ADAS onboard and good connectivity. Pricing starts from €34,995 (Junior Elettrica). Our test car the Junior Elettrica Speciale starts from €38,950.
While most petrolheads will dismiss the Junior as yet another cynical rebranding of Stellantis metal, the fact that the car looks sharp and projects a bit of personality in a sea of blandness – must be applauded. At 4.17m long and only 1.78m wide the Junior is super urban-friendly and a joy to use (and park) about town. Michael Sheridan
