The Alfa Romeo Junior Much Cheaper Than Expected

Italian car for a long time was associated with questionable reliability, sometimes rust, and above all, outrageous prices. But that was before the Alfa Romeo Junior.

For six years, since the discontinuation of the formidable MiTo, Alfa Romeo hadn’t ventured into the compact segment. A slightly higher return with the small SUV Milano… no wait, Junior!!!

The Alfa Romeo Junior is the Latin variant of a Stellantis platform already seen on the Opel Mokka, the Fiat 600, the Peugeot 2008, and the Jeep Avenger. A sign of seriousness and quality, but for the technical novelty, keep moving along— you’ve already seen everything!

With a length of 4.17 meters, the Junior is a few centimeters longer than the Avenger and the Mokka, identical in size to the 600 and slightly shorter than the 2008. But it must be acknowledged that Alfa manages to stand out thanks to its style. The front lights unfortunately have a fierce Renault look, but it doesn’t matter because the eyes are immediately drawn to the dark air intakes at the lower part and the oversized Alfa logo placed in the middle of the grille. It’s bold but ultimately successful thanks to the asymmetry of the logo.

We knew that the Junior would be offered in a 100% electric version, and we feared that it would inherit Stellantis’s usual battery and charging configuration, with a capacity of 54 kWh and recharges up to 100 kW… and unfortunately we were right. 154 hp, 400 km of range announced with reckless optimism, and charging rarely exceeding 50 kW—this is really not worthy of an Italian diva. It’s a bit lightweight.

Named Junior Ibrida, the hybrid version features a 1.2-liter three-cylinder gasoline engine developing 134 hp boosted by a 28 hp electric motor integrated into the six-speed automatic transmission. A classic front-wheel drive allowing about 50% of driving in electric mode in the city. Stellantis’s marketing pitch is well-honed and logically, this version will secure the majority of sales especially with such an attractive starting price.

But an Alfa is a car you live in from the inside. Sculptural bucket seats, ambient lighting, and especially these two round digital screens — you immediately feel in an Alfa. Ultimately, we spend more time inside the car than outside admiring its lines, and no 2008, Mokka, or Avenger offers this experience.

The pleasant surprise of the prices

Maximizing synergies with the Jeep Avenger, Car of the Year 2023, seems logical for Alfa Romeo since the Milano is built on the same production line in Tychy, Poland. A scale economy that allows Alfa to feature very appealing prices.

The range starts at 29,500 euros for the Ibrida in Junior trim with the 1.2-liter mild hybrid engine of 136 hp. Good news, it’s 1,400 euros less than the Peugeot 2008 with the same engine.

For the Junior Elettrica of 154 hp and 54 kWh, the price is 38,500 euros, still 1,750 euros less than an e-2008 with the same powertrain. The 237 hp version, much more interesting but sadly with the same battery that limits range to 360 km in WLTP cycle, starts at 46,900 euros in Veloce trim. It’s expensive for the thrill of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 6 seconds, but it remains theoretically eligible for the ecological bonus.

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