New Alpine A290: fast electric hot hatch goes on sale from £33,500

• Fully electric hot hatchback based on the new Renault 5
• 178bhp and 217bhp versions; up to 236 miles of range
• On sale now from £33,500

Alpine has officially entered its electric era with the all-new Alpine A290, a battery-powered hot hatchback that has just landed in showrooms. The French brand promises that the small EV can live up to the same three pillars of “performance, agility and lightweight” that made the Alpine A110 such a highly-regarded sports car, although the two cars go about things in very different ways.

The A290 isn’t trying to be a direct follow-up to the two-seater performance coupe. For starters, Alpine has confirmed that prices for the A290 will start from £33,500 – that’s over £20,000 less than the A110. And then we get to what’s under the bonnet. Like its sister car – the Renault 5 – the Alpine A290 is electric only, taking the French performance brand in a new direction, offering greater daily usability and serving as the first step towards its zero-emissions future.

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It’s still early days for the electric hot hatchback, but the Alpine A290 will square up against the Abarth 500e and the new MINI Cooper SE when the first examples arrive in April 2025. It’ll also have to prove its worth against the traditional, petrol-powered hot hatchback establishment, including the Volkswagen Golf GTI and the Cupra Leon.

What do I need to know about the new Alpine A290?

Under the blue paintwork – an £1,100 option – the Alpine A290 is essentially a souped-up version of the new Renault 5 hatchback. While that model makes do with up to 121bhp, the A290 gets a bigger electric motor from the Renault Megane E-Tech. It’s available with two different outputs – 178bhp or 217bhp – but power is still sent solely to the front wheels. The more potent of the pair will launch from 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds; that’s 0.3 seconds quicker than the MINI Cooper SE but nearly a second behind the 322bhp Volkswagen ID.3 GTX.

The motor is powered by a 54kWh battery pack, enabling a maximum range of up to 236 miles – this figure drops to 226 miles for the more powerful 217bhp model. While that’s not quite as far as the Renault 5, you get the same 100kW rapid charging, enabling a 10-80% recharge in around half an hour. 

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Alpine has given the Renault 5’s chassis a thorough rethink to handle the extra power and to improve handling, reduce body roll and deliver greater high-speed stability. The electric motor mount, brakes and suspension have all been tinkered with by Alpine’s engineers, with the handling further improved by a relatively low weight of 1,479kg – some 200kg less than the MINI Cooper SE.

The Alpine A290’s styling looks to reflect the performance upgrades under the skin. It has a wide stance, echoing the original Renault 5 Turbo hot hatch of the 1980s, with new 19-inch alloy wheels housing brake callipers lifted from the Alpine A110. The front and rear bumpers are more aggressive, while the rear doors are bespoke to the A290. A unique ‘X’ motif for the front lights rounds off the striking appearance.

Like the exterior, the cabin architecture is shared with the Renault 5, but you’ll find a whole new centre console with the same gear selector as the Alpine A110. You can pick from a range of leather and fabric upholstery options, although every model gets a smattering of blue accents. Driving information and infotainment are handled by a pair of 10.25 and 10.1-inch screens, the latter of which can be used to adjust the new ‘driving sound’ that plays through the cabin speakers.

How much will the Alpine A290 cost and when can I buy one?

Prices for the Alpine A290 start from £33,500 in entry-level GT trim. There are four more trim levels above this – GT Premium, GT Performance, GTS and GTS Première Édition – with each level bringing a bit more kit than the last.

The GT and GT Premium models are only available with the 178bhp motor, so you’ll need to fork out at least £36,000 for the GT Performance model to get the beefier 217bhp motor. The top-of-the-range GTS Première Édition comes in at £38,500. Put an order in now, and you can expect your A290 to arrive from April 2025 onwards.

Along with the new A290, Alpine has confirmed that a new A110 sports car and a “GT C-Crossover” will join its lineup in the near future, both also powered by electricity.

Read our list of the best hot hatchbacks that you can buy today…