Alpine A290 Review 2026: Prices, specs and verdict

What is the Alpine A290?

Let’s start off by explaining what Alpine is. While a brand in its own right, producing a bespoke sports car in the A110, Alpine can also be thought of as the performance arm of Renault.

While the brilliant Alpine A110 has been lauded by enthusiasts and motoring writers alike, the sports car market is dwindling in terms of sales. That’s where this, the A290, comes in.

Unlike the A110 and upcoming A390 SUV, the A290 isn’t a bespoke Alpine – it’s quite obviously based on the smash hit that is the new Renault 5 E-Tech electric small car.

But this is no badge engineering exercise, as the Alpine A290 gets some serious hardware upgrades to match along with its racy redesign inside and out. And it’s already nearly doubled Alpine’s sales in 2025.

But is the A290 any good? We examine everything from the driving experience to practicality and running costs to see if the Alpine is the electric hot hatchback of choice.

Verdict: is the Alpine A290 a good car?

Desirable, comfortable and easy to live with, the Alpine A290 isn’t as hardcore as you might expect. Whether that’s a good thing or not depends on your view, as it isn’t a complete transformation of the Renault 5’s already compelling drive. It’s a very good car, and might be worth the extra over the 5 on looks alone – but enthusiasts should be better served by a spicier version in future.

Pricing, specs & rivals

Prices for the Alpine A290 kick off from £32,000 including the £1,500 discount from the UK Government’s Electric Car Grant.

Although that a hefty £10,000 more than the cheapest Renault 5, the A290 gets the bigger battery pack as standard which you’ll pay extra for on the 5. It’s also a few grand cheaper than the MINI John Cooper Works Electric and Abarth 600e.

That base price gets you in an A290 GT, which is the lowest powered version but still includes plenty of standard kit, including 19in alloys, automatic LED headlights with high beam assist, heated front seats, climate control, adaptive cruise control and a heat pump. It also includes the full suite of infotainment tech.

The A290 GT Premium (from £34,500) adds cosmetic and luxury add-ons including blue and grey Nappa leather upholstery, blue brake calipers, a heated steering wheel and an upgraded sound system.

The A290 GT Performance also costs £34,500, but ditches some of GT Premium’s add-ons in favour of more power (220hp to be precise), Michelin Pilot Sport 5S tyres and red brake calipers.

And finally, the top-spec A290 GTS costs £36,000. It’s essentially a combination of the GT Performance upgrades with the extra kit of GT Premium.

Rivals

There isn’t a big glut of electric hot hatchbacks on the market yet, so the Alpine’s direct rival is the MINI Electric in top-spec John Cooper Works form. – a smaller and more compromised model.

We’d also consider the surprisingly capable Abarth 600e (about as compact as SUVs get) along with the much smaller 500e. The Smart #1 Brabus is an option, too, although it’s very different to drive. Soon, we’ll also have models like the Peugeot e-208 GTI to consider, too.

Alpine A290: Interior comfort, quality & technology

Much like the A290’s exterior, it’s clear that the interior design is shared with the Renault 5, but Alpine has added enough detail bits to make it look and feel special.

Surprisingly, the Alpine doesn’t get racy new seats up front, instead the standard Renault items are boosted with nice-feeling blue and white leather (or blue fabric with contrasting stitching in the base model). Happily, these seats are already nicely bolstered and supportive.

Elsewhere you’ll find richer-feeling materials on the doors and dash, a neat backlit Alpine logo in front of the passenger and a neat new steering wheel with a white centre marker some new switchgear (more on those in the driving section). Quality in general is excellent for a small car.

You sit lower in the Alpine than you do in the Renault, with a sporty and cocooning feel, however forwards visibility isn’t too compromised. Wide rear pillars do obstruct your view when reversing, but you can’t buy an A290 without rear sensors and a reversing camera.

Infotainment, sat-nav, stereo and connectivity

Just like in the Renault 5, every A290 gets a 10.3in portrait-mounted central touchscreen with Google integration, including Google Maps sat-nav and Google Assistant voice control alongside the usual Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

It works brilliantly, with a bright and crisp display, logical menus, nice graphics and fast response times.

Better still, the use of physical climate control switches and steering wheel buttons – along with the brilliant My Safety Perso button to allow easy removal of unwanted driver assists – makes it a doddle to operate on the move.

Alpine has added some custom graphics and cool features to the A290, including live telemetry giving you details on everything from cornering G-forces to brake temperatures and lap times. There’s even a coaching function to help you improve your track driving, along with ‘challenges’ for performance and efficiency.

The digital driver’s display has lots of fancy graphics, too – although this can make it a little trickier to view if you’d just prefer a basic speedo and power readout. However the voice control is excellent, as you’d expect of a Google system.

You’ll find a pair of USB-C connectors up front, but none in the rear (as with the Renault) – but you do get wireless phone charging too. Even the standard six-speaker audio system sounds decent enough for a cheaper car, but the nine-speaker, 615-watt Devialet upgrade is really quite punchy.

How practical is the Alpine A290?

The Alpine A290 is a good deal more practical than the A110 sports car, but to say it can double as a do-it-all family car is a stretch.

With dimensions of a fraction under 4m in length, 1.82m in width (without mirrors) and 1.51m in height, the A290 is a chunk bigger in every dimension than the Renault 5. But that’s all down to exterior upgrades as there’s no more space inside than the 5.

There are no complaints up front, with enough head and leg space for a pair of six footers to sit comfortably, and sufficient cabin width to avoid banging elbows.

Things aren’t so great in the rear if you’re an adult. Children and smaller grown-ups won’t feel short-changed, but legroom is seriously lacking for anyone approaching six-foot. In fairness, no small electric hot hatch is any better apart from the noticeably roomier Abarth 600e.

A couple with one or two small children could just about manage living with the A290, and the fact that it has rear doors gives it an instant advantage over the MINI JCW Electric.

Storage and boot space

At first glance, storage in the A290 seems fine for a small car. The glovebox is a good size, there’s a narrow yet deep cubby under the centre armrest and just enough room to squeeze small drinks bottles in the door bins. Yet you’ll quickly notice something is missing: cupholders.

This is because Alpine has done away with Renault’s column-mounted drive selector, instead placing ‘D-N-R’ buttons on the centre console in the style of the A110 where the regular 5’s pair of cupholders  live. If this was a hardcore, stripped-out racer we’d understand, but it’s strange that Alpine hasn’t come up with a solution for this.

Things aren’t great in the back, either: there’s no armrest, cupholders or even door bins, just a pair of pockets in the front seatbacks.

At least the boot is a good size: the same 326 litres as the Renault 5. That’s sufficient for the average weekly shop or a couple of medium-sized suitcases, which is more than can be said for the tiny load space of its MINI rival. Only a high load lip detracts from the versatility.

Performance & drive: What is the Alpine A290 like on the road?

The A290 is perhaps not the pocket rocket you might expect if you’ve become used to the performance of more expensive electric cars. But there’s still enough to have fun with.

Opting for the A290 GT or GT Premium gets you a power output of 180hp sent through the front wheels only. That’s 30hp more than the most powerful Renault 5 – not a revelation, but enough to shave half a second off the 5’s 0-62mph time.

The GT Performance and GTS models seem more like the real deal. These put out 220hp, taking another second off the 0-62mph time and taking the Alpine from merely ‘perky’ to outright brisk.

Even allowing for this being a 1.5-tonne car, the most powerful A290 surges forward in a satisfying way when you floor the throttle. Pressing an ‘Overboost’ button on the steering wheel gives you instant full power – without it you’ll need to push through a kickdown-style switch in the throttle pedal to access it.

You do get some torque steer (where the car pulls to one side under hard acceleration) but less than you’ll find in the MINI JCW Electric. The MINI is a bit more exciting, though, and the Abarth 600e is considerably quicker than the Alpine.

The A290 has very good brakes, with a predictable and smooth pedal response by EV standards. There’s a toggle switch on the wheel for four levels of regenerative braking (right up to full one-pedal driving), though while this looks cool we’d prefer paddles mounted on the steering column.

Power, 0-62mph times

• Alpine A290 GT/GT Premium: 180hp/ 7.4 secs
• Alpine A290 GT Performance/GTS: 220hp/ 6.4 secs

Ride and handling

Alpine has thrown a few hardware upgrades at the A290 over the Renault 5, so it has a faster steering rack, new suspension geometry, a wider track and race-style hydraulic bump stops.

The result is a car that feels sharper and more agile than its sibling without sacrificing much in the way of everyday comfort. It’s surprisingly smooth-riding, in fact – a world away from the jarring ride of the MINI JCW Electric.

While there’s a decent amount of enjoyment to be had from the drive, we can’t help feeling that Alpine is holding back. The steering is the biggest weak point, lacking feel and weight despite being precise, while there is still some body lean and the A290 will lose front-end grip quickly if you’re not careful with the power out of a bend.

Is there room for a sharper, faster and more engaging Alpine hot hatch in future? Definitely – and we’d be surprised if that isn’t already in the works.

Noise and refinement

The A290 doesn’t lose much (if any) of the refinement the Renault 5 delivers – so it’s quiet by any small car standards, let alone a sporty one. Unlike many hot hatch rivals tyre noise isn’t intrusive, even at motorway speeds, while wind noise is kept in check and the comfortable ride means no rattles or suspension clonks. There are some selectable fake ‘engine’ noises available, but they can be easily turned off.

Euro NCAP: is the Alpine A290 a safe car?

The Alpine A290 has, unsurprisingly, received the same Euro NCAP crash test rating as the Renault 5 on which it’s based. That means a four-star overall score.

That’s not outstanding in an age where five-star ratings are becoming increasingly common. But in the context of small cars it’s on a par with the general standard. That said, a MINI Cooper Electric has a stronger rating, while the Abarth 600e has yet to be tested.

There are strong overall scores for occupant protection, but like many cheaper models the A290 doesn’t have a centre airbags to prevent passengers from colliding across the interior.

The A290 has the same array of active safety kit as its sibling, including autonomous emergency braking in forward and reverse, lane keep assist, driver attention monitoring and traffic sign recognition. Blind spot warning and safe exit alert are optional as part of an affordable Safety Pack.

Charging, range and running costs

The Alpine A290 uses the same 52kWh usable battery pack as bigger battery versions of the Renault 5, but there is a sacrifice to be made in terms of range.

GT and GT Premium trim deliver the best official range, managing 235 miles on a charge according to WLTP testing. That’s 17 miles less than the equivalent Renault 5 – not a lot, but that reduced efficiency does increase running costs.

GT Performance and GTS models shave another 10 miles off the official figure at 225 miles, partly due to their grippier tyres. Both of those figures are significantly more than an Abarth 500e and even the 600e, but roughly on a par with the MINI JCW Electric.

It’s important to note that cars like the A290 aren’t really designed for long distance motorway drives. Alpine’s own range calculator suggests 150-160 miles of range is more realistic on the motorway in good weather, or even less in cold weather.

Range on a charge (WLTP figures)

• Alpine A290 GT/GT Premium: 235 miles
• Alpine A290 GT Performance/GTS: 225 miles

Both versions of the Alpine A290 have a maximum DC rapid charging rate of 100kW – a bit more than key rivals.

That results in a quoted 10-80% charge time of 33 minutes if the charger delivers that peak rate, which is about what you’d expect of a modern EV.

Every version of the A290 also has 11kW AC charging as standard, allowing faster charging when three-phase destination chargers are available. That’s to be expected nowadays, too. From a typical home wallbox? You’ll be looking at a bit over eight hours for a full charge from empty.

Charging speeds

(Figures from EV Database)

• 7kW charging: 8hrs 30 mins
• 11kW charging: 5hrs 45 mins
• 50kW rapid charger (10 to 80% charge): 57 mins
• 150kW+ rapid charger (10 to 80% charge): 33 mins

How much does the Alpine A290 cost to insure?

Naturally, the Alpine A290 is likely to be more expensive to insure than the Renault 5 on which it’s based – but it shouldn’t be prohibitively so.

In terms of insurance groups, the A290 GT and GT Premium sit in group 27 – five higher than the Renault 5 with the same battery pack. The GT Performance and GTS increase that to group 29. That is a few groups higher than the MINI John Cooper Works Electric, but quite a bit lower than the Abarth 600e.