Alpine says the A390 brings racing genes to the EV family hatch segment. Jonathan Crouch reports.

Background

More than any other car brand, except perhaps for Lotus, Alpine is synonymous with lightness. Which is why at just over a tonne, its first modern-era sports car, the A110, could keep up with far more powerful rivals. With that in mind, what are we to make of this, the Alpine A390? It weighs 2,121kg. And it's not a sports car - in fact, it's the first Alpine model in living memory to be able to seat five. Thanks to underpinnings distantly borrowed from the current Renault Scenic SUV. Which in turn means that it's all-electric. This isn't Alpine's first EV - we've already had the Renault 5-based A290 - but the power output here is in a different league from that little supermini sportster. The A390 has even more powerful mid-sized EV performance cars in its sights, like the Hyundai IONIQ 5N and the Kia EV6 GT. So like its brand, it's ambitiously targeted. Realistically targeted? Let's see.

Engines and Tech Spec

We were interested to see what Alpine might make of the fairly unremarkable core Scenic starting point here. The brand does after all have a rich history of performing handling miracles with unremarkable Renault underpinnings - as it did with the A290 small EV hatch. And so it is here. Because it's an AWD family EV, the A390 can't rely on lightness for agility as Alpine models traditionally have. So instead, the brand has concentrated on creating it by carefully tuning the torque vectoring and the traction control and introducing a tri-motor layout that contributes to an output of up to 470hp and is unique on a car costing under £100,000. Rivals create agility of this sort by using a rear clutch pack to distribute torque across the back axle, but Alpine uses a pair of motors instead because it says that via Active Torque Vectoring, they give you quicker reactions at speed through a corner. Complimenting this set-up are two associated systems; Alpine Torque Pre-Control handles traction and e-AWD distributes torque between the front and rear axles to balance the vehicle on turns. A couple of things you might have expected to find are absent; four-wheel steering (which was fitted to the old Renaultsport Megane hot hatch) and adaptive damping. So the five drive modes ('Save', 'Normal', 'Sport', 'Personalised' and 'Track') are there to tweak throttle, steering and the extent of your stability control net. You can't manually alter the rear power split, but there's a rotary steering wheel dial to alter brake regen. Lots of work has gone into stiffening the Scenic-derived AmpR Medium platform that's shared with this car's less sophisticated twin motor segment cousin the Nissan Ariya NISMO. The wheelbase length is unique - and there's a wider rear track. The power figure we gave you earlier applies to the top A390, the GTS. If you don't need as much as 470hp (with 824Nm of torque), there's a lesser 390hp GT version, though with that the 0-62mph time drops from 3.9s to 4.8s, even further away from the class standard set by much more powerful rivals like the Hyundai IONIQ 5N. Range from the bespoke 89kWh battery is unremarkable, rated at 345 miles for the GT and 312 miles for the GTS. As the miles click down, you can add in an electrical propulsion sound - or choose to turn it off.

Design and Build

Alpine insists that this is a 'sports fastback' rather than an SUV. And hopes that you will see elements from its A110 sports car in this A390's curved bonnet, central spine and visor-shaped rear windscreen. At 4.6-metres long, it's the biggest car Alpine has ever made, though dynamic profile creasing aims to conceal some of the body bulk. It's normal for cars with rear-based torque distribution to have larger wheel sizing at the back, but with this A390, they're all common - 20-inches in the GT and 21-inches on the GTS. The front end has a concept car look, with headlights hidden in the lower intakes and your attention drawn instead to four tiny upper daytime running light beams, above a collection of scattered smaller LED light points below. It makes a statement, no question. There's certainly no hint of shared engineering with a Renault Scenic. But that's much more evident inside, where the dominating twin screen arrangement is clearly carried over from that family crossover. Alpine's dressed it up with different graphics and lots of extra toys of course (stuff like drive modes and lap timing). And you view the instrument display through a unique three-spoke sports steering wheel with a lower rotary dial for adjusting brake regen settings. All the cabin materials are bespoke to the A390 of course, particularly the signature Alpine blue leather on the special hard-backed bucket seats, though these position you a little higher than some enthusiasts might like. Access to the rear is by hidden door handles. It's in the back where for a family enthusiast, the comparisons to a Scenic might have been more welcome. But the A390 doesn't feel as accommodating as that Renault, less because of its bespoke wheelbase length and more because the combination of high belt line, low glasshouse and privacy glass makes it feel dark and somewhat confined, with light ahead blocked by the big front seats. Boot space is OK though, rated at 532-litres - usefully more than a rival IONIQ 5N.

Market and Model

Apparently, there are three kinds of Alpine in the brand's portfolio. 'Timeless icons' (the A110 sportscar and its replacement); 'Racing' (the F1 car) and 'Everyday extraordinary' - which is where this A390 sits alongside its smaller A290 EV showroom stablemate. Prices start from around £61,000 for the 400PS 'GT' and 'Premiere Edition' models. You'll need closer to £70,000 for the top 470PS A390 GTS. All models share the same 89kWh battery. The A390 GT starts the range with its 20” CRISTAL diamond-cut alloy wheels with Michelin Sport EV tyres, anodised Alpine branded 6-piston monobloc front brake calipers, adaptive headlights with LED MATRIX Vision technology, a body-coloured roof, power tailgate, and a 11kW three-phase AC charger with bidirectional charging. The GT model's interior features a two-tone combination of Alcantara and Nappa leather in deep blue and grey with double stitching, a black headliner, heated 6-way powered memory Alpine Sport seats with perforated Alcantara, dual-zone automatic climate control with air purification function, powered, heated, auto-folding side mirrors with puddle lamps and a projected Alpine logo, a heated steering wheel in Deep Blue Nappa leather, a frameless auto-dimming interior mirror, a centre console with transmission buttons inspired by the A110 and interior ambient lighting with Alpine monogram. Plus there's a Devialet high fidelity audio system with 13 speakers, which allows you to choose between five sound profiles. Across the line-up there's a choice of six different body colours including various blues, a black or white and graphite grey. Whatever you choose, you can add a contrasting black roof to it. All the expected camera safety features come included.

Cost of Ownership

We gave you the EV range figure in our 'Driving' section - up to 345 miles for the GT and up to 312 miles for the GTS. The GT is efficiency-rated at 3.3mpkWh; the GTS at 3.0mpkWh. Because the A390 has a 400V electrical architecture (not an 800V system like its Hyundai and Kia segment rivals), DC charging speeds aren't anything to write home about - 190kW for the GTS and a mere 150kW for the GT. Still, you should get a 15-80% charge in under 25 minutes. You can manually set the battery to pre-heat, so it's charge optimally when you reach the charger; that'll happen automatically if you programme in the DC charger's location in the navigation system. AC charging from home will take around 13-14 hours; obviously, it'd be better with a three-phase 11kW supply - and better still if you pay the extra for 22kW AC charge capability. Like the A290, this Alpine features bi-directional charging and vehicle to grid technology, which can sell energy stored in the car's battery pack back to the grid during peak demand periods of the day. Also as with the A290, all A390 variants have a 3-year/60,000 mile manufacturer's warranty, which can be extended to four or five years. Maintenance packages are also available.

Summary

Alpine's marketing of the A390 as a kind of five-door version of the A110 sports car doesn't do this EV any favours; no heavy electric family car is ever going to feel like one of those. But by the standards of its class, this one should feel more finessed to drive - more agile, more Alpine - than its most obvious rivals. And that's a decent achievement. Similar money to this will get you more power and a more configurable drivetrain with obvious rivals, notably the Hyundai IONIQ 5N. But the A390 isn't really any slower in everyday use and its all-wheel drive, active torque vectoring system and new twin rear motor set-up work together as a cohesive combination. This could have been a branding exercise but it's actually a proper Alpine. Which makes it well worth trying.