Alfa Romeo Junior review

If you want a small SUV that stands out from the rest, you’ll immediately be drawn to the Alfa Romeo Junior. It has piercing eyes, a technical-looking front end, boomerang-like brake lights and some glorious alloy wheel designs.

The Junior exists because Alfa Romeo is part of Stellantis, and it uses the same set of parts and engines as the Vauxhall Mokka, Peugeot 2008, Fiat 600 and Jeep Avenger. It’s even built on the same production line as the Fiat and Jeep.

This parts sharing has its benefits, but also a couple of drawbacks. Good stuff: the tried-and-tested parts should help Alfa’s reliability reputation, and we know the hybrid and electric options are economical and peppy. Bad stuff: a lot of the Junior’s switchgear is shared with other cars, which makes it feel less special and makes you question why you’re paying more for the Junior than for, say, the 600.

And you’ll be paying even more if you want some fairly basic equipment or any of the Alfa loveliness that sets it apart from a Vauxhall or Fiat. For example, a reversing camera is exclusively part of a pricey option pack unless you stretch to the most expensive trim levels, and these costly versions are where you’ll find the suede upholstery and sporty steering wheel that we liked so much in our test car.

You can spec a petrol Junior to over £40,000, and to nearly £47,000 for the hot hatch-like Veloce EV. Even if you just focus on the monthly payments, you could feasibly be sectioned for spending so much on a small SUV with the Junior’s limitations. Thankfully, used examples are much more palatable, and more closely matched to a top-spec Mokka or 2008.

We’ve already mentioned the lashings of suede trim, but they really do make the Junior’s interior feel special. Strip these away and you still get stylish seat upholstery, a glossy monochrome Alfa Romeo steering wheel and some lovely ‘four spoke’ air vents, but there’s also a lot of scratchy plastics and some suspect build quality, such as the door cards.

You can have proper bucket seats by choosing the Corsa pack. They’re among the best seats we’ve experienced in recent years, but they do cut into the already lacklustre rear seat space. We’ve also tested the standard seats and they feel supportive and sporty – you’ll be perfectly happy in them if you haven’t sat in the Corsa seats.

Even then, it’s not perfect ergonomically. The driver’s knee will be butted up against the centre console, the rectangular driver's display within a circular binnacle is an odd choice, and the touchscreen is a little low for our liking. You should be able to find a position where everything feels good, though, because there’s plenty of front-seat adjustment.

For the most part, the infotainment system is easy to use. It’s familiar because it’s the same system that you get in the other Stellantis SUVs we’ve mentioned. Main functions are accessed via large tiles, and there’s an app drawer that displays all your options in a logical, phone-like way. It’s quick to respond and looks pretty crisp, so it offers a good user experience.

Standard equipment on the unnamed entry-level model includes rear parking sensors, LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto. Mid-spec Ti adds built-in sat nav and some eye-catching three-spoke alloy wheels. For what it’s worth, we think they look excellent.

Top-spec Sport Speciale gets all the suede that we’ll mention yet again, plus heated front seats with power adjustment for the driver, and an exclusive badge on the front wings.

At 4.17 metres long, the Junior is within a few millimetres of the Fiat 600 and Vauxhall Mokka – and rear legroom is just as tight, if not tighter. With an average-height adult in their driving position, there’s only just enough space for another similarly sized bod behind. Anyone taller than average will feel cramped, no matter which seat they’re in.

Rear-seat occupants make do with cheap, hollow plastics on every surface, and they don’t get any door pockets or cupholders. There are seatback pockets and USBs, however.

With doors that don’t open particularly wide and fiddly zipped Isofix points, it’s harder to put child seats in than it needs to be. Bulky backwards-facing seats will probably be wedged up against the front seat, too.

There’s not much rear visibility at all if you’ve got the headrests up, and the corners are big blind spots. Neither of these are unique to the Junior, but it means the optional reversing camera is more of a must-have than a nice-to-have.

The boot measures 400 litres in electric cars and 415 litres in hybrid cars. These figures are likely to include the underfloor storage, because the Junior’s boot doesn’t look all that big. While it offers a similar amount of boot space to the Skoda Kamiq and Nissan Juke on paper, you’ll probably find it more difficult to fit a couple of big suitcases or a full-size pushchair in the Junior than you would in the Kamiq or Juke.

Things don’t get much better upfront, where there’s a laughably small glovebox and awkwardly shaped door bins.

Opt for a petrol Junior and you’ll get a 1.2-litre engine and a small electric motor housed within the gearbox, making it a hybrid. Total system power stands at 145hp, and the 0-62mph time of 8.9 seconds feels pretty nippy around town.

Thanks to a 0.9kWh battery and some clever energy recovery tactics, the petrol engine is pleasingly efficient. Drive gently and you’ll get 58mpg, plus low CO2 emissions.

If you want no engine emissions at all, pick an electric Junior. Standard versions get a 156hp motor and a 54kWh battery, which give you a nine-second 0-62mph time and 255 miles of range. Both decent in isolation and solid for day-to-day driving, although high-spec versions are priced in line with longer-range options like the Kia EV3.

Want the best Junior money can buy? That’s the Veloce model, with a meaty 280hp and extra go-faster goodies like a limited-slip differential and grippy Michelin Pilot Sport tyres. As well as a speedy 5.9-second 0-62mph dash, the Veloce impresses with quick steering and a playful character.

Unusually, the petrol model is in a higher insurance group than the standard electric model, and it's likely to cost a bit more in insurance than a Ford Puma or Renault Captur.

The Veloce is definitely the high water mark in the range, with its numerous upgrades creating a tangible difference between it and the less powerful versions. There’s a bit of torque steer to liven things up – a result of the front wheels having to deal with steering and shepherding 280hp – and it’s pretty grippy in fast corners. You can have a piped-in engine noise in the sporty modes, too.

You won’t have nearly as much fun in the standard versions, although the Junior is still fairly good to steer for a small SUV. The steering is responsive and gets a bit heavier in the Dynamic mode, although it lacks consistency – at some speeds it feels a bit too light and then it’ll suddenly weight up.

We wish there was a weightier feeling to the brake pedal in the standard versions of the Junior. You have to press a lot further down the pedal to get the stopping power you want, which is quite unnerving until you’re used to how it behaves.

The Junior has a fairly firm ride, which suits its sporty character. You’ll notice bumps and potholes, although they’re usually not uncomfortable. On the motorway, it’s decently refined for a smallish car.