Testing the Alpine A290 GTS

DW (English)

With bold looks, quick acceleration, and playful handling, the Alpine A290 GTS makes a strong first impression. But how well does it hold up in real-world driving? REV puts the electric newcomer to the test.

Transcript

00:00I know usually I greet you guys from the outside but today's test car is such a

00:10blast to drive I decided to greet you while driving I'm talking about the new

00:16Alpine a 290 GTS version which is so much fun but we'll get to that in a

00:23second welcome to ref

00:30the a 290 is available with two different power outputs 177 horsepower 130

00:43kilowatts or 218 horsepower 160 kilowatts which is also the version we're testing

00:50right now because this is the GTS

00:57with 218 horsepower and the car that weighs in at just under 1.5 tons you will

01:04definitely feel the acceleration if you press the gas pedal the car shoots

01:07forward 0 to 100 kilometers an hour in 6.4 seconds which is really a blast and

01:13what's even more Alpine made the car very suitable for fast driving in curves you

01:20have this 60 millimeter wider stance and you have Michelin sport tires so

01:27everything you need for really really fast time on the track or some fun on the

01:33countryside roads the a 290 is only available with one battery size 52

01:44kilowatt hours which means a WLTP range of 364 kilometers of course if you drive it

01:52as sporty as it's intended to be driven then you will be left with I'd say half the

01:57range but this car is definitely not made for long-distance trips it's a small car

02:03that is really fun to drive and if you want a small city car with low consumption

02:10then you should definitely not go for that one

02:18when you change between the different levels of recuperation you can feel the

02:22difference and at the max level even though it's technically not one pedal drive

02:27you can use it to move the car without using the brakes at least if you don't

02:33plan to stop completely

02:40such a powerful car of course needs powerful brakes and that's why Alpine

02:44gave the a 290 the Brembo brake system that is also used in the way more powerful

02:52you can definitely feel the suspension is sporty so it's good for fast driving but

03:12if you're looking for a comfortable car then this is definitely not the one you

03:16will want to go for

03:17as some of you might know Alpine is basically Renault so it is no wonder that

03:29the car from the outside looks just like the new Renault r5

03:33a closer look however reveals a few differences like the addition of x-shaped daytime running lights

03:42the interior of the a 290 looks quite okay a little bit futuristic the steering wheel is interesting

03:54because it has these buttons like you know it from a race car the right one for the drive modes the left

04:00one to adjust the recuperation and right over here at the top the ov button for overtaking but we'll talk

04:08about that once we're driving

04:15the infotainment system is good-looking it is Android based so you have Google Maps

04:20and everything you know is quite similar to using a smartphone no complaints

04:25whatsoever about that down here which I appreciate very much our buttons physical

04:31buttons to adjust the climate control or the temperature so you won't have to take

04:36your eyes from the road like you would if it was operated by the touch screen

04:43down here you have a spot for wireless smartphone charging two USB-C sockets so

04:52everything to keep smartphones charged however there is no space to put them

04:58really and I also miss cup holders because you don't have them in their car

05:03right here you have a little compartment where you can put small things maybe even a small half

05:10liter bottle but nothing where you could put your coffee cup

05:15all the materials are very good of course this is the max version you can get so GTS what I really like

05:27though is right here around every button you have this plastic

05:34which doesn't look bad but it's matte plastic so instead of using this high gloss

05:40black they have up here which you often find with other cars down here they

05:46decided to keep it matte and that looks good to me and it's also way better

05:51regarding dust fingerprints or even scratches

05:58when Renault announced the revival of the legendary R5 fans were excited but

06:03also skeptical yet when the car was finally revealed many were pleasantly

06:08surprised by its blend of futuristic styling and retro design a tribute that

06:14more than did justice to the original

06:21unlike the R5 the Alpine is way more powerful because

06:27the R5 the max you can get is 150 horsepower 110 kilowatts

06:33Alpine was founded in 1955 by Jean Redelet who named it after his win in the Alpine Cup the previous year

06:41in 1973 Renault acquired a majority stake with Renault boss Pierre Dreyfus

06:48and Redelet agreeing that the Alpine founder would stay on as chairman

06:53after Renault's full takeover was announced in June 2014

06:57the company was renamed Societe des Automobiles Alpines

07:01when it comes to charging the battery the car is definitely not as fast as it drives

07:08the maximum power you can use is 100 kilowatts

07:12so that will take a little less than half an hour for fast charging

07:17which is definitely still okay because most other cars on the market

07:22do just the same or have the same time that they need for charging

07:27the red OV button at the steering wheel does not provide any additional power

07:39OV by the way stands for overtaking

07:42but instead it will just change the way the gas pedal behaves

07:46because no matter how much you press it it will always give you full gas

07:50which then of course feels sporty but it doesn't have any additional power

07:58the A290 is equipped with vehicle to load function

08:03that means you can use electric appliances for example a hair dryer

08:08or maybe a vacuum cleaner with the battery of the car

08:12in theory you can even use it to power a house which is then called vehicle to home

08:18for example if there is a power outage

08:21and you can just connect your car to your house

08:23and use everything you want inside your house just by the battery of the car

08:32just like all other cars that want to be sold in the EU

08:36car manufacturers have to add a certain amount of driver assistance systems

08:40and Alpine is no different

08:43and that's why the car will constantly beep at you

08:46if you drive too fast, if you drive over the line or anything else

08:49but Alpine has a good solution to that

08:51there is a button right next to the steering wheel

08:53you press it twice

08:54it then goes into Perso mode

08:57and then all alarms are muted

09:00but the systems still work

09:01prices for the Alpine A290 started around 38,700 euros in Germany

09:13which is quite a bit of money for a compact city car

09:18and that is not even the more powerful version we are testing

09:22that one will cost you at least 41,700

09:25and if you want the GTS version

09:28then it's again 3,000 euros more

09:30so 44,700 euros in Germany

09:44summing up my A290 experience

09:47I have to say driving this car is really a blast

09:50acceleration and also the way you can drive fast in curves

09:55it's really fun

09:57but of course all of that has its price

10:00and if you just want a car that is compact for the city

10:06and purely electric

10:08then you should definitely not get this one

10:11because it has quite some consumption

10:13compared for example with other cars that have that size

10:17but way less power

10:19and maybe even a bigger battery

10:22with its sporty suspension

10:24bold looks

10:25quick acceleration

10:26and relatively low weight

10:27the Alpine A290 GTS is a fun little racer

10:31but that performance comes at a price

10:34and pushing the engine hard

10:36will increase consumption

10:38and reduce range

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Transcript

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