Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida, Cute but Unimpressive

Above: This Week’s VIDEO Review –Alfa Romeo’s $57k Misstep – The Junior Ibrida is a Peugeot in Disguise

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ABOVE: Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida, Cute but Unimpressive

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The driver’s seat had power controls and massage, and both front seats have heating. Overhead, a glass sunroof generously endows the cabin’s dark theme with pleasing shards of light. Opening a roof at speed may bring gorgeous wafts of summer, but the noise is deafening.

That brings us to the drive. You have to stand on the brake and hold the button for a few seconds to spark the plucky little powerplant into life. The brakes apply whenever park is selected, owing to a very sad incident with Star Trek actor Anton Yelchin. He died on June 19, 2016, in a “freak accident” after he was pinned between his 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a brick pillar at his Los Angeles home. The vehicle, which had a recalled, confusing gear shifter, rolled backward down his steep driveway. Since then, Stellantis has been twitchy regardless of brand.

1.2 litres of turboed frenzy fan themselves into a blistering flame, he said with no end of poetic licence. In fact, if the 48v mild hybrid has enough juice in the battery, nothing happens at all. Unusually for a mild hybrid, the Alfa Romeo Junior is able to cruise wraith-like through car parks, stalking unsuspecting passers-by like a lioness with an elk.

The gear selector is a lever for R and D, and buttons for P and M. Why? It is daftly laid out but looks cool as hell. The 6-speed e-DCT, like most DCTs, is dreadful at low speeds as the clutches grasp and release repeatedly. It turns every driver into a learner, something few of us wish to relive. These automatic transmissions are brilliant at snappy changes under pressure, but the 1.2-litre engine is unlikely to strain the DCT beyond a slight grumble. Progress is measured on a calendar rather than a stopwatch. The Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida doesn’t sprint as much as it leisurely jogs to 100km/h.

The pleasingly sharp steering and brakes give the little SUV excellent manners on tight bends, but the twitchy torsion bar rear end could bring an amateur unglued should a bump be encountered mid-turn. The platform needs a nice set of multi-links to make the most of its stiff preponderance.

Although unlikely to ever spend much time on one, the city car is rather comfortable at highway speed. ADAS scores decent marks for lane and speed control and made a decent fist of the distance to the car in front. Entering a freeway is a chore. It struggles as it runs out of puff before changing gears for another punt. It is just insufficient and has absolutely no place in a sports brand with noble aspirations. Worse still, it is done for economy, but our test car never bettered 6.8L/100km, far above the 4.1L/100km promised.

Perhaps that’s why Stellantis is failing. The company is sensitive to critique, especially in light of its ever-diminishing reputation for reliability. Instead of addressing owner concerns, it is another poorly executed PR exercise.

Full review and video to follow

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