Alpine A390 for fast family fun

Alpine cars will be all-electric as of 2026 and the A390 will be leading the way. 

A compact crossover, out soon, the A390 is the second in line after the A290 that’s based on the Renault 5. The former is due for launch in Europe this May. lt’s debut coincides with the 70th anniversary of the French brand.

The firm sees this as its next flagship after production of the A110 winds up towards year’s end. 

Alpine says it is producing two types of vehicle henceforth, Lifestyle and Icon. The A290 and A390 are in the former camp. The outgoing A110 falls under the Icon banner, a driver’s car.

Vehicles like the A390 will greatly increase sales and make the firm more viable. 

What’s under the hood?

Where the A290 has a single motor driving its front axle, the A390 adopts three, two at the back for rear-biased power distribution. A lone motor up front makes it all-wheel drive. 

Alpine says its straight line performance is similar to that of an A110 R.

The dual rear motors permit true torque vectoring and adjustable handling. There’s an ‘OV’ overtake boost button on the steering wheel and ‘RCH’ regen adjustment dial, along with Normal and Sport drive modes. However, the A390 also gets a dedicated ‘Track’ mode, allowing for near full control of power, unsullied by electronic aids. Helping with dynamics is a 49:51 front:rear weight distribution, a low centre of gravity, a short wheelbase and tuned Alpine suspension with a wider track. 

Design aims high

The hypercar-like hyper-thin DRLs carry over from the concept, along with a full-width light bar at the rear. A sculpted bonnet is like that of the A110. The crossover also features pass-throughs for aero purposes, improving efficiency and appearance. The A390 reminds of a Polestar 3 in that regard, only the Alpine makes much more of this aero feature.

Not too much competition

There are few rivals to the A390, the Macan EV being the closest. It would take the Macan 4S to rival the performance of the Alpine A390 (0-100 in the threes). 

The other contender is Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 N, a driver’s EV and a serious road and track contender. This is likely to be similar to the A390 in both performance and cost.