UK Drive: The Alfa Romeo Junior now comes with a spicier Veloce variant

What is it?

Alfa Romeo is a brand that is all about style, performance and excitement. However, with the recent boom in small crossovers, the Italian firm has decided to introduce its own – with a twist.

Introducing the Junior Veloce, a small compact crossover that promises to offer sports car-like driving characteristics with a practical interior and the green credentials from an electric powertrain.

One of its closest rivals comes from its sister company, Abarth, which has just introduced its hot electric crossover, the 600e Scorpionissisma, which features the same running gear, battery pack and electric motor as the Veloce. However, what does this latest Alfa offer? We’ve been finding out.

What’s new?

The Junior is Alfa’s first electric model and its smallest offering, too.

The Veloce adds more power, style and comes as standard with a limited-slip differential to alter the power through the wheels when driven hard through the corners.

It features a host of styling upgrades and boasts a sportier interior design with a wash of Alcantara and leather trim.

However, it still retains the same practical five-door bodystyle and decent equipment levels as the standard car.

What’s under the bonnet?

Powering the car is a 54kWh battery pack and an electric motor that produces a total of 283bhp and 345Nm of torque.

In terms of acceleration, the Veloce can get from 0-60mph in 5.7 seconds and will run out of puff at 124mph.

Alfa Romeo claims it can travel up to 215 miles between trips to the plug and that 100kW DC rapid charging is compatible, taking the car from 20 to 80 per cent top up in less than half an hour.

What’s it like to drive?

Considering the Junior is a small crossover, the Veloce’s fantastic driving characteristics make you feel like you’re driving a hot hatchback.

You sit low, with the body-hugging sports seats doing an excellent job of holding you in place, and there is plenty of adjustment in the steering wheel and seats themselves.

Push the car further and the standard limited-slip differential helps control the power and grip through the corners, with the quick and precise steering all helping when you want to have a bit of fun on the open road.

The car feels agile, light and nimble, along with its acceleration which is smooth, effortless and rather brisk.

However, on a longer journey, you start to notice the car’s rather fidgety ride and there is a lot of wind noise at high speeds, spoiling its overall refinement. Looking out the back can be tricky when reversing due to the thick c-pillars.

How does it look?

The Junior shares its chassis with the Peugeot 2008, Jeep Avenger and Vauxhall Mokka, but Alfa has sprinkled its Italian flair onto the car, making it stand out from its stablemates.

The exterior features larger alloy wheels and a two-tone roof, while there are other subtle design cues such as the ‘Veloce’ badges on the front wings, the c-pillars feature half of the Alfa Romeo emblem with the Visconti Snake, as well as the hidden rear door handles giving a sportier three-door appearance.

There is no doubt that the Junior is unmistakably an Alfa Romeo, as it oozes style and chic over its competitors.

What’s it like inside?

Inside, the car features lots of sporty design cues throughout with a half Alcantara and leather steering wheel, big bolstered sports seats made by Sabelt and gloss black trim.

The use of lots of physical buttons for the climate control helps with the car’s ergonomics, too.

However, the hard brittle plastics make the interior feel cheap in places and the infotainment screen is positioned rather low, making it harder to glance at when driving.

Also, storage space is only average with a tiny glovebox, small front door bins, two cup holders and a little bit of space underneath the centre armrest.

Space in the back is good, though, with an excellent level of head and legroom for occupants.

Meanwhile, boot space of 400 litres or 1,265 litres is average in class, beating the Volvo EX30 and Citroen e-C4, but falling behind the Peugeot e-2008 and Kia Niro EV.

What’s the spec like?

The Veloce comes with a lot of standard equipment that differentiates it from the lesser models in the range.

All cars come with 20-inch alloy wheels, red brake calipers, black and red leather and Alcantara bucket seats, a black roof and 25mm lowered suspension.

However, with prices starting at £42,295, it makes it a lot more expensive compared to the standard car’s starting price of £33,895.

Verdict

The Junior Veloce is something very rare. A crossover that feels like a full-blooded hot hatchback to drive.

Added to that, it looks great, has a stylish interior design and is rather practical with a decent sized boot and sufficient space for rear occupants.

It may not be the most refined car in this sector, but there is no question that none of them are as well set up or as fun to drive on the road and track. For that reason, the Junior Veloce is in a class of its own.