2026 Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida evaluate

When was the final time you considered Alfa Romeo? Until you’re an proprietor, or a potential purchaser, it has in all probability been fairly some time.

And that’s a disgrace, as a result of the historic Italian auto model is steeped in heritage and boasts a vibrant portfolio of beautiful, iconic fashions and race vehicles, together with however not restricted to the 33 Stradale, the Montreal and, extra lately, the 8C Competizione and Giulia Quadrifoglio.

These vehicles are identified for his or her modern, attractive silhouettes, and whereas they fluctuate in exclusivity, objective, and positively value, all of them embody a very sporty essence that Alfa Romeo instills into each one among its vehicles with nice satisfaction.

However on the different finish of the spectrum are the extra ‘common’ fashions, those that promote in Europe’s most inexpensive market segments to drive gross sales and income so as to make these halo vehicles doable. Alfa has a protracted historical past there too, with fashions just like the discontinued Giulietta being a much-loved, red-blooded hatchback.

In Australia, the model isn’t fairly as well-known or widespread as it’s in Europe, and hasn’t operated in these smaller gross sales segments for the previous few years. However that has simply modified with the arrival of its latest international mannequin: the Alfa Romeo Junior.

Whereas the Junior title is a refined nod to the GT 1300 Junior sports activities coupe of the Sixties, this new mild SUV was really meant to be referred to as the Milano, referencing Alfa’s origins in Milan. Nonetheless, Italian laws state that imported and exported items are unlawful in the event that they bear false or deceptive origin labelling, and the Junior is in-built Poland… so Junior it’s.

The Junior holds a way more necessary distinction than only a enjoyable title although, as a result of it’s additionally Alfa Romeo’s first electrical car (EV), a mannequin accessible with a totally electrical powertrain. The Elettrica, because it’s referred to as, and the mild-hybrid Ibrida type Alfa Romeo Australia’s two-variant, one-trim Junior vary, and whereas they’re not sports activities vehicles by any means, Alfa says it labored laborious to inject its well-known Italian flavour.

After all, Alfa Romeo is owned by Stellantis, which implies the Junior shares a platform with quite a few fashions from six different manufacturers underneath the worldwide company’s umbrella, together with the Jeep Avenger and Peugeot 2008. Australian gross sales are gradual for these vehicles, however Alfa can be hoping the Junior can faucet into new purchaser teams to show that round.

Each powertrains at the moment are on sale regionally, however Alfa Romeo made solely the Ibrida accessible for media to drive at its native launch occasion. Is the brand new Junior price a glance, at the very least in Ibrida type?

How a lot does the Alfa Romeo Junior price?

The Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida is priced at $45,900 earlier than on-road prices, making it $12,000 cheaper than the all-electric Elettrica flagship.

There’s just one trim degree accessible in Australia, which implies the Ibrida and Elettrica are virtually equivalent by way of gear, if not their differing powertrains.

Given its platform-sharing association, the Junior’s most direct rival is the Jeep Avenger, which for now could be solely accessible in electrical guise in Australia, matching Alfa’s Elettrica, however is also supplied right here with mild-hybrid energy to rival the Ibrida. With three variants, the Avenger EV begins at $49,990 earlier than on-roads and tops out at $60,990 earlier than on-roads, that means the Junior Elettrica is cheaper than solely the Avenger Summit flagship.

After all, we’re focusing right here on the mild-hybrid Junior Ibrida, for which there are fewer direct opponents. You could possibly evaluate different mild SUVs just like the mild-hybrid Suzuki Fronx ($28,990 earlier than on-roads), however you wouldn’t – the Alfa is a way more premium product than lots of its phase mates.

Subsequently, we suggest the Lexus LBX hybrids (from $47,550 earlier than on-roads), the Audi Q2 (from $49,400 earlier than on-roads), and the Peugeot 2008 Hybrid (from $42,490 earlier than on-roads) as nearer comparisons, despite the fact that they’re categorized as small SUVs.

To see how the Alfa Romeo Junior stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability instrument

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What’s the Alfa Romeo Junior like on the within?

It isn’t honest to match the Junior to different vehicles in Australia’s mild SUV phase, as a result of its inside is leagues above what’s supplied at school stalwarts just like the Mazda CX-3 and Toyota Yaris Cross.

Stellantis followers will discover that a lot of the Junior’s switchgear is carried over from different fashions primarily based on the identical platform, however there’s nonetheless a uniquely Alfa Romeo high quality to the best way all the pieces’s designed. As such, the quirky gear selector is the one factor from the Stellantis elements bin that basically stands proud.

There’s a slender, padded centre console that leads right into a dashboard with distinctive shapes and sculptings, headlined by a ten.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system. This unit blends into a big, piano-black panel that angles in the direction of the driving force, although it feels just like the distinctive design has left numerous empty area right here.

The display screen additionally sits fairly low on the dashboard, which implies you need to look down from the highway forward to see it. Navigating the system’s native menus will also be complicated, as button shortcuts for the house display screen and car settings are initially not seen.

They’ll take a second to search out, however they’re nestled alongside the air vents above the display screen. I felt like facepalming myself after struggling to search out these.

Alfa has nonetheless discovered area for a bodily local weather management array beneath, which inserts properly on the softened edge that spans the decrease portion of the dashboard. This form leads properly in the direction of the instrument housing, which looks like a missed alternative.

The Italian model made express point out of the dual-circle gauge housing, a practice in its vehicles. The issue right here is that the digital instrument cluster is rectangular, through which the 2 circles aren’t totally displayed.

It could have required lots of additional effort and cash to design and manufacture a display screen that matches this housing completely, however it will’ve been a really tasteful element. Because it stands, the best way the analogue-style gauges on the display screen don’t fairly match the round cutouts seems cheesy.

Thankfully, the Junior’s glorious steering wheel masks the clumsy show from the snug and supportive driver’s seat. And it’s the one actual blemish on this in any other case stylish cabin, which options loads of different Alfa Romeo easter eggs just like the clover-inspired air vents.

The leather-wrapped tiller presents a satisfyingly small diameter, befitting of a automobile with the Junior’s diminutive proportions. Its thickness is good, and the form of its rim makes it nice to carry – and straightforward to throw round.

Sadly, there’s a little bit of smudge-prone piano-black plastic on its horizontal spokes, visually offset by tasteful metallic accents. These buttons will entice fingerprints, however they’re clearly labelled and straightforward sufficient to determine.

Distinctive right here is the best way you navigate the varied instrument shows, as there’s no clear button on the steering wheel. As an alternative, it’s performed through a button on the tip of the left stalk, which is able to take some getting used to when you’re coming from a automobile that makes use of that button to function its windscreen washer.

On that word, the stalks and all the pieces else within the cabin really feel stable. Clearly, we will’t touch upon long-term sturdiness, however we didn’t discover any creaking, and each element that presses or strikes did so with a sturdy really feel.

A theme with the Junior is that it feels tiny inside. This isn’t stunning for a light-weight SUV, however you’ll really feel such as you’re sitting a lot nearer to your passenger than in most different vehicles.

Equally, there’s not a lot area to place issues up entrance. In entrance of the passenger is a small glovebox, within the center is a compact storage field, and there are two cupholders and a reasonably sized cubby forward of the gear selector, which features a wi-fi cellphone charger. It’s habitable however on no account beneficiant.

The second row is even tighter. Even at my common 173cm top there wasn’t lots of area between my head and the roof, whereas the rear door openings are tiny and make it tough to squeeze out and in.

It’s doable to seat three passengers again right here on a brief drive, however they’d higher be snug with each other, and modestly sized. As for connectivity, there’s a USB-C port within the second row, whereas the entrance encompasses a USB-A and USB-C port – one among every.

Upon first impressions, the boot is far of the identical. At a quoted 415 litres (it’s unspecified whether or not that’s measured to the roof or the highest of the rear seats), the Ibrida’s boot is supposedly bigger than the Mazda CX-3’s with simply 264 litres, in addition to the Lexus LBX with 402 litres, and the Audi Q2 with 405 litres.

Both means there’s first rate cargo capability, and the Junior’s boot is useful. The load ground is excessive, flat, and enormous sufficient to suit three or 4 small suitcases slotted in sideways.

It’s price noting that the Elettrica’s boot is smaller at 400 litres, virtually definitely attributable to battery packaging. Nonetheless, a powered tailgate is normal in each variants, and it has a foot-operated hands-free operate if in case you have the important thing close by.

All up, the Junior has an inside that’s way more characterful than most different normal SUVs, and it’s a nice place to spend time in offered you’re not pressured to share the second row with two different folks.

To see how the Alfa Romeo Junior stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability instrument

What’s underneath the bonnet?

Powering the Ibrida is a turbocharged 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine producing 100kW of energy and 230Nm of torque. The mild-hybrid system incorporates an electrical motor outputting 21kW, bringing peak system energy to 107kW, with drive despatched to the entrance wheels by means of a dual-clutch computerized transmission.

We didn’t get sufficient time in anyone Junior to report a consultant real-world gas economic system determine, however we noticed numbers roughly round 6.0L/100km. This assorted barely from automobile to automobile.

The Junior Elettrica, in the meantime, will get a single-motor, front-wheel drive powertrain, which is fed by a 54kWh lithium-ion battery. Peak outputs are 115kW and 260Nm, and WLTP driving vary is 407km.

To see how the Alfa Romeo Junior stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability instrument

How does the Alfa Romeo Junior drive?

Alfa Romeo vehicles are imagined to be sporty, providing a driving character that units them aside from their direct rivals. Expectation is due to this fact the enemy of the Junior, however not for the explanation you may suppose.

The very first thing you discover when leaping into the driving force’s seat is how compact the automobile feels. You’ve got a real sense of how a lot (or little) automobile is round you, which makes it really feel extra like an outsized go-kart than one other run-of-the-mill mild SUV.

On the similar time, it’s unassuming. The considerably stilted stature tips your mind into pondering the automobile can be wobbly and a little bit unwieldy in bends, with comparable highway manners to the user-friendly and unintimidating CX-3.

After all, the mild-hybrid powertrain doesn’t assist with these expectations. It’s simple to stereotype mild-hybrid methods and assume they received’t do way more than merely flip the engine on and off sometimes, with an absence of any actual electrical oomph to help the combustion engine.

However the Junior quells lots of these preconceptions when you begin shifting. For one, the powertrain is surprisingly well-sorted, and can really run on electrical energy as much as a sure pace, and even when coasting on the freeway.

It feels way more like Audi’s ‘mild-hybrid plus’ system than Toyota’s V-Energetic setup, and that’s a great factor. We have been impressed by how typically it was capable of drive as an EV, even when there isn’t a lot energy available, though it could actually’t do it for lengthy.

That’s to not say there aren’t any quirks, although. You’ll discover some stumbling at low speeds, which is a product of the dual-clutch computerized transmission – it’s not undriveable, however sadly it’s not masked by the hybrid gubbins both.

The automobile additionally sounds prefer it units off from a standstill at very low revs, labouring the engine because the pace picks up. It’s a behaviour that just about makes the automobile really feel prefer it’s bogging down, however it does it constantly and presumably deliberately.

That apart, the Ibrida powertrain is peppy, enjoyable and has no points milling round city or getting as much as freeway speeds. A claimed 0-100km/h dash time of 8.9 seconds doesn’t sound fast, however there’s nonetheless an honest push if you lay into the throttle.

Heading full-throttle up a brief, uphill freeway on-ramp proved this, since we simply noticed 110km/h earlier than it was time to merge. There are Alfa’s ‘DNA’ drive modes too (Dynamic, Pure, and ‘Superior Effectivity’), which have actual impacts on how potent the drivetrain is.

When it comes to dynamics, the Junior feels far more planted than you may count on, and whereas we needed to overcome a few of these mild SUV preconceptions we talked about earlier earlier than throwing it right into a flip at will, the diploma to which it caught caught us off guard.

There isn’t actually one other mild SUV that steers the best way the Junior does. As with its value, you need to step as much as the small SUV class earlier than you discover one thing comparable in terms of dealing with.

Composure and confidence are phrases that come to thoughts. You don’t need to be in any particular drive mode to harness this pointy dealing with both; the usual suspension and steering setup is geared in the direction of agility out of the field.

The Junior’s steering is direct and responsive, although dialling as much as the extra aggressive Dynamic drive mode will make it a little bit firmer. The small steering wheel contributes to the go-kart vibe, making the Junior an unexpectedly fulfilling automobile to drive.

As clichéd as it might sound, the time period ‘soul’ suits the Junior properly. It’s one thing lacking from most new vehicles as of late, so we admire the best way Alfa has been capable of current a singular little SUV with actual on-road character. On the threat of utilizing marketing-speak, the Junior is joyful to drive.

None of that Italian sportiness compromises the trip high quality both. It’s a little bit taut and positively on the firmer aspect, however on no account uncomfortable – you would very simply stay with the Ibrida every day, and its well-sorted springs and dampers contribute to the well-engineered aura the automobile provides off typically.

Even sudden bumps don’t upset the automobile an excessive amount of, and also you’ll discover it could actually sort out most inner-city highway imperfections with the identical confidence it exhibits over larger hits and undulations at freeway speeds.

Alfa has additionally managed to properly tune a reliable suite of security gear. Techniques like adaptive cruise management labored reliably each on rural highways and inter-city freeways, whereas the surround-view digital camera and its compact proportions make it a simple car to park.

Our solely gripe is with the pace restrict warning system, which beeps at you when the automobile exceeds the pace restrict by any quantity. It isn’t a very loud or obnoxious noise, however it should bug you each time the pace restrict modifications. Fortunately, it may be toggled off.

As an entire, the Junior could be very full and completed package deal. We haven’t pushed the Elettrica, however the Ibrida gives most of what a small SUV purchaser might need, whereas additionally including a sizeable dose of the long-lasting aptitude for which Alfa is thought.

To see how the Alfa Romeo Junior stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability instrument

What do you get?

Just one trim degree is obtainable for the Junior at launch.

2026 Alfa Romeo Junior gear highlights:

• 18-inch alloy wheels in 215/55 R18 tyres
• Tyre restore package
• Matrix LED headlights
• Rain-sensing wipers
• Privateness glass
• Electrical park brake with auto maintain
• Palms-free energy tailgate
• Leatherette/fabric upholstery
• Heated entrance seats
• Massaging driver’s seat
• 6-way energy driver’s seat
• Leather-based-wrapped steering wheel
• Tilt and telescopic steering column adjustment
• Paddle shifters (Ibrida)
• 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster
• 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• DAB+ digital radio
• Satellite tv for pc navigation
• Wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Wi-fi cellphone charger
• 6-speaker sound system
• Single-zone local weather management
• 8-colour ambient lighting
• Aluminium pedals
• Proximity entry with push-button begin
• Alfa Romeo Related Providers

Accent highlights:

• House-saver spare wheel – $314
• Progresso Scudetto Grille – $1184 (excludes colour-matched paint)
• Sunroof – $1990

To see how the Alfa Romeo Junior stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability instrument

Is the Alfa Romeo Junior protected?

The Alfa Romeo Junior is but to be assessed by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

Commonplace security gear highlights:

• 6 airbags, incl:
• Adaptive cruise management
• Autonomous emergency braking with weak highway consumer detection
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Entrance, aspect and rear parking sensors
• Lane-centring
• Lane-keep help
• Encompass-view digital camera
• Site visitors Jam Help
• Site visitors signal recognition

To see how the Alfa Romeo Junior stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability instrument

How a lot does the Alfa Romeo Junior price to run?

The Alfa Romeo Junior is backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee. Service intervals are 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

Although no capped-price servicing is printed for the Junior, Alfa Romeo’s on-line service calculator gives price estimates for 12 years of servicing. Correct as of October 9, 2025, the Junior’s first 5 providers are detailed beneath:

For additional context, the sixth and eighth providers are each priced at over $1100. The Junior Elettrica, in the meantime, prices a median of $232.32 to service, totalling $1161.61 over 5 years.

To see how the Alfa Romeo Junior stacks up towards its rivals, use our comparability instrument

CarExpert’s Tackle the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida

We went into the Junior launch anticipating a automobile that drives like most different mild SUVs, fitted with a barely extra upmarket inside. Suffice to say, our expectations have been far exceeded.

That is what we imply once we say expectation is the Junior’s enemy. It’s all too simple to take its compact SUV positioning at face worth and dismiss it as too costly alongside mainstream rivals, and doomed to promote in smaller numbers than equally sized autos.

However the driving expertise makes all of it make sense. Alfa Romeo actually has captured a few of its allure and bestowed it upon an in any other case unremarkable Stellantis platform.

Commendable trip and dealing with permits the Junior to be in contrast with pricier rivals from Lexus and Audi, and gives one thing meaningfully totally different to the Jeep and Peugeot fashions with which it shares DNA.

After all, the Alfa’s comparatively steep price ticket will maintain it again, and so might its beepy pace restrict data system, which is able to get in your nerves after some time.

The Junior’s cabin structure can be considerably unintuitive. We discovered ourselves misplaced when making an attempt to navigate again to the infotainment system’s house display screen on extra events than we’d wish to admit. And it will be nice if the instrument show fitted the cluster housing a bit higher too.

However as a package deal, the Junior gives a enjoyable drive and a sexy inside that makes it really feel like your cash has gone someplace worthwhile. Whether or not the identical is true for the Elettrica stays to be seen, however the Ibrida is greater than worthy of attracting just a few well-heeled, red-blooded mild SUV consumers.

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