► Alpine launches its first-ever SUV
► Obviously, it’s electric and powerful
► The brand also says it ‘feels’ lightweight
I’m growing rather tired of watching performance car brands pivot into SUVs. Almost every great sports car manufacturer, from Aston Martin to Porsche, has leapt on the bandwagon – and now Alpine, the final bastion of the lightweight sports car, has caved under the weight of popularism. Meet the all-new, all-electric A390 SUV.
Alpine won’t admit it’s built an SUV, mind. Despite my protestations at the reveal event in Dieppe, the brand insists on calling this car a ‘sport fastback.’ That irks me somewhat. At least have the good grace to own the segment you’ve stepped into, Alpine.
But I should set my personal prejudices aside because, as much as I lament the SUV-isation of the car industry, I can’t criticise Alpine for chasing its margins. At the end of the day, SUVs are the most prevalent sort of car on the road right now.
Plus, if Alpine wants to meet its ambitious plan of successfully launching seven new cars in seven years (a project that started 2023), current legislation dictates it needs to evolve or die. Keep scrolling to find out how much weight the new A390 has on its shoulders.
Alpine’s press material says the A390 is based on an ‘original architecture’ but, after nailing a few chassis engineers to the wall with questions, I found out it’s actually a heavily revised version of the platform you’ll find under the Renault Scenic.
The changes are quite dramatic, however. Instead of just one electric motor at the front, like you get in the Scenic, you get three motors spread around the chassis. There’s one on the front axle and one mounted to each wheel at the rear.
Alpine offers two versions of the A390. The most basic GT model has 395bhp, a 0–62mph time of 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 124mph. The flagship GTS develops 464bhp and 596lb ft of torque, hacking its 0–62mph time down to 3.9 seconds and increasing its top speed to 137mph.
Both feature an 89kWh battery pack. Alpine says that’s enough for a maximum range of 345 miles on the car’s standard 20-inch alloys, or 323 miles if you step up to the car’s bling-tastic 21-inch wheels. To try eke as much efficiency out of the battery as possible, every version of the SUV also comes with a heat pump as standard.
It charges quickly, too. Connect the A390 to a 190kW DC rapid charger and you’ll be able to thrash the battery from 15 to 80% capacity in less than 25 minutes. That time seems well judged to me. That’s about as long as I’m prepared to spend having a coffee on a long drive.
Plus, because the A390 supports vehicle-to-load, you can use its battery to power external appliances or save money on your bills by selling power back to the grid. Alpine even offers an optional adaptor that lets you transfer charge into an electric bike.
Oh yes – and there needs to be to handle the heft. The car weighs not-so inconsiderable 2,121kg, but the brand’s engineers kept banging on about how the car will have a ‘feeling of lightness.’ Supposedly, Alpine’s boffins have managed to defy the laws of physics with some clever suspension tuning and torque-vectoring witchcraft.
Alpine says the two rear motors can spin up independently of one another to encourage the car to rotate into corners and offset its inertia. The amount of torque sent to each rear wheel can also differ depending on how much steering lock you’ve wound in, which is supposed to help combat understeer.
Alpine reckons this tech makes the car seem nimbler than its gravity would suggest. It says this SUV can closely ‘replicate the agility, lightness, and stability of the A110’ – but I’m sceptical. Obviously, I’ll withhold my judgement until I’ve driven it, but I’m yet to encounter an electric performance car that feels truly lightweight. Even the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, which is the gold standard for the class, can’t hide its weight when you’re throwing it around.
But now, I’d like to step down from my soap box for a moment and praise Alpine’s aerodynamic engineering. There are some truly inspired aero touches peppered around the car, such as flaps behind the rear wheels that expel turbulent air, an exceptionally shallow 17-degree roof angle (unheard of in the realm of coupe-SUVs) and a rear diffuser inspired by Daytona racers that not only benefits downforce but also reduces drag.
You can see where Alpine has tried to mirror the A110 inside. The A390’s centre console is a similar shape and it sports the same drive mode selector buttons. There’s are several commonalities with Renault, too – most noticeably with the infotainment setup.
You get the same 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and 12.0-inch portrait infotainment system as the Scenic, which is no bad thing because those screens are excellent. The switchgear is all pinched from the Renault parts bin, too, which I also like because it means you get Renault’s fantastically logical ‘MyPerso’ switch above the driver’s right knee, allowing you to disengage lane assist with a single prod.
To try and inject a bit of its motorsport heritage, Alpine made a few tweaks to the A390’s steering wheel. There are two extra switches you won’t find on any Renault – a button marked ‘OV’ (which, amusingly, stands for ‘overtake’) and an F1-inspired rotary controller that allows you to adjust the level of brake regen without digging through endless menus.
What’s more, if you’re prepared to spend a bit of money on the top-spec model, you get a pair of Sabelt sports seats. I’ve tried Sabelt’s seats in the new Alfa Romeo Junior and the Alpine A110 R – and both are utterly brilliant. They’re comfortable and fantastically supportive, so I’ve got high hopes for the Sabelts in this Alpine.
Orders for the new Alpine A390 will open in November 2025, with prices expected to start from around £60,000 for the GT model and £70,000 for the GTS. The first cars are due to arrive on UK shores by Q2 2026 – and Alpine is hoping it can steal sales from the likes of the BMW iX2, Maserati Grecale and Porsche Macan.
Luke is the Deputy Editor of our sister site Parkers, but he spends plenty of time writing news, reviews and features for CAR. He's been a motoring journalist since 2018, learning his craft on the Auto Express news desk before joining the Parkers/CAR team in 2022. When he isn't yoked to his laptop, he's tearing his hair out over his classic Mini restoration project or pinballing around the country attending heavy metal gigs.
By Luke Wilkinson
Deputy Editor of Parkers. Unhealthy obsession with classic Minis and old Alfas. Impenetrable Cumbrian accent
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