Styling
It may not have had the most auspicious of starts with the whole 'Milano' thing, but the furore over the quick name-change to Junior seems to have detracted from what a good job Alfa has done with this compact crossover's styling. You might find some of the details, like the Alfasud-mimicking hoop of the rear-light bar or the Progresso shield grille - complete with the company's logo cut out of it - a little contrived, but when you think about it no other crossover in the B-segment is as interesting, or crucially as nice, to look at as the Junior. Veloce spec helps, as does two-tone Arese Grey paint contrasted with a black roof (£700), plus the glorious diamond-cut 20-inch 'Venti' alloy wheels, but for a compact EV, it has a heck of a lot of presence and style.
Interior
The passenger compartment is one of those interiors full of contrasts. It shares its structure and built-to-a-cost nature with other value vehicles in the Stellantis stable, like the
Fiat 600 and the
Jeep Avenger, so the upper-dash plastics and the door cards are pretty cheap. But because it's an Alfa and therefore supposed to be premium - and as with its related high-performance EV, the
Abarth 600e - some stunning details save it from ignominy. Such as swathes of microfibre, including on the pleasing steering wheel, and that scalloped-out, metallic trim finish in the fascia. But nothing more jaw-dropping than the phenomenal Sabelt bucket seats that are part of the £2,200 Sport Pack option. Honestly, these make the Alfa feel truly special, before you've even so much as turned a wheel in anger in the thing.
Practicality
An area where the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce falls down a little, thanks to those links to stuff such as the 600 and Avenger. As with its Stellantis relations, passenger space in the second row of the Junior is limited, so actually using it as a four-seater will take some careful cabin configuration to get the best of it. A 400-litre boot is a better benefit here, although there's a lip created by the floor being lower than the tailgate's opening. A few reasonable storage solutions in the cabin ensure the Junior isn't a complete practicality loss, but if you're going to use it as your main form of family transportation, you'd better check first that everyone will fit onboard comfortably.
Performance
In terms of the speed of the Junior Veloce, with its potent 281hp motor, and the way Alfa Romeo has calibrated both the throttle (in all three drives modes of the DNA settings, through which the maximum power and torque outputs alter too; essentially, you need the Junior in Dynamic to enjoy it at its fastest), it's a roaring success. This is a seriously swift crossover, amply able to handle the grunt going through the front wheels alone and deploy it to maximum effect. There's a switchable synthesised noise in the Veloce to make it sound more interesting during acceleration than a regular EV, which might irritate a few people, but we found it quite appealing in its own way.
The chief issue is the range. Stellantis doesn't fit this high-power model with any bigger battery than the regular Elettrica variant, so with its much more profligate motors, the official one-shot capability of the Veloce is a mere 200 miles. Realistically, with 80 per cent charge, you're looking at more like 160 miles. And with the current dichotomy facing all companies who want to make a performance EV - do you fit a bigger battery for more range but then add weight, thus necessitating more power to make the car perform as intended, or stick with what you've got as Alfa has done here? - then what you end up with is a vehicle where you can't really enjoy its performance for any sustained period of time. The minute you start driving it with any sort of gusto, the consumption drops much closer to 3 miles/kWh, and then you're faced with double-digits range. We went from 82 per cent battery to 4 per cent, leaving us with six miles of driving left, and that was after just 98 miles at the wheel. Gah.
Ride & Handling
Make no bones about it, the Junior Veloce is one of the most fun EVs you can drive. It has a proper Torsen limited-slip diff on the front axle, a brilliant suspension set-up that blends off reasonable ride comfort (it is, admittedly, a car that's on the firm side at times, especially when you're on rougher road surfaces) with great body control, and surprisingly meaty, feelsome and precise steering. Link it all together with the strong electric motor, and the hottest Junior lives up to both its Alfa Romeo and Veloce badges with some aplomb. The problem is, as we said in the section above, you won't go very far in it before you need a charge again, if you're driving it as Alfa would like you to. Such a pity.
Value
Sadly, Alfa considers itself premium, and so it charges a premium price for the Junior Veloce. It's £42,295 basic, a figure which is already more money than the Scorpionissima version of the Abarth 600e to start with, and when you top that up with £6,300-worth of options (two-tone paint, Sport Pack, Technology Pack, and an electrically operated sunroof) then you're presented with a B-segment crossover saddled with considerably less than 200 miles of driving range for £48,595. A B-segment crossover which is a hoot to drive and which also looks great on the driveway, sure, but the fact you get less than fifteen-hundred quid's change from 50 grand is still breathtaking, in all the wrong ways.
Verdict
You might look at our overall rating for the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce at the top of this piece and think we've lost our marbles. Four stars, for a cramped-in-the-back compact crossover that's severely limited for range and the best part of £50,000, to boot; madness. But we're going to cut the 281hp Junior some slack in our rating, for the following reasons: one, it doesn't have to be your main car, instead being a very enjoyable second vehicle that's also a saintly EV; two, there are cheaper and more sensible versions of the Alfa than the Veloce, so the company should be allowed to cut loose with its flagship; and three, although it will be brief between charges, it delivers a superb driving experience that makes it one of the most likeable and thrilling small EVs on sale right now. The Junior Veloce is most definitely flawed, then, but it is also fantastic.
