Styling
There's a hint of the shape of the
majestic A110 in the slope profile of the rear screen on the A390, and broadly speaking it's a handsome-enough thing. There are interesting details dotted all over the form of the GTS, including those triangular LEDs cut into its front cheeks, the S-vent on the leading edge of the bonnet to smooth its aero, the flowing details on the flanks, the full-width rear light strip, a contrast roof and little
tricolor flags on the side. It also suits Bleu Alpine Vision rather well, which is the signature colour for this company.
That said, there's not an awful lot different between this new GTS and the pre-existing GT. As standard, the latter runs on 20s whereas the flagship model gets the 21-inch 'Snowflake' (no, they're not an insult directed at the woke, but in fact simply describing their appearance) forged alloys, although those 21s can be optioned-up on the GT anyway for a fee. And other than that, it's simply the 'GTS' suffix on the boot badging which marks out this newcomer.
Interior
As per the outside, so it continues within. This GTS has more chopped carbon-fibre detailing inside, but otherwise it's as per the A390 GT. No bad thing, of course, as you get the magnificent Sabelt bucket front seats (heated and massaging, by the way) with two-tone Nappa leather, an Alcantara headlining, the potent 12.1-speaker Devialet XtremeSound audio system, excellent build quality, a superb driving position and that eye-catching Alpine three-spoke steering wheel.
But some might lament that a car costing almost £70,000 comes with the same largely digital interface as a
Renault Scenic E-Tech, save for some snazzy Alpine-specific graphics on both screens. For what it's worth, we think this system works intuitively and looks OK, so we've got no major qualms with the A390's fascia, yet the connection to 'lesser' models in the wider group portfolio might take the shine off the French fastback for some.
Practicality
No major issues here - passenger space in the back of the Alpine A390 GTS is adequate, but not exceptional, and headroom isn't the most sizeable due to the slope of the roof. Yet a Porsche Macan isn't much bigger in the back, so for a dynamic SUV... sorry,
sports fastback like this, the second-row seating is acceptable.
And so is the boot. It measures a considerable 532 litres with a full complement of humans onboard and a decent 1,643 litres with the 60:40 split-folding rear seatbacks dropped down - although there is no frunk in the Alpine, which is a minor practicality drawback.
Performance
There's not a great deal to talk about here, other than to say that the Alpine A390 GTS has an extra 70hp and 163Nm of torque when compared to the GT. Now as that latter car already kicks off with 400hp and 661Nm, making the Alpine EV quick enough for 0-62mph in 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 124mph, you're hardly starting with a slow machine in the first place.
The manufacturer has basically turned all three of the A390's motors - it has one on the front axle and two at the back, these handling a wheel each - up from their original 98.3- to 115kW here. That's what leads to the GTS' new system output of 470hp, allied to a goliath 824Nm of torque. At 2,121kg, the A390 is not anything like what you'd call a proper lightweight, as per other products from this firm, but by electric SUV (sorry, Alpine, we really are) standards it's relatively trim, so the GTS achieves 0-62mph almost a second quicker than the GT at 3.9 seconds, while the top speed increases to 137mph as well.
And so, both on the Vairano test track in northern Italy and the roads surrounding the facility, the A390 GTS proves fabulously rapid. We've no reason to doubt its claims to near-500hp and more than 800Nm of torque, and about our only main observation of the way it goes down the road is to say that the synthesised electronic noises it makes in certain settings aren't as convincing or enjoyable as in some rival EVs.
Otherwise, though, you won't complain about the way the GTS accelerates, nor the way it stops; its six-piston front callipers grabbing 365mm discs have no problem hauling the hard-charging Alpine down from speed time and time again, while pedal feel is strong and progressive, and permits late deceleration approaching some of the tighter turns on the technical layout of Vairano on which we put the A390 GTS through its paces.
However, adding more power to the e-motors and not increasing the battery size (89kWh) from the GT has had the expected impact on range. Alpine is proud to say that the cells in the GTS are actually made in France by Verkor, rather than Poland by LG (as for the GT), but there's only a subtle chemical change to their NMC make-up as the Verkor pack can take higher current due to its higher nickel content. That means that not only could all three motors be ramped up to 115kW apiece, the DC charging speed is swifter on the GTS (190kW) than it is on the GT (150kW). You'll be looking at a 25-minute 10-to-80 per cent top-up time with the A390 GTS as its fastest charging rate as a result.
Nevertheless, the official range of the car is down to 312 miles, when the GT quotes 345 miles for the same thing, and the real-world efficiency of the 470hp A390 seemed poor in the sweltering heat of Italy. In 40-degree temperatures, meaning we were constantly running the air-con at 'full cold and max fan', the GTS turned in 25.1kWh/62.1 miles, or 2.5 miles/kWh. We'd cut it some slack if the car on the 85-mile road route was one of the examples we'd been thrashing around Vairano earlier in the day, skewing its consumption figures, but it wasn't - and we didn't drive it particularly brutally on the roads anyway. You'd therefore be looking at a theoretical maximum of 220 miles or thereabouts from the A390 GTS, which is not bad, but not brilliant either (for such a large battery pack).
Ride & Handling
The only problems you might have with the handling of the Alpine A390 GTS would be as follows: one, the steering needs more weight and detail; two, the low-speed ride can be occasionally crunchy; and three, absolutely nothing has changed from an underpinnings perspective when compared to the GT.
In terms of the way the car can pivot on its axis, thanks to the proper torque-vectoring served up by its funky tri-motor arrangement, the A390 remains a delight. Around Vairano, or when driven in a more spirited manner on the roads, it's one of the more engaging large EVs we've sampled yet, with good balance, plenty of adjustability, masses of grip from its Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tyres, and lots of feedback coming through the base of the driver's seat; as we say, if the steering was just a touch more granular, the driver's rapport with the Alpine's glittering chassis would be even deeper than it already is.
And it's a nice, assured and comfortable car to travel in out on the roads, certainly when speeds are higher and the road surfaces are in your favour. There are just occasions when the 21-inch Snowflakes can thump and thud into compressions around town that doesn't bode particularly well for driving the car over extended distances back on the cratered roads of the UK, but in general we're happy with the Alpine's wider ride and refinement levels.
It's just that... shouldn't the GTS feel a little bit more hardcore, a little bit more involving, than the A390 GT? Porsche does this sort of light-and-shade thing much better; drive a Macan 4 and then have a go in a Macan 4S, and you'll feel the differences between them more keenly than you do in the Alpine, beyond the basic 'one is slightly faster than the other' concept. Perhaps a positive spin is to wonder if the carmaker has left headroom at the top of the A390's tree for a harder, better, faster, stronger variant wearing the
fabled R badging in the near future? Maybe.
In the end, you're left wondering with the A390 GTS whether you want to spend an extra eight grand, just to trim nine-tenths of a second off your 0-62mph time at the cost of 30 miles of outright range. Because that, ultimately, is what the driving experience adds up to here. And speaking of cost...
Value
At £69,360, the Alpine A390 GTS is exactly £8,000 more than the 400hp GT. And, as we understand it, all you're getting for your money is the extra 70hp/163Nm from the drivetrain, the 21s as standard, a slightly different boot badge and some additional carbon fibre within. So is all that worth it? Or should the French manufacturer have done something more to add an 'S' to the EV's tailgate? We'll leave that for you to decide.
Verdict
In isolation, the Alpine A390 GTS is a brilliant thing. It's stylish, it's rapid, it's engaging, it has a fine amount of range for an EV, and it offers something different to the SUV norm in this sector. But it's also expensive, in and of itself and also when compared with its almost-as-good GT stablemate, the steering lacks nuance and bite, it can feel unsettled at slow speeds on rucked-up urban routes, and something like a Porsche Macan GTS (wearing the very same three-letter honorific) offers up a more cohesive behind-the-wheel experience, albeit the German machine is another £20,000 again.
We feel like a few more chassis improvements would have made a more convincing case for the A390 GTS, then, but in the wider reckoning we still think this is an excellent new offering in this particular sector. We're just waiting eagerly to see what Alpine does with the car next.
