Your eye line is at about the same level as the brake lights of a Renault Clio, an entirely unscientific measurement that I made while dribbling along in traffic.
Many people would probably say that they feel vulnerable and unsafe down this low – hence, to a certain extent, the proliferation of overly bulky SUVs – but I prefer it. I’d rather be able to dodge out of the way of danger than simply absorb the impact.
In the Alpine A110, which seems to have the manoeuvring speed of a flea, you can certainly dodge out of danger. Perhaps more importantly, you can also go in search of fun, and for once in the modern motoring world, actually find it.
The A110, in spite of having been introduced to the motoring public at large only in 2018 and having gone on sale, officially, in Ireland only just now, is Alpine’s past. Its name is lifted from one of Alpine’s first road cars, the original 1963-1977 A110, and that arrestingly small car’s wonderfully pretty styling has been rather wonderfully reinterpreted for the modern age.
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Its mechanical make-up is definitely from the past, too. The 252hp 1.8-litre turbo engine, mounted behind the two-seat cabin, is shared with a Renault Megane RS hot hatch that doesn’t even exist any more, now that the Megane range is fully electric.
There’s a sense of elegiac reverie in the whole make-up and character of the A110 – it’s a low, two-seat sports car, a relic of the 1960s in a modern world made up of soulless and sluggish SUVs.
It has the kind of reactive, responsive steering that most people claim not to care about or notice, although if that’s the case, then please explain how so many regular A-to-B drivers so enjoyed owning and driving a Ford Focus?
It is pinned to the road by suspension honed by a former Renault, Nissan and Alpine senior engineer, and Cork native, David Twohig.
Twohig’s team worked what can only be described as magic, because although the Alpine goes around corners like a race car, it rides over bumps as comfortably as a family hatchback.
Usable, then? Sort of. There are tiny boots front and rear into which some shopping or a couple of soft bags will fit. I was able to fit a guitar in by sliding the passenger seat forward a bit and slipping the instrument in behind.
There’s precious little oddment space in the cabin, and nowhere to place a hot drink, but that’s okay because I’m not a coffee-drinking kind of guy. I’d rather be driving, gently pulling back on the A110’s delicate little gearshift paddles (sadly, Alpine will never make a manual version), feeling how the steering nibbles at your palms as the road surface changes, and enjoying the sharp rasp of the little four-pot engine behind.
It’s not a perfect car – it has cheap cabin switches, the cool-looking fixed-back bucket seats, made by racing experts Sabelt, gave me backache, and at €95,495 it’s cripplingly expensive, although still €6,000 less than an equivalent Porsche.
It is a perfect car, though. It’s a car that reminds you why you fell in love with cars in the first place. A car to desire and lust after, yes, but also small, easy to park, light on fuel consumption and full of handy Renault bits and pieces, should anything break.
Even I have to admit that it’s the past, though. A rosy-tinted look back at when driving was fun. Except... except that it’s also the future, because you can draw a direct line between this classic-style, retro-look, petrol-powered Alpine and its all-electric hatchback stablemate, the A290.
In this, Alpine’s 70th anniversary year, it seems appropriate to put these two cars together and see which might have the greater impact.
The A290 is basically a Renault 5 E-Tech wearing a Halloween costume of the Stig. It has a chunky body kit that means you have to reach your legs out over a wide side skirt when you’re getting in and out, and chunky wheel arches that contain, in our top-spec GTS test car, gorgeous ‘Snowflake’ 19-inch alloy wheels. They also contain the exact same brakes as the A110, so there is a direct technical link between the two cars.
There’s a more important spiritual link, though. The A290 is a compromised car in many ways. It’s tall and quite heavy, and its 52kWh battery, combined with a 220hp electric motor, sticky tyres and that drag-inducing body kit, means that against a claimed range of 362km on one charge you’ll be lucky to see a real-world 280km.
While the Renault 5 on which it’s based easily averaged a very frugal 15kWh/100km when we were driving it, the A290 could only get down to 19.6kWh/100km. That’s thirsty, in EV terms, and then you have to factor in the faffing of charging, which is still too much of a pain in the backside, and expensive if, like me, you have to rely on public chargers.
However, I just didn’t want to hand back the A290. There are not many test cars, and fewer electric ones, that I come to the end of my session with and just want to keep.
It’s not just the uber-cool rally-style spotlights on the bonnet. It’s the way the A290 eagerly bounds into a corner, with fantastic steering speed and feel, with a suspension set-up that’s just the right side of firm, and with big, high-backed bucket seats that clamp you in a leathery embrace. My dog even fits in the back.
I adored it. It’s a truly wonderful little car, and more fun than the still-petrol Golf GTI. The ‘Overtake’ button, and the twiddly brake energy regeneration switch on the steering wheel add a delightful, playful, race-car touch.
Which brings us to an interesting point. Alpine will have to prove itself, financially, if it’s going to survive especially now that former Renault chief executive, and champion of all things fun and fast, Luca de Meo, has moved on.
Hopefully, the introduction of the all-electric, three-motor Porsche Macan rival model, the A390, will give Alpine a sales and prestige boost, and sate the appetites of those who want something fast and fun, but practical too.
More importantly, though, Alpine may be carrying out a much more important duty. The A110 is ice-cool, but arguably a car of interest only to true motoring nuts, and we are a scarce breed.
The A290, though, is making electric cars cool, and that’s a tougher job. It’s so enjoyable though, so adorable, that you’d love one and own one entirely agnostically of its power source. If Alpine can keep this vibe going – electric, but who cares when you’re enjoying yourself this much – then maybe this brand has more future than past.
Lowdown: Alpine 110
Power: 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol mid-mounted engine with 252hp and 320Nm of torque driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed paddle-shift automatic gearbox.
0-100km/h: 4.5 secs.
Emissions (motor tax): 153g/km (€280).
Fuel consumption: 6.7l/100km (WLTP).
Price: €95,495 as tested. A110 from €92,495.
Our rating: 5/5.
Verdict: As close to a perfect car as makes no difference.
Lowdown: Alpine A290 GTS
Power: 160kW e-motor developing 220hp and 300Nm of torque, powering the front wheels via a single-speed automatic transmission.
CO2 emissions (annual motor tax) 0g/km (€120).
Electric consumption: 17.0kWh/100km (WLTP).
Electric range: 362km (WLTP) 0-100km/h: 6.4 sec.
Price: €42,500 as tested, A290 starts from €36,690.
Our rating: 4/5.
Verdict: Lacks for range, but you’ll be having so much fun you won’t care.
