With its sporty stance, spacious interior, and Italian design, the Alfa Romeo Junior will awaken your passions and help you rediscover love. Its advanced technology, comfort, and safety will remind you why you’re an Alfa Romeo enthusiast.
Few people know that Alfa’s mini SUV was initially supposed to be called the Milano. However, since the car was built in Tichy, Poland, and not in Italy, the Italian government wasn’t keen on naming it.
The Alfa Romeo Junior not only had to match the sporty and elegant style of Italian body design, but also offer a sporty driving experience. This is where Alfa’s true DNA meets and shines through in the Alfa Romeo Junior. Because it’s an ALFA.
First of all, the front end has a sporty and unmistakable design with its narrow LED daytime running lights and Alfa’s typical grille.
The meticulous work carried out by Alfa engineers on the chassis, brakes, and steering is also a plus. At the same time, roadholding remains well-controlled, even at the limit, so the driver gains immense confidence in cornering faster after just a few kilometers.
A unique chassis
Alfa has fitted the Junior, which even in its top-of-the-line version is exclusively front-wheel drive, with a Torsen differential on the drive axle. This differential distributes power purely mechanically: if one wheel loses grip, excess torque is diverted to the opposite drive wheel. For the driver, this gives the feeling that the car is being “pulled” into the road and corners.
The chassis is generally designed to be sporty and robust, and the steering is quite precise and direct. The suspension setup has the drawback of offering somewhat limited comfort. Because of this, cross-links and road irregularities aren’t smoothed out and are clearly noticeable to passengers. However, the Alfisti should be able to handle this.
The Junior’s boot feels unexpectedly spacious despite its small, car-like length, but it certainly doesn’t offer the volume of a larger SUV. Alfa Romeo states that trunk volumes range from 400 to 1280 litres.
Practical: The loading compartment floor can be adjusted to three different heights. When installed from above, a flat loading area without a loading sill is created.
Rear seat occupants must make some compromises. Legroom for adults is modest. While the front seat is adjusted for a 1.85-meter-tall person, the rear seat is adjusted for a 1.80-meter-tall person. However, the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida’s rear seating arrangement offers passengers a sporty seating position and a quality ride in terms of comfort.
When we look at the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida’s dimensions, its intended use, its sporty robustness DNA infrastructure and its motorsport background, we need to see that the rear seating position is almost the same when compared to similar compact SUV crossovers in terms of its size and we need to take this into account when criticizing it.
The Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida boasts incredible, unique, and original Italian design both inside and out. This continues magnificently in the interior. The Alfa truly distinguishes itself from its Far Eastern competitors in terms of comfort, material durability, design, color harmony, and optimal material selection.
They cannot compete with each other in any respect.
Because I’ve driven the vehicle day and night, in all kinds of road conditions. I’ve covered a lot of miles. I’ve tested it on long roads and in all kinds of weather conditions. I can clearly say this distinction in every respect.
I can say that the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida’s engine and performance are impeccable. It’s as if it senses and understands your desires, reacting to road conditions through the engine, steering, and tires.
I can say that it is a perfect vehicle for driving pleasure with its non-electric hybrid engine.
Three different driving modes are offered: Natural (Standard), Sport, and Personalized. These driving modes create acceleration differences between Standard and Sport modes. In both modes, the vehicle accelerates well and reaches high speeds quickly. Acceleration continues at higher speeds, easily reaching speeds of 215 km/h.
I really liked the interior lighting of the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida. The sporty interior features branded driver and passenger seats that are firm and ergonomic yet still feel comfortable.
The vehicle delivered incredibly reasonable fuel economy. It delivered diesel fuel economy at reasonable speeds both in and outside the city, while being more fuel-efficient at higher speeds outside the city. All in all, it’s quite economical for performance driving.
Test Drive: Ozgur Sunay
