Alpine A390 GT, Analysis: Review with Features, Price and Specifications

We begin this test with strong emotion: the Alpine A390 GT is one of the most attractive electric cars you can buy. And, despite this, you will rarely see it on the road.

They told the British edition of the magazine a few weeks ago the car Since it was introduced at the end of last year, fewer than 250 Alpine A390s are being produced per month. Porsche on the other hand, in the UK alone… sells three times as many Macans every month.

Renault Group CEO Francois Provost said in that article that sales figures are not the problem. Provost believes the car is “really good” and is aware that they are relaunching a legendary brand that will be needed (and the most interesting thing here).”A 20 year journey. “Maybe I’m halfway there, but I’m not going to get too nervous and kill the brand, the DNA, the assets.”

It’s a ray of hope in a market that moves fast, running when the head tells it to run. Alpine has seen before his eyes how the DS has been relaunched, which is again in Citroen. Relaunching a brand like Alpine is something anyone would bet on to sustain it for more than two decades. Maybe three. Only after that time will we see if the investment has paid off. Along the way, they say, they don’t want to cut prices because it damages their brand image.

You can’t be premium with price No premium.

To be premium you have to offer a premium product. And boy is the Alpine A390 a premium product or not.

Alpine A390 GT technical data sheet

Petrolhead dude, we need to talk

That premium product offering is felt as soon as you enter the cabin. Although the instrument panel layout of the Alpine A390 GT we got hands on has a definite “Renault aftertaste”, the materials we got are well integrated and work well to the touch. The soft plastic shines and has a pleasant touch. Above, even, the German companies (hello BMW, Audi, Mercedes) that seem to have neglected customer service a bit in this price range.

sports point This is provided by a steering wheel with a good feel (the layout and buttons are similar to Renault cars, which is good news) and it has two buttons added. On the right, a selector for driving modes to switch to thumbstroke Kind of on the left Manettino with which regenerative braking can be controlled. More attractive than practical solutions. It looks nice but cams are a less aesthetic but more effective solution

In the center column, three buttons for selecting transmissions offer another sportier point. All this is accompanied by an infotainment system built on Android Automotive but sporting its own aesthetic, very alert and pleasant. The classic menus that we see in other models of the Renault group, our own menus are added to the interface that shows the temperature of some elements of the car such as the battery, the wheels or the G that we experience when using the car in the mode. Track.

Overdrive button that unleashes all the power of the Alpine A390 GT

Everything is measured so that you enjoy the acceleration and let yourself go. A red button flashes here for this overboost. Small and has a great feel, it unleashes all the car’s power by pressing it without hesitation. It also features a spaceship sound and an interface on the instrument panel that simulates a sort of “tunnel mode”.

By pressing the button, The car rushes forward. It has its own action time (it lasts barely 10 seconds) but it is enough to exceed the legal limit of the road and can get us into big trouble if we don’t lift our finger in time.

When they explained it to me I thought it was more typical of a video game than a car. I also thought I wouldn’t like it. how wrong i was Once you experience it for the first time, it’s hard not to be tempted again and again. It’s incredible how the Alpine A390 GT finds traction, no matter if you push it out of a corner at low speed or as a solution for overtaking when you’re already driving at high speed. The car was thrown.

But the best thing, without a doubt, is that the Alpine A390 GT is much more than a very fast electric car. We’re tired of electric car proposals that reach absurd speeds in even more absurd fractions of time. We are tired of explaining that this, by itself, need not be understood as sport, and that a car can be very fast and at the same time very uninteresting.

Alpine has achieved something else and has double merit. From the first Alpine, the original Alpine A110, the company His brand strategy is based on lightness. Models over the years have tried to keep that philosophy of targeting a premium market intact with their own logic: sportiness based on lightness. The philosophy was maintained with the return of the current Alpine A110.

With electric cars, the company has a big challenge because the weight of the battery directly attacks the concept. And gain stability when cornering with a very low car stay.

It’s almost unbelievable how the Alpine overcomes all these issues and makes the 2,199kg car feel light. Can you believe it, it is not an exaggeration. The ability to launch yourself at the apex of a curve, brake hard, steer and go exactly where you want is terrifying. When you get going, step on the accelerator and feel the car shoot off the rest of the turn because, against all logic, it’s got motor power when you least expect it.

This is possible because the A390 GT brings 401 HP distributed between three electric motors. Alpine doesn’t power each of them but we do know that the front one drives the entire axle while the two rear ones do it independently to each wheel.

It is familiar Alpine active torque vectoring. This system always delivers power based on demand, acting as a sort of self-locking system. That is, if we encounter a right curve, it is able to reduce the torque given to the right rear wheel and send more power to the left so that the car can turn on itself more easily.

But, in addition, it works even when we don’t accelerate, in this case it increases the regenerative braking that works on that right wheel and leaves the corner more free to facilitate turning. Have a clear image in your head, it’s when you go canoeing. You can turn right by repeatedly hitting left or, quickly, dipping the right pedal. The more we sink it, the more we lose speed but the faster we launch ourselves. YouTube channel PowerArt You can find explanations with images and how part of the Alpine A390 GT’s weight “disappears”.

The results, as we said, are very good and are supported by ventilated disc brakes measuring 365 mm at the front and 350 mm at the rear that bite very well. The feel is pretty good when you put your foot down but there is some doubt as to what kind of braking the car should be doing, regenerative with calipers or physical. In control, the result is the same but in the foot you can notice how the pedal hesitates a little and moves a few millimeters. It’s a sensation I only encountered when braking very hard and it didn’t make me doubt the braking performance but the result is not entirely clear.

Cost, cost and what matters?

This whole festival of acceleration and braking has its downside. And worst of all, it also has its downside when we talk about more comfortable driving.

And when enjoying driving on mountain roads, the consumption of the Alpine A390 GT can easily reach and even exceed 30 kWh/100 km. Cruising at a speed of 120 km/h, Consumption went from 22 to 24 kWh/100 kmDepending on the slopes we encounter along the way.

They are high cost. The problem is that if we were talking about a pure combustion sports car, we could almost leave the cost aside, but the biggest problem in this case is that it forces us to stop for a while. how much The car charges a maximum of 190 kW and promises to go from 15 to 80% power in 29 minutes.

That is, with previous costs and its 89 kWh capacity battery, we can stop first when we have traveled between 300 and 350 km. Then we will stop for about half an hour and we will have between 250 and 300 km available in front of us. Always assuming consumption of 22-24 kWh/100 km at 120 km/h.

These costs are achieved with a very well-functioning adaptive cruise control that performs well on highways and expressways. In general, operation is correct, with braking and acceleration that could be more careful, but this is not a car that feels unsafe or intrusive to drive.

Conclusion of Xataka

The Alpine A390 GT is, by far, the most fun car I’ve had this year. Without a doubt. Because in a market where automobiles weigh more, especially among electric cars, it’s incredible how quickly it performs on the road without losing an ounce of comfort.

Your expenses are your black points? No, I think where it falls short is the charging power. I don’t ask for cost and extreme efficiency from this type of car, I like that they charge as quickly as possible and even if they force me to stop because my right leg is heavy, I stop as little as necessary.

The Alpine A390 GT is an excellent alternative to a Porsche Macan. In our case we tested the turbo version which accelerated like a demon and is a mile-eater on the highway. But on twisty roads, the Alpine A390 GT is much more fun. And, on a personal level, he’s much more interesting (in fact, he’s won a lot of live).

Yes, the cost is high but if you are looking for an electric car for everyday fun, Fast charging conditions It carries less than the entire car.

Alpine is building the brand again. The Alpine A390 GT has been a successful step along the way. It probably won’t sell much. But hopefully the intention to hold the bet for 20 years remains intact. The only way forward is with a proposal. If so, we really want to continue testing the next release from the French.

photo Xataka

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