Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida review: Hybrid spark, but is the magic still there?
The Alfa Romeo Ibrida
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ALFA ROMEO JUNIOR IBRIDA |
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★★★★☆ |
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€34,995 |
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a 1.2 litre petrol/hybrid with 134bhp |
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pretty well specced but décor a bit low key |
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At least Alfa is still with us |
It never really mattered what type of car it was; once the name ‘Alfa Romeo’ appeared on any vehicle, it inspired a frisson of excitement like no other.
Despite the fact that for a period they rusted faster than they moved, or that they were so poorly made that bits were liable to fall off at an alarming rate, owning an Alfa was always an experience, even if it wasn’t one you were going to remember fondly.
The noise they made, the chassis balance they displayed, the handling they offered, and the style they represented almost made all the hardships associated with ownership worth the trauma.
And, sadly, trauma was all too often the word most associated with the great Italian brand. The upside, if you were lucky, was that you got a good one which didn’t rot or fall apart before your very eyes.
Despite the many flaws, Alfas ingrained themselves in your consciousness and inspired a loyalty among fans which transcended any element of common sense owners might have enjoyed.
Those days have largely gone and, sadly, gone too are the days when you could identify an Alfa simply by hearing its exhaust note; in many ways the company has been emasculated to the point where its uniqueness has been lost amid an ocean of shared drivetrains among companies under the Stellantis umbrella.
We should, I suppose, be grateful that Alfa has not disappeared altogether – something reportedly discussed by the Stellantis executive board some months ago – but it has not, thankfully.
But trying to distinguish Alfa as a readily identifiable entity among so many other brands with whom it now shares so much hardware has not been easy for those responsible for keeping it going.
Trying to mix the needs of a giant conglomerate with those of a small, easily recognised Italian brand is an act requiring considerable ball-juggling skills, but that is where Alfa executives find themselves right now.
Indeed, the Alfa Junior is seen as a car crucial to the marque’s future, and its launch sparked an ugly spat in Italy. Originally called the Milano, it became the subject of considerable rancour in its native Milan when locals realised the car would be built in Poland, and the ‘Junior’ name was inserted into the void.
So uphill has Alfa’s fight been to stay relevant – not to mention alive – that it has not had a contender in the big-selling B-segment for many years, and the Junior was seen as ideal for filling that gap.
There are three versions – the Veloce, the Elettrica and now the Ibrida. It is the latter we test this week, having previously enjoyed the EV moderately. The Ibrida name was initially something of a curiosity here at Examiner Motoring, until someone pointed out that it is indeed the Italian translation for ‘hybrid.’
And so it is, and what we have here is a car that uses the same 1.2-litre mild-hybrid system as its Stellantis (and ex-Fiat Chrysler Group) fellows, the Fiat 600 and the Jeep Avenger. Using this system creates greater affordability, meaning there is a big gap between the cost of the Ibrida and the EV which, hopefully, means they’ll sell enough to keep the ship afloat.
By comparison with the Elettrica, the Ibrida looks very similar from the outside, although it runs on smaller 17” alloys and has a slightly different grille to differentiate it. Oh, and it also has an exhaust pipe.
The interior is pretty much the same across the two models and this one also has a 10.25” infotainment screen, the same décor and the same digital instrumentation.
The main difference lies under the car’s skin, as the Ibrida does without the rather large battery pack that comes with the Elettrica. Instead you get that 1.2-litre three-cylinder engine, a tiny 0.9 kWh battery mounted under the front seats and a six-speed auto gearbox.
Alfa has a grand history of making small-capacity petrols with a lot of heart and, while this one lacks the characteristic rasp of engines of old, the engineers have done their best to tweak the exhaust to make it sound a little more Alfa-esque.
It produces some 134 bhp and that’s good for a reasonable 8.9-second 0–100 km/h sprint and a top speed of 205.9 km/h, which is more in the ballpark for the brand than its EV sibling. Although the automatic is a little clunky, there is plenty of enjoyment to be extracted from this package and it is quite a lively companion.
For those less concerned with the marque’s glorious history and more with the money in their pocket, the fact this will return a consumption figure of 4.8 l/100 km (57.9 mpg) is very appealing indeed. Despite being relatively zippy, it is also hugely economical.
The people at Alfa have also worked something of a miracle by making this Junior considerably more enjoyable to drive than the majority of the cars with whom it shares Stellantis’ CMP chassis platform. Indeed, I’d suggest it is the best of them, including the Peugeot 2008 and the Jeep Avenger.
By tweaking everything from the damping to the spring rates and anti-roll bars, they also adjusted the software controlling the throttle, brakes and steering. They might not have had much to work with, but they have made the car a significantly better partner than its close relatives.
It was somewhat surprising to find oodles of low-end torque which will induce wheelspin on take-off if you’re not gentle on the loud pedal. That’s a characteristic long gone from most modern cars.
But it also doesn’t roll much in corners and while there will be understeer if you’re doing the ape, it is not excessive to the point of being a pain in the neck. The steering is well weighted too and copes really well with Irish B-roads.
There are flaws, and the fact that the Ibrida rattled quite a bit might raise some question marks about build quality, but then an Alfa that doesn’t rattle would suggest there was something wrong.
The interior is a little too low-rent for my liking and there is nothing in there that screams ‘Alfa,’ apart from the neat steering wheel. Cheap plastics abound and the mish-mash of Stellantis-derived switchgear gets a minus grade too.
Boot size is good, but the amount of legroom in the rear for average-sized people is disappointing, suggesting that it will appeal more to people with smallies and as a second car.
The thing is, though, that Alfas always gave you a feeling of being special. This one, although quite the best of the Stellantis B-segment offerings, didn’t really distil that out-of-the-ordinary vibe.
That’s a bit of a pity really, but then I suppose I should be thankful that the great marque is still with us at all and still trying to be relevant, but different. Like it should be.
