Alpine’s new electric crossover coupe, the A390, is a real corner taker. It may not achieve the razor-sharp agility of a Porsche Macan 4, but it offers real driving pleasure – at a significantly lower price.
Have you ever heard of a “blue banana”? No, it is not a psychedelic fruit or the result of a botanical experiment gone wrong. It’s a feeling – the grin that spreads across your face when you drive the Alpine A390. Alpine cars are often painted blue, and this one also has his grin on the front. It turns out that the blue banana is a double act.
Underneath, the A390 rides on the AmpR Medium platform, which is also used in the Renault Mégane, Renault Scénic and Nissan Ariya. While Renault typically installs a single motor and Nissan uses one per axle, the A390 uses a three-motor setup: a 115 kW (156 hp) EESM at the front and two identical PSMs at the rear for torque vectoring. “We started with a prototype with four motors, tested different configurations and software cards – the solution with three motors turned out to be the best,” explains chief engineer Robert Benetto.
It wasn’t a cheap solution and Alpine’s dynamics engineers had to convince upper management to give it the green light. In the end, former Renault boss Luca de Meo gave the thumbs up. “The Alpine A390 can certainly keep up with the Porsche Macan Electric,” says product manager Fabrice Izzillo. It’s a bold claim, but there’s logic behind it. With 345 kW (470 hp), the Frenchman outperforms the entry-level Macan 4 by 45 kW. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.9 seconds and reaches a top speed of 220 km/h.
But Alpine isn’t about brute force. Its reputation is based on dynamic finesse on winding roads. Like the A110, the A390 has a sports suspension with coil springs and hydraulic stop buffers. Stiffer anti-roll bars and tailored dampers set it apart from its Renault-Nissan siblings. Double forged aluminum wishbones at the front and a bespoke aluminum frame to accommodate the two rear motors improve response and increase rigidity.
All the engineering work pays off. At 2,121 kg, the A390 is no lightweight, but it still feels playful and composed when cornering. The front end is eager and the torque vectoring feature at the rear allows you to control the car with the throttle. In Sport or Track mode, the system sends more torque to the outside rear wheel, tightening the vehicle’s track. Even in Eco or Normal mode it remains vibrant. The 824 Nm torque certainly helps.
There are two fun toys on the steering wheel: a red boost button for ten seconds of extra power, and a blue wheel for adjusting regenerative braking to three levels, including full one-pedal drive. The ride is firm but not harsh – just right, really. It may not quite achieve the top precision of the Macan 4, but with more power and around 6,000 euros less price it is a convincing offer. Choose the A390 GT (295 kW, 67,500 euros) and you save 17,100 euros.
We determined an average consumption of 24.8 kWh/100 km – 4.4 kWh more than stated. The usable battery capacity is 89 kWh and allows up to 503 km for the GTS with 21-inch wheels. The maximum DC charging is a decent 190 kW; Thanks to a standard heat pump you can go from 15% to 80% in 25 minutes. At 11 kW AC, 20-80% takes 5 hours and 20 minutes. With optional 22 kW AC, this time drops to 2 hours 40.
Inside, the A390 GTS has two screens: a 12.3-inch instrument display and a 12-inch vertical touchscreen with Android Automotive. The interface is intuitive and there’s typically French drama in the sportier driving modes – G-Force gauges included. Why is there still a bulky physical volume control? “We spent the budget on chassis dynamics,” says Benetto. Fair enough.
The A390 is 4.62 meters long and will go on sale in January. Due to the sloping roof, headroom in the rear seats is limited for people over 1.85 meters tall. The trunk volume is 532 liters or 1,643 liters with the seats folded down – although a step in the loading floor and a high lip make loading difficult. Still, that’s a small price to pay for a car that puts such a big smile on your face. Or as they say in Dieppe: the blue banana effect.
