The Alpine A290 may look like another cynical attempt to profit from the glories of yesteryear, but this all-new French hot hatchback has plenty going for it.

Alpine has been a bit of a one-hit wonder of late, with just one model — albeit in many different guises, although the Alpine A110 coupe was discontinued in Australia back in 2021 — to show for the eight years since it returned from the automotive wasteland. But now Alpine is trying to broaden its horizons, and it’s doing so with this: the new A290.

An electric hot hatchback based on the new Renault 5, the A290 is supposed to catapult Alpine into the future, while still paying tribute to the French brand’s storied history. Whether it will reach these shores remains to be seen, but it’s certain to attract some interest either way.

To find out whether it is worthy of road space in Australia, we headed to the sun-kissed roads of Mallorca, in Spain’s idyllic Balearic Islands, to put the car to the test on the road and the race track.

Alpine A290 like on the inside?
Like the Renault 5 from which it inherits so much, the A290 attempts to balance the modern world with nods to the past, while still providing the technology and luxury that customers crave.

To that end, the Alpine’s cabin is based on the same architecture as that of the Renault 5, with two digital screens dominating the dashboard, but the Alpine differentiates itself with some cool materials and styling, as well as a couple of glorious sports seats.

The A290 also gets a different steering wheel, complete with a blue rotary switch for the regenerative braking system and a button for driving mode selection, as well as a bright red ‘overtake’ button that provides maximum power for 10 seconds.

Nevertheless, the two screens still dominate proceedings, and the technology inside those displays is pretty impressive, with an Android operating system derived from cellphones.

That means the screens are sharp, responsive and intuitive, while a selection of apps, including Google Maps, means there’s definitely a smartphone feel to the in-car multimedia. The Alpine also gets some neat tech touches, including a ‘warp speed’ graphic for the digital instrument cluster when you use full throttle.

Happily, despite the emphasis on technology, there’s no over reliance on the touchscreens, with a bank of ‘proper’ switches beneath the central display, allowing for easy adjustment of the temperature and various other features.

Admittedly, the strange stalk behind the steering wheel that controls multimedia functions is a bit odd, but at least Alpine has kept the gear selector in its rightful place in the centre console (albeit in A110-style three-button form), rather than trying to pack that in behind the wheel as well.

There has been a similarly pragmatic approach to the space available in the A290’s cabin. Rear cabin space is cramped, with very little room for rear-seat passengers’ feet or knees, and headroom is limited, too.

But that said, it’s no worse than in the electric Mini Cooper, and the low-slung driving position is similarly well judged.

Boot space is adequate, too, with noticeably more capacity than the Mini, even if our top-of-the-range model’s posh hi-fi system robs it of about 10 per cent of its total capacity, shrinking the space available from 326 litres to 300 litres.

And the Alpine backs that interior space up with competitive cabin quality. Perhaps it isn’t as funky as the Mini’s interior, but it feels a bit more grown up and it’s similarly well made, albeit in a slightly more conventional way. Yes, the odd bit of cheap plastic can be found if you look closely, but that’s to be expected in a car of this size.

Alpine has only built electric versions of the A290, and there’s no petrol-powered option in the pipeline. However, in Europe, at least, there is a choice of two different electric motors, both of which are supplied by the same 52kWh battery and drive the front wheels.

Alpine has hinted that an all-wheel drive, twin-motor version is possible in future, but that it isn’t expected any time soon.

For the time being, customers can choose between the 130kW and 160kW motors, with the latter providing a notable improvement in performance, at the slight expense of range.

Where the less powerful version will cover 380km on a charge, the more potent examples cut that to 364km. Charging speeds, meanwhile, are sufficient rather than spectacular, with an ultra-rapid charger filling the battery from 15 to 80 per cent in around half an hour.