Alfa Romeo Junior
Published · Researched 2026-09-21
Alfa Romeo launched a car called Milano, built in Poland, and the Italian government made them rename it Junior. That saga got more attention than the car — which is a shame, because underneath the politics there's a genuinely good small EV with an identity crisis and a screen problem.
Let's start with what the Junior actually is: a 4.17-metre crossover on Stellantis's e-CMP platform, which means it's mechanically a sibling of the Jeep Avenger, Fiat 600e and Peugeot e-2008. The electric version makes 156 hp (or 280 hp in the Veloce), does about 410 km WLTP from its 54 kWh battery, and charges at 100 kW. The hybrid pairs a 1.2 turbo with a 48V system. It's small, it's efficient — one long-termer averaged 4.0 miles per kWh over months — and by every account it's the best-looking car on the platform. Alfa's designers earned their money.
The problem is the price tag next to the spec sheet. From £35,695 in the UK, the Junior Elettrica costs more than a Kia EV3 and a Volvo EX30, and far more than the mechanically near-identical Fiat 600e. You're paying Alfa money for Stellantis hardware. Some of that is the badge and the styling, which are real assets. Some of it is just... the badge. The Veloce at 280 hp is the enthusiast pick and genuinely fun, but "Alfa tax" is the phrase every review reaches for, because there's no other explanation.
Now the reliability picture, which is thin but pointed. The platform is proven — hundreds of thousands of e-CMP cars with no major drivetrain issues — and there are no DVSA recalls on the Junior as of early 2026. Alfa itself sits a respectable 17th of 30 in What Car?'s brand survey. But the owner reports that do exist cluster on one thing: screens. "The screens were turning off, Apple CarPlay was working whenever it felt like it, the central display was glitching all the time," writes one owner — "and a lot of functions are controlled through it." Another reports the dashboard switching itself off with "no solution yet", plus unreliable speed sensors and mediocre brakes. Against that, an Ibrida owner reports 23,000 trouble-free kilometres, and an Elettrica owner 11,000 km with no issues. Small sample, split verdict: the hardware is fine, the electronics are flaky.
The long-term press cars add colour rather than concern: Fleet World's Elettrica did 248 real miles and charmed its keeper, while a second long-termer catalogued Alfa quirks that survive from the old days — no grab handles, no coat hooks, and an interior boot-release button mounted on the ceiling next to the SOS button. Press the wrong one in a hurry and you're calling for rescue instead of opening the boot. Character, or cost-cutting? With Alfa it's always both.
Practical notes: 400 litres of boot is fine, the rear seats are snug, and there's no Euro NCAP rating yet. The warranty is a standard three years, unlimited mileage in the UK — unremarkable. Alfa's dealer network is thinner than Peugeot's or Citroën's, which matters when the likely faults are the kind only a dealer can fix.
Who should skip it? Anyone who can't stomach paying a premium over the Fiat 600e for the same platform — the rational buy is the Fiat, and the Junior only wins on emotion. Anyone who needs their infotainment to be boring and reliable should wait to see whether the screen issues are a launch-batch thing or a permanent feature.
The value call is nuanced. As a used buy in 2026, the Junior is interesting precisely because the new price is ambitious: depreciation should be kind to second owners. A 2025 car, past the launch batch, with the screen software updated, at a proper discount to list — that's the buy. Cross-shop the Kia EV3, which is cheaper, roomier and better supported, and be honest about whether the Alfa badge is worth the difference to you.
Sweet spot: 2025. Avoid early-2024 cars, where the screen complaints concentrate. And on the test drive, spend ten minutes just using the touchscreen — CarPlay, climate, cameras — because if it's going to glitch, you want to see it before you pay.