Alrighty, the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce, here it is in the metal. The Italian firm’s attempt at an electric hot hatch. And let’s be straight with you. We were ready to be dismissive at the very idea. You see, an Alfa Romeo is all about passion and performance. We’ve driven almost every single one over the last decade. And hand on hearty, they are sportier than anything else on the road. An Alfa MiTo has more sportiness in its indicator stalk than entire performance marques that claim the same.
Nevertheless, we were still skeptical over the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce. Can an electric car be genuinely sporty and engaging – an electric driver’s car, if you will? Most EVs are fast, yes. Just give them elevenmillionty horsepower. But they also have about as much immersion as a Potsdam post office. Does this Italian’s promise of passion actually deliver?
ALFA ROMEO JUNIOR VELOCE
Well, then we drove the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce, and we had to have a moment. Because ladies and gentlemen, this is it. This is the one. Of all the battery-powered boxes, the Junior Veloce is without a doubt the most fun to drive. And before you reach for the keyboard to argue in the comments section (and by all means do so), hear us out. Because the reasons why it’s such a great EV to drive are probably not what you’d expect …
Firstly, the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce sits atop the range as the go-fast variant. On paper, it brings the goods: 207 kW of power, 345 Nm of torque, a 0–100 km/h sprint of 5.9 seconds and a limited top speed of 200 km/h. Its 54-kWh battery claims a tidy cruising range of 335 km. And you can top it back to 80% in just 30 minutes via a 100-kW DC fast charger. Which I managed to do at the Century City DC fast charger, having finally found it unattended when I actually needed it!
THE RIGHT (ELECTRIC) STUFF
Now we get to everything that the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce gets so right, against conventional EV wisdom. It is front-wheel-drive only, aided by a Torsen mechanical limited-slip differential. Is that really a good idea with all that instant power and torque? Yes, it is, because forgoing all-wheel drive (AWD) imbues it with a character. Praise the Italians for correctly identifying that its outputs are, in fact, in the sweet spot. Its power is exploitable. An amount a driver can actually use in the real world. Anymore and you’ve made something that needs AWD, then you’re just driving another heavy, silent teleportation device.
From behind the wheel, the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce has all the right stuff to make a driver’s car. It’s compact, fizzy and alive in a way that other EVs simply aren’t. The steering wheel is thin-gripped and perfectly sized, a detail that sounds small until you realise it delivers inch-perfect input. And the fact that it drives only the front wheels is, we’ll argue, one of its greatest assets. It allows you to feel its limits. The Torsen diff upfront does a stellar job, but there is still a very intentional interaction between power, traction and the driver as you apply throttle. And it’s worth caring about it.
ALFA ROMEO JUNIOR VELOCE IS A DRIVER’S EV
Another neat trick in the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce, is a sort-of simulated internal combustion engine (ICE) behaviour. Of course, there are no engine revs, this is an electric motor that delivers its wares instantly. However, the makers of the Veloce have tuned it to mimic the feel of an ICE engine building through the rev range. Power delivery is ever-so-slightly staggered as you depress the throttle, rather than simply dumping everything all at once.
Instant torque is still very much available for a quick getaway to beat the minibus taxis, and it is spectacular, but the progressive delivery makes for, once again, a more engaging, less frenetic drive. The Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce also feels light. Once again, almost no EV we’ve driven can make that claim with a straight face. Batteries are heavy. Physics is not optional. And yet this little pocket rocket carries itself with a nimbleness that belies the battery pack beneath its floor. It changes direction keenly, responds sharply, and doesn’t feel like it’s carrying a grand piano between its wheels.
THE VERDICT
And finally, it looks the part. Those tasteful, four-spoke, 20-inch rims fill the arches spectacularly. And in white it has the confident, slightly menacing presence of a stormtrooper (who also happens to do track days). It is, whether you’re an Alfa nut or not, a truly handsome machine. And we had some of the longest fanboy chats next to it we can remember. Everywhere it goes, people want to grab a photo and know more about it.
At R999 900, it’s not cheap. But what the Italian firm has delivered here is something the EV world desperately needs. A living, breathing, tyre-spinning proof of concept that more power and traction isn’t always the way. The Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce doesn’t just go fast, it makes you want to drive it. All. The. Time. Avanti!
ALFA ROMEO JUNIOR VELOCE FIGURES
- Powertrain: Electric motor with 54-kWh battery
- Power: 207 kW, 345 Nm
- Performance: 0-100 km/h 5.9 seconds
- Recharge: 100 kW DC fast charge to 80% in 30 min
- Energy consumption: 18.6 kWh/100 km, 335 km range (claimed)
- Price: R999 900
