A290

[springfan62]

Anyone here considering an A290 to run alongside the A110.

I had a test drive in a R5 the other day and was very impressed with it, it was a bit underpowered but it was fun to drive.
I have Tesla M3P at the moment and I am tempted to swap it for an A290 as its more about fun than speed.
(and I can stick two fingers to Musk)

I have booked a test drive but just interested if anyone else is considering one.

[Bushi]

I couldn't buy another Alpine in the UK, service locally has been dire across the board.

Had a good look at the A290 I do really like the R5 but feel the Alpine version is just pointless, what a let down after the prototype.

[Michael-tcxzm]

Bushi said:

I couldn't buy another Alpine in the UK, service locally has been dire across the board.

Had a good look at the A290 I do really like the R5 but feel the Alpine version is just pointless, what a let down after the prototype.

I agree on the A290. If it was brought out as a standalone offering I think it could be appealing/successful.

As it is offered up along side the R5, it suddenly looks a bit pointless.

I know that there are some semi-major engineering changes over the R5 but even then - it's hard to not just see it as a 'trim level' update on the R5 platform.

Think 'Audi S Line' or 'BMW M-light'. I was rather hoping it was an 'RS' or 'M' equivalent using the same analogy.

[Terminator X]

Not a fan of the EV "push" albeit completely understandable given current EU Regs. I can only hope someone sees sense and either gives Alpine a small volume get out or relaxes Nett Zero to include "get there any way you want" vs the prescriptive EV is the only way.

TX.

[Yuri75]

Not necessarily looking to buy one, but I was at the dealership a week ago and they had both the regular Renault 5 and Alpine A290 in the showroom. The R5 (in a fetching green which appeared to be non-metallic on first sight, but turned out to have a nice metallic sparkle to it in sunlight) appealed to me more; it is just a cleaner piece of design to look at. The wheel arch extensions of the A290 are nice and help disguise its height, but all the other Alpine additions are a bit much for my taste. I found the interior a very nice place to be. Just the seating position let it down but not in the classic RenaultSport way; the seat is low enough to the floor, but the floor is simply too high due to the battery pack. That being said, I think a regular R5 would/could make a pleasant daily driver. I'm just not there yet.

[worldwidewebs]

If I was in the market for a small hatch as a run-around, the R5 would certainly be on my list. If I was in the market for a small hatch as a fun car, the A290 wouldn't be on that list, unless it 100% had to be an EV - and even then I think I'd struggle to buy one over the R5.

[7en]

springfan62 said:

Anyone here considering an A290 to run alongside the A110.

I had a test drive in a R5 the other day and was very impressed with it, it was a bit underpowered but it was fun to drive.
I have Tesla M3P at the moment and I am tempted to swap it for an A290 as its more about fun than speed.
(and I can stick two fingers to Musk)

I have booked a test drive but just interested if anyone else is considering one.

Was it the 150hp R5?

I've driven the 150hp it felt quick enough, I haven't driven any other pure electric cars though.

After driving the R5 I think an extra 30-80hp and the Alpine treatment will be a seriously wild little car.

I don't have space for a charging point at home so won't be considering it unfortunately.

[springfan62]

7en said:

Was it the 150hp R5?

I've driven the 150hp it felt quick enough, I haven't driven any other pure electric cars though.

After driving the R5 I think an extra 30-80hp and the Alpine treatment will be a seriously wild little car.

I don't have space for a charging point at home so won't be considering it unfortunately.

It was the 150hp one I drove, it was certainly ok performance but coming from a Model 3 Performance it was a bit lacking for me.
Apart from my A110 I won't be buying another ICE car, an EV works for me, its paid for by my company and if the handling is even better than the R5 then its game changer. The R5 more fun to drive than many ICE cars I have had the past.

I did like the clean looks of the R5 and I will reserve judgement on the A290 until I see one in the flesh.

[Portti]

I would like to try to make A290 to work on my use case but it would be challenging. Renault 5/A290 are the first EV's which I find interesting enough to consider buying.

Home charging would be a possibility to me and I've been considering running the A290 alongside my A110. That pair would definitely work in summertime but during the winter when my A110 is in winter storage and the A290 would be my only car, things would get challenging.

I do some longer drives in winter occasionally and here in Finland the range of electric cars gets considerably shorter when temperatures drop to -20 C or -30 C and that would cause issues for me if A290 would be only car available to me in winter.

Edited by Portti on Sunday 16th March 11:45

[Bushi]

Well looks like the new 5 turbo is the final nail for the A290

https://youtu.be/hvIeTDrEXo0?feature=shared

[Bushi]

Well looks like the new 5 turbo is the final nail for the A290

https://youtu.be/hvIeTDrEXo0?feature=shared

[Terminator X]

It seems that car is £209k though so perhaps just the collectors or super rich.

TX.

[timbo999]

Bushi said:

Well looks like the new 5 turbo is the final nail for the A290

https://youtu.be/hvIeTDrEXo0?feature=shared

Except that its 3 times the price, got half the number of seats and they are only making 1980 of them... did you do any research?

[Bushi]

timbo999 said:

Except that its 3 times the price, got half the number of seats and they are only making 1980 of them... did you do any research?

LOL, research in automotive design and engineering? yes loads.

So a high powered, low numbered, two seat car, sound like the sort of thing the Alpine brand should be making? Maybe they have a history in this sort of area?
If you want a cheap 4 seat slow electrical car, maybe buy the R5, as everyone will.

This is the car Alpine could/should have made, in fact the Alpine teams did make, it as RS same as in the past.

But it very clearly shows up the Alpine version for what it is a low rent badge engineering job, who wants that on the drive?
Not many.

[croyde]

As the owner of an A110, this electric Alpine badged version doesn't interest me one iota.

Now if the base R5 came with a petrol engine, I could be tempted.

My first car and the one I learned to drive in as well as using it for my test was a Renault 6.

If only they could do a modern version with the same twist, push and pull gear selector

Are not Renault using the Alpine badge for all their top end SUVs now?

[timbo999]

Bushi said:

timbo999 said:

Except that its 3 times the price, got half the number of seats and they are only making 1980 of them... did you do any research?

LOL, research in automotive design and engineering? yes loads.

So a high powered, low numbered, two seat car, sound like the sort of thing the Alpine brand should be making? Maybe they have a history in this sort of area?
If you want a cheap 4 seat slow electrical car, maybe buy the R5, as everyone will.

This is the car Alpine could/should have made, in fact the Alpine teams did make, it as RS same as in the past.

But it very clearly shows up the Alpine version for what it is a low rent badge engineering job, who wants that on the drive?
Not many.

Well done. A much more reasoned argument than 'it kills the A290'. I agree it is possibly the car Alpine should be making... but why does it 'kill' the A290? Nobody would be choosing between the two?

[Yuri75]

I'd say it kills the A290 in the same way that a 720S kills an A110 (except that the latter two are obviously not from the same manufacturer). More money buys you more impressive stats - on paper, anyway. Not saying the A290 is anything as brilliant as the A110 (haven't driven an A290 myself so I will reserve my judgement), but comparing it to something at least three times the price is always going to be chalk and cheese. Sure, if Renault or Alpine would build something like a mid-engined R5 and sell it to you for maybe 1,5 times A290 money, that would kill the A290 stone dead.

[Bushi]

timbo999 said:

Bushi said:

timbo999 said:

Except that its 3 times the price, got half the number of seats and they are only making 1980 of them... did you do any research?

LOL, research in automotive design and engineering? yes loads.

So a high powered, low numbered, two seat car, sound like the sort of thing the Alpine brand should be making? Maybe they have a history in this sort of area?
If you want a cheap 4 seat slow electrical car, maybe buy the R5, as everyone will.

This is the car Alpine could/should have made, in fact the Alpine teams did make, it as RS same as in the past.

But it very clearly shows up the Alpine version for what it is a low rent badge engineering job, who wants that on the drive?
Not many.

Well done. A much more reasoned argument than 'it kills the A290'. I agree it is possibly the car Alpine should be making... but why does it 'kill' the A290? Nobody would be choosing between the two?

Thanks timbo.

I'll sleep well tonight.

It's already dead, why are they building a halo car for a range that already had one. Because it's not working, no one wants one or cares.
Hence the relentless emails from mains dealers trying to get me interested.

If it wasn't selling before who now wants to pay extra for the special edition...that's no longer the special edition....?

Who knows maybe I'm going to see them everywhere I. 6 months....who knows certainly seen a lot of worse cars sold. But they are not normally sold as a premium option to a discerning buyer.

[Jon-2q0pk]

Yes I'm considering running an A290 as a little daily. I can purchase/lease one through my business and although I don't 'need' another car, my beloved daily Discovery 5 is now 5 years old and 70k miles in. You might be surprised to read that it's been completely faultless since new and the best car I've had. Perfect family truck (I have 3 kids, 3 horses, 2 dogs and live on a farm) and is perfect for it's intended purpose (just like the A110!)

Given the age of the Disco I'm considering an A290 to use when I've done the school run and I'm on my own in the car when I drive into Manchester and back from my home (75 mile round trip) and it seems daft to use a 2.5 tonne 4x4. In summer I use the A110 as much as I can but I do quite fancy a double Alpine garage. Ryan from the Manchester dealer knows I'd like to borrow the demo for a day or so when he gets it so we'll see...

[johnrevill79]

I’ve got A290 premiere edition on order. The latest dealer info is customer orders from June onwards. Their demonstrators are already over due - apparently there is an issue with right hand drive conversion.

Anyone else on here actually got an order or got any more info?

Thanks