Alpine A290

Sportier version of the Renault 5 electric car aims to deliver hot hatch thrills for a reasonable price On sale March Price from £33,500

- DAN JONES

THEY SAY CHANGE is good for us, but that doesn't make it any easier. In fact, it's fair to say that many of us push back against change, making the job of cars like the new Alpine A290 even harder. You see, as a spiritual successor to the 1970s Renault 5 Alpine, the A290 promises to harness that car's old-school hot hatch thrills and relative affordability. The twist is that it uses electric rather than petrol power.

Based on the latest Renault 5 (R5), the A290 comes in a choice of two guises, each fitted with a 52kWh (usable capacity) battery and a single electric motor that drives the front wheels. The entry-level GT has a power output of 174bhp, while the pricier GTS (the only one we've driven so far) packs 215bhp and has an official range of 226 miles - 10 miles less than the GT.