Alpine A390 SUV

294kW GT 89kWh 5dr Auto [2025]

If you’re not a motor racing fan, the name Alpine might be unfamiliar to you, even though it’s been around for decades.

The French firm started as an independent sports and racing car manufacturer in the mid-1950s. However, it was bought out by Renault almost 20 years later – much of its early history was focused on modifying and racing Renault's cars.

Alpine has always been a niche brand, though, and despite churning out the odd vehicle here and there over the decades, it remains a name many would not have heard of but for Renault's involvement in Formula One.

Renault saw an opportunity to market the name to the masses, rebranding its own works F1 team as Alpine at the beginning of the 2021 season – though the less said about its F1 success over the past two or three years, the better.

But what it has done is lay the foundations for launching models with a more mainstream appeal.

The A110 sports car, manufactured since 2017 (with a new version to follow soon), was its only model until 2024, when it launched the A290, a hot-hatch variant of the reborn all-electric Renault 5 E-Tech.

And now it’s launched a compact crossover SUV: the fully electric A390. It’s based on a concept model unveiled around six months earlier at the Paris Motor Show – and it looks spectacular.

Not only that, it packs a punch in terms of power, too, even in entry-level form.