YET to make an look Down Beneath, however anticipated to reach mid-year, is the Alfa Romeo Junior small SUV in varied petrol and electrical denominations – together with a crimson scorching Veloce model with 207kW spinning by means of the entrance wheels and a simply introduced 4WD gentle hybrid.
Native Junior pricing is unknown, suffice to say the mannequin begins at €29,900 or roughly $A51,000 for the entry-level mannequin in Italy with the 4WD’s kick off at €37,400 or roughly $A64,000.
Alfa Romeo is including the 4 paw Junior to additional stimulate demand as the brand new tiddler has confirmed considerably in style at the very least in its residence market Italy although it’s made in Poland. It’s little question seen by Alfa as a tonic for poor gross sales of the dated Giulia and Tonale.
Known as the Junior “This autumn” (Alfa’s identify for all-wheel drive), the newcomer can be obtainable in Europe mid-year, however GoAutowas unable to establish if the mannequin will make it right here or when with no response obtained from Stellantis Australia.
The This autumn system is lifted from the Stellantis Group’s Jeep Avenger and just like that in Toyota’s Yaris Cross. It’s a 48-volt gentle hybrid powertrain utilizing a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with two 22kW electrical motors, one on the entrance built-in into the six-speed dual-clutch computerized transmission (eDCT), the opposite on the rear axle operating a brand new multilink rear suspension.
Alfa Romeo says the 4WD system in Junior This autumn “can ship 4WD traction even when its 0.9-kilowatt-hour battery is depleted as a result of, when wanted, the electrical motor on the entrance axle acts as a generator to ship energy to the rear motor”.
“4WD is completely energetic on the Junior This autumn variant at speeds of 0 to 30km/h whereas at 30 to 90km/h the system solely engages if the entrance wheels lose traction. At larger speeds, the automobile switches to front-wheel drive solely,” it added.
The system is named Energy Looping Know-how.
Publication Automotive Information experiences the rear electrical axle helps the Junior This autumn obtain CO2 emissions of 118 grams per km, marginally greater than the FWD hybrid model of the automobile.
“We anticipate the Junior This autumn to cowl a fifth of the mannequin’s gross sales,” stated Alfa Romeo advertising and marketing director Christian Fiorio on the unveiling of the variant in Turin final week.
That is optimistically based mostly on the idea that 80 per cent of shoppers for the Giulia mid-size sedan and Stelvio mid-size SUV purchase the This autumn variations, the system accounting for under about 20 per cent of gross sales for the Tonale compact SUV.
After launching in September final yr, the Junior’s present order financial institution stands at 27,000 from 38 international locations with the BEV variant accounting for some 19 per cent of that quantity with gross sales aspirations at between 50,000 and 70,000 models globally.
After the primary two months of 2025, Alfa Romeo has offered 5929 Juniors, making it the model’s best-seller within the area and boosting its general European gross sales 29 per cent to 9859 in the course of the interval, in response to figures from market researcher Dataforce.
In mid-2024, GoAuto reported Stellantis Australia saying the good-looking little Junior will make its Aussie debut within the second half of 2025, with each petrol and electrical variations anticipated.
At entry stage, the petrol-powered Junior incorporates a 1.2-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine with 48-volt gentle hybrid help. It develops 100kW of energy, put to the entrance wheels through a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. Add to this the all-wheel drive This autumn variant.
Two battery electrical (BEV) Junior variants can even be provided from launch, a 115kW normal possibility and the high-output 207kW Veloce.
Each are front-wheel drive and have a 54kWh lithium-ion battery pack. WLTP vary is listed at as much as 410km with a 100kW DC charging time of half-hour detailed for the 10-80 per cent normal.
As seen elsewhere within the Alfa Romeo vary, the Junior options the model’s distinctive DNA drive selector providing Dynamic, Pure and Superior Effectivity settings.
Within the cabin, a ten.25-inch digital instrument cluster sits forward of the motive force with a second 10.25-inch set central within the dashboard for infotainment duties. The infotainment display screen controls a lot of the Junior’s ancillary capabilities, together with the local weather management.
The air vents are formed within the Quadrifoglio (four-leaf clover) motif, whereas high-grade fashions rating Sabelt sport seats.
LED ambient cabin lighting, sat nav, massaging seats with digital adjustment, keyless entry and ignition, aluminium pedals, and Alcantara upholstery are additionally obtainable all through the Junior vary.
Security options embrace adaptive cruise management, AEB, entrance and rear acoustic parking sensors, lane centring help, and a reversing digital camera.
