Alpine A390 GT - long-term review

There’s a lot of ‘motorsport DNA’ in the Alpine A390 GT, at least according to Alpine. “A racing car in a suit,” runs the official pitch.

Keen to build on its long, storied presence in the world of motorsport – outright wins in the WRC and Le Mans (admittedly a while back), and crashing into each other in Formula One (admittedly quite recently) – it has sprinkled a bit of that enviable racing know-how into everything it builds.

That matters in something fighty and nimble like the superlative A110, but in a 2.1-tonne crossover billed as a more ‘practical’ car? Let’s take a look.

Photography: Alex Tapley

At the looks. We’ve long discussed the aesthetic appeal of the A390, and it continues to be a magnet for attention. It’s a great looking car, featuring that motorsport-esque aero wing on the bonnet to help cut drag at the front, and a little boot spoiler to send the air merrily on its way.

Does it matter? Not in terms of efficiency because we’re still only seeing 2.7mpkwh, but it certainly makes a statement and gives the shape some ‘texture’. Plus you can point to it and speak confidently to your friends about 'motorsport DNA'.

Then comes the F1-style ‘RCH’ button on the left-hand side of the steering wheel. This does matter: in an instant you can change the level of brake regeneration, transforming the A390 into a one-pedal car very quickly. This has been one of the most used buttons in our time so far and a genuinely useful feature, (also a fun way to slow the car down). Very handy indeed.

As for the F1-style ‘OV’ button? That of course gives a little shortcut to max power for up to 10 seconds for overtaking… and we’ve used it once and then forgotten about it. Yes, it might make you feel like Pierre Gasly or Franco Colapinto for a moment, but we’re fairly certain both of those drivers would just avoid this pointless affectation and use the traditional method of ‘deploying thine right foot’.

The cockpit? Feels snug and sporty, for sure, with a lot of data on the touchscreen that you really shouldn’t be looking at because 400bhp and ‘the road’ should focus your mind somewhat.

Where the motorsport know-how really comes into view? How the thing drives. The Alpine’s setup is sweet, the steering sharp-enough to make it feel pointy and racecar-y. It’s a little too sensitive if you’re just cruising down the motorway, steadfastly refusing to settle, but on a winding road it really does feel like an Alpine.

The various drive modes on offer change the car’s personality too: while we mostly potter about in ‘Save’ (that feels like it’s being pegged back), ‘Sport’ really lets fly, with a super responsive throttle pedal. We haven’t tried ‘Track’ yet because we’ve not taken it on a track. Honestly, why?

So while it’s not quite a racing car in a suit – too heavy, though it’s not actually that tall – it’s as near as Alpine can get in a car like this. Certainly helped when we pitted it against the Porsche Macan, which is also shot through with ‘motorsport DNA’. Porsche isn’t too shabby at racing either, don’t forget.