INTRODUCTION
Well, no sooner than the Alfa Romeo Junior landed in Mzansi, that we were tossed its key fob for an extended test over the festive season holidays to firstly gauge how it is to live with, but more so, whether it fits the Italian brand’s sporting ethos. Harking back to the Giulia 1300 GT Junior, which was the entry-level coupe aimed at a younger audience of the brand, the latest model seeks to achieve a similar feat for attracting the millennial audience. Available in both Elettrica and the sportier Elettrica Veloce flavours, it is the latter that we managed to spend time with – it cuts a rather sporty pose with that signature scudetto grille, 20-inch, four-spoke alloy wheels, and a relatively short footprint measuring 4.2m in length.
CABIN APPOINTMENTS
The cabin continues the sporting theme, thanks to Sabelt, alcantara esque festooned front seats that are surprisingly comfortable and form-hugging for the most part. That drop-down console is a mash-up between modern and retro, with the latter underscored by those circular air vents, replete with the brand’s logo and red back lighting. The leather and alcantara-wreathed, three-spoke steering wheel has a small diameter that imparts to the driver a very sporty feel. And sporty is the Junior’s most obvious repertoire. It must be mentioned, though, that the centre console airvents are angled more towards left-hand drive cars, meaning they are angled away from right-hand drive cars, which is rather quirky and takes some getting used to.
POWERTRAIN
With a single electric motor driving the front wheels, the model comes with a 54kWh battery and generates an output of 207kW and 345Nm. Yes, that is enough power to take the fight to the Mini Cooper SE and Volvo EX30. It is a lively performer, the Junior Veloce, offering an old-school feel, thanks to the torque steering that will see the steering buckle in your hands. It doesn’t detract, but rather adds a layer of enjoyment and driver engagement that is no longer the staple of the modern hot-hatch segment.
ROAD TRIP DIARY
Being the holidays, I had an epiphany: to take the Junior on a road trip to Umhlanga, KZN. With a 350km range, I quickly calculated that it would require two charges to cover the 550km trip. Easy stuff! Or at least I thought it would be. So it was that I charged up the vehicle and nosed it down the N3 corridor on a balmy afternoon. I switched the driving mode to its most efficient mode and took things as easy as Sunday morning. Road manners were commendable with minimal wind and road noise; however, the sports suspension and relatively shortwheel base means that things do get a little choppy over broken and uneven tarmac.
After some 200km or so into the trip, I docked at the Sasol Garage in Vrede to charge up the vehicle, which took me about 50 minutes while dispensing 74.5kW to reach 350km range again. Not the most rapid of chargers, but it got the job done as long as you can while away the time by grabbing a bite and stretching your legs. At this point, the sun was dipping on the horizon, and I needed to cover some ground. Upping the pace where conducive, I needed to get to the Engen Tugela 1 Stop in Mnambithi (Ladysmith) in order to juice up the vehicle for my final stretch to Umhlanga. With holidaymakers yet to make their journeys to various pockets of the country, the N3 was relatively devoid of traffic and the usual high volume of trucks, which made the journey that much more bearable. The Junior never missed a beat, and I was pleasantly surprised by the comfort offered by the front bucket seats. Reaching Engen Tugela, I juiced up the vehicle to around 90% as fatigue was starting to settle in, and I needed to make a safe trip, all the while preserving as much of the battery range as possible.
As I approach Pinetown, things get a little interesting, but perhaps not in a good way. For the first time, I felt the onset of range anxiety take its toll. I was about 30km from Umhlanga with only a range of 55km left in the battery. The Junior’s regenerative braking is not the best I have experienced in an EV, so even though I was driving downhill, I simply couldn’t recoup that much electricity from the regenerative braking, so I had to modulate my speed.
Approaching Hillcrest, I decided to navigate to the nearest charger, just to ensure I have more than ample battery range. Well, it turns out the EV station I had earmarked was based at a shopping mall, and since it was quite late at night, the said mall was locked up for the night. Oh dear! What to do now? I contemplated spending the night at the service station adjacent to the mall until morning, when I could charge the car, but I decided otherwise and decided to soldier on. At this stage, I was expecting the worst scenario; I would probably run out of battery power and call for roadside assistance to come whisk the vehicle away. Thankfully, I managed to baby the vehicle all the way to Umhlanaga with around 35km of range to spare. Phew! I have lived with EVs before and remain an advocate of these, but smaller capacity batteries, such as that of the Junior, mean the vehicle is more suited for urban environments, rather than long-distance.
On my return leg, I decided to have three charge stops rather than two, and that seemed to work well. After charging in Umhlanga the day before, I overnighted in Hillcrest at a friend’s place and set sail early the following morning. My first stop was a charger in Marrianhill at a service station, which gave me enough time to grab breakfast before heading out. My next stop would be Engen Tugela in Ladysmith, then finally Sasol in Vrede. This worked very well, because I could manage a reasonable pace between the charging stations, which brought down my overall travelling time. That said, it still took me around 8 hours to complete the Hillcrest to Gauteng journey, which took some doing.
CONCLUSION & OWNERSHIP
Having put the Junior through that ringer, I decided to take it through its paces on some of my favourite backroads, and this is where the model’s talents truly sparkle. Thanks to a limited-slip diff, the Junior’s handling and roadholding come from the top drawer. Front-end grip levels are quite lofty, and I can safely say that it remains the most entertaining EV in its segment, and I am not surprised that it has also managed to reach the Top 5 in the World Urban Car category of the 2026 World Car of the Year Awards. At 999,990, for this flagship Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce, it is not what one would deem cheap, meaning it will remain a rare sight on our roads, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that it’s a cracking EV to drive, and the best looking in the segment.
