Alfa Romeo is one of the automotive world’s great ‘legacy’ brands, with a history stretching over 120 years and a reputation for sporting cars.
While it has built wonderful ‘big’ cars, Alfa is also ‘king of the kids’, producing cars with less than 1500cc, outperforming more powerful rivals.
The Junior nameplate dates back to the 1960s, when a 1300cc version of the 105 coupe launched, offering the same driving characteristics from a smaller engine.
Fast forward to 2025 and the new Junior arrived Down Under, promising fun times on twisting roads, even if highway work might be a bit dull.
Our test car was the ‘Ibrida’, a 1.2-litre three cylinder turbocharged petrol engine mated to a 21kW electric motor mounted in the 6-speed dual clutch transmission (DCT) for a total power of 100kW/230Nm.
Finished in a glorious green-blue hue called ‘Blue Navigli’, not Alfa Red!, it looks gorgeous, perfectly proportioned with a short nose and even shorter tail that finishes just behind the rear wheels.
There are hardly any straight lines on the body, it is all swoops, curves and wide wheel arches, drawing the eye in, with hidden features galore.
Tidying the rear doors with an upswept hip line tracing the rear arches, the handles are recessed into the C-Pillar, totally mechanical but delivered with Italian design flair.
Up front is the traditional Alfa Romeo ‘shield’ on the black grille, enlarged and acrylic coated, looking like the Alfa racers of the 1920s and 1930s.
There is plenty of history on show, it sits comfortably with the latest technology, including slimline LED DRLs, headlights and taillights.
The curved roofline leads into the angled rear window and powered hatch with a chopped-off tail and integrated full-width rear spoiler.
Wheels are the signature Alfa ‘petal’ design, replicating the four-leafed clover of factory Auto Delta racing cars, in this case an 18” alloy wearing 215/55 tyres.
Inside, the Junior lives up to its name, it is a small car, not cramped, but don’t look for a TARDIS-style small outside/big interior, I fitted, but my petite daughter-in-law looked perfectly at home.
Seats are broader than expected, offering plenty of support for enthusiastic cornering without aggressive side bolsters digging into thighs and ribs.
Headroom was good, even with the tilt and slide glass sunroof, in typical Italian fashion it is all about the driver, you are drawn into the chunky, small diameter, steering wheel, legs into a triangulated brace position, folding under the dash, locking you between the centre console and the door trim.
Passengers are less well accommodated, while not an afterthought, the front seat is manually adjusted, compared to the powered driver’s seat, both fronts get seat heaters while everyone gets the black cloth and leatherette trim, with a subtle red highlight.
The full-size entertainment unit uses a 10.25” widescreen displaying a full range of options, with standard AM/FM/DAB/Apple and Android connectivities, along with vehicle information screens.
While vision is generally good, I found the rear view restricted by the sloped rear window, it was like looking through a letterbox, 1970s coupe drivers will know the feeling, the reverse camera does a good job, but it was a ‘take five’ moment, especially backing over raised footpaths, making sure I had the channel buoys lined up.
There are plenty of storage spaces, door pockets hold a 600ml bottle, the deep central cupholders took my extra-large latte, don’t even try to find your piccolo, it’s gone forever.
The Junior’s DCT has a computer-controlled clutch for eye-blink shifting, the gear selector is a push-button affair, steering wheel paddleshifters control the changes.
This is genuine racetrack technology, not a manualised automatic, the ‘M’ button gives full driver control, engage ‘D’ (Dynamic) drive mode and you are driving an old-style Alfa.
Hint – don’t try to balance the brake and accelerator, it tears the clutch to pieces, choose one or the other.
Losing the clutch pedal is a bonus for my size 12 feet, there is only space for the accelerator, brake and left-side footrest in the compact footwell.
Yes, there is dial-a-temperature automatic climate control, like Alfas of the past, your selection is a suggestion, not an instruction, the air-con would turn itself on and off at a whim, regardless of the ambient temperature or your preferred setting, it was like Chook Lotto.
Despite this, the build quality is good, you are sealed off from the outside world, no wind noise, the Junior felt solid, with no squeaks or rattles.
While not perfect, the Junior carries on Alfa’s rich history of sporting cars, proving SUV-style hatches can be fun, although it would be more fun 25mm closer to the ground and with lower profile tyres to boost cornering.
My other wish would be a bi-modal exhaust to liberate the raspy, rorty, exhaust note of the three cylinder 1.2-litre turbo, maybe there is an update coming?
Those points aside, the Junior is a fun, yet practical, car, perfect for singles or couples, but not a family car, there isn’t enough room for child seats or prams.
Unlike most hybrids, the Junior starts and idles with the petrol motor, switching to electric drive for low-speed work like parking or stop-start traffic.
It is also a power-assist for rapid driving, adding extra punch out of corners to make the most of the go-kart-like handing.
This is not a race car, it is a fun road car that loves tight, twisting, roads, switchback corners linked by short straights, it lacks the power for drag racing, long straights are foot to the floor with no chance to exploit the brakes and handling.
Race up to a corner, brake hard while dropping gears with flicks of the paddle, tip the car in, back on the throttle and pull gears, that is pure driving fun.
Brakes inspire confidence, knowing you can push those extra metres, carrying speed, before a hard brake washes off speed, and then start over, see above for the definiton of ‘fun’!
That said, the Junior will roll along sedately in traffic, using lift and coast, not even bothering the brakes, instead shift gears to control the speed.
Thanks to the compact dimensions, car parks don’t bother it, speed bumps are negotiated easily, the steering is responsive enough to make potholed roads a slalom course.
Despite my general belief SUVs are not sports cars, the Junior is the exception that proves the rule, it sits low enough to retain that Alfa ‘chuckability’, sitting just high enough entry and exit don’t require lifting slings.
This is a fun little town car, perfect for zapping down laneways on the way to a favourite cafe, easy to park, but with a permanent sense of fun waiting to be unleashed.
Not the car I would take to Bathurst, but look out Hazelbrook, here I come!