The Alfa Romeo Junior hybrid has gone on sale in the UK, priced from £27,895.
Named the Junior Ibrida, it swaps electric power for the mild-hybrid set-up used across a range of models in the Stellantis group, such as the Citroën C4, Fiat 600 and Vauxhall Corsa.
It pairs a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox, into which a 28bhp electric motor is integrated.
The engine and motor combine to send up to 134bhp and 170lb ft through the front wheels, allowing the Junior Ibrida to complete the 0-62mph sprint in 8.9sec.
That is 0.1sec quicker than the entry-level 154bhp Junior Elettrica. The extra performance is most likely to be a result of the Ibrida being 255kg lighter than its electric counterpart, at 1230kg.
Fuel economy and CO2 emissions are officially rated at 58.8mpg and 109g/km.
The Ibrida also receives a small visual tweak: as standard, it gets a wire-style grille with the historic Alfa Romeo badge, rather than the flat plastic item fitted to the EV.
Inside, there are black and blue cloth seats, ambient LED lighting and two 10.25in display screens (one for instrumentation and the other for infotainment).
The optional Sport Pack (£4100) swaps the standard cloth seats for Sabelt buckets trimmed in Alcantara, as well as adding aluminium pedals and tinted rear windows.
The Premium Pack (£2000) forgoes the Sabelt seats in favour of leather chairs with an adjustable lumbar support as well as heating and massage functions.
Deliveries of the Junior Ibrida will begin during the second quarter of the year, between April and June.
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Now a 250BHP mild hybrid Cloverleaf version good be a great fun small SUV!
Still have an Alfa heart, and you're willing to step down from 100% ICE, then this is the Alfa for you, IMO. Only thing what it needs, is to come down (literally) from that silly SUV crossover character. I guess that there will be after-market lowering springs made available. Added benefit: better handling because of the lower CoG.
And there's the rub, you can buy an ICE car for six that's six grand cheaper than the EV equivalent, you can't ignore it, that a big price difference,and at the moment not many can afford to shell out for an EV especially if Gas and Electric bills are going up along with food prices.
Or you can buy a BEV version for exactly the same price as the ICE version i.e Frontera. You can't ignore it.