Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida review

If variety is the spice of life, the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida could be the recipe Alfa needs. You see, while the Junior was launched as an electric car, the Ibrida gets a petrol engine. 

Not just any petrol engine either – it’s actually a mild hybrid. The Junior Ibrida has the same Hybrid 136 engine you’ll find in a vast array of Stellantis models, including the petrol Jeep Avenger, Peugeot 2008 and Vauxhall Mokka.

Underneath, the Junior also shares a platform with those models, but Alfa Romeo maintains that it’s more stylish, sportier and better to drive. Is that true? And can it fight off the best small SUVs, including the Ford Puma and Lexus LBX.

That’s what we’re going to find out in this review, as we put the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida through its paces in key areas, including performance, comfort, practicality and interior quality. Read on to find out how we rate it...

The Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida's 134bhp 1.2-litre petrol engine gets it off the line quicker than the petrol Jeep Avenger and the Peugeot 2008, with 0-62mph taking 8.9 seconds. It's more than fast enough for everyday driving, with overtakes and getting up to motorway speeds proving a doddle.

Key to this oomph is the way that the Ibrida’s mild-hybrid system allows you to pull off on electricity and fills any gaps between gear changes, helping to remove any hesitation. While we’re on the subject, unlike a full hybrid or plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the Ibrida won’t drive on electricity for miles on end, instead only using the system when driving slowly – parking or in traffic for example.

It doesn’t take much driving to realise that Alfa Romeo has put some serious effort into how the Junior Ibrida handles. Despite its relationship with the Avenger underneath, it’s a better car to drive, with firmer suspension to keep body lean more in check and better weighted steering to give you more of an idea what the front wheels are up to. 

For maximum effect, and like other Alfa Romeo car models, the Junior gets switchable "DNA" drive modes – Dynamic, Natural and Advanced Efficiency – which adjust the weight of the steering, the accelerator response and brake feel. The latter is handy because the brake pedal can feel a little inconsistent in the less sporty modes.

True, even in its most dynamic mode, it’s not going to worry any sports SUVs, but as something for occasional fun when you stumble upon a winding B-road, it’ll do nicely.

Luckily, Alfa’s focus on sportiness hasn’t come at the detriment of comfort, with the Junior’s suspension remaining settled at speed and soaking up even larger imperfections with little more than a slight thud. The softer Citroën C3 Aircross will soak up imperfections better but will also float more over undulations.

Refinement is impressive, with some wind noise around the front pillars at motorway speeds and very little road noise. Unless you put your foot down, the Junior Ibrida's engine remains hushed, quickly fading into the background at a cruise.

"I like how Alfa Romeo has judged the regenerative braking in the Junior Ibrida, because it manages to replicate engine braking and allows you to avoid using the inconsistent brake pedal." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Inside, the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida is very similar to the Junior Elettrica, with the same comfortable driving position and supportive seats with plenty of adjustment.

Likewise, you sit just as low down in the Ibrida as you do the electric version, and that affects visibility. You see, while your view out to the front and sides is good, over-the-shoulder visibility is restricted by a rising window line and chunky rear pillars.

Thankfully, every Junior comes with rear sensors to make parking easier. Front sensors and a reversing camera are available as options. Talking of options, if you want a sportier feel you might want to consider the optional Sabelt bucket seats. They’re pretty expensive but really comfortable and add even more support through fast corners.

You can add those seats as part of the optional Sport pack, which also adds Alcantara elements to the centre console and dashboard, and a sportier steering wheel (strangely, it costs the same to add the full pack as it does to add the seats individually).

Unfortunately, even with those upgrades, the interior has lots of scratchy plastics in places you’ll touch often – on top of the doors for example. That’s a bit of a shame and means the interior can’t compete with the likes of the Peugeot 2008 and especially the Lexus LBX.

One very welcome feature of the Junior Ibrida is the inclusion of physical buttons and knobs for the climate controls. In most small SUVs you have to adjust the temperature and fan speed using the infotainment touchscreen, which is much fiddlier.

Speaking of which, every Junior Ibrida comes with a 10.3in touchscreen as standard. The screen is angled towards the driver and the clarity of the display is good enough, but the software isn’t particularly impressive, responding slowly to your inputs.

Luckily, you can get around the basic software by using the standard-fit Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring – although that won't make the screen any quicker to respond when you touch it.

"Manoeuvring in the Junior Ibrida can be a tad unnerving because the thick rear pillars almost entirely block the view over your shoulder. You might want to add the optional Technology pack so you get blind-spot monitoring." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

Even if you’re six feet tall, you’ll have no issues when sitting up front in the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida. Indeed, you’ll have plenty of head and leg room, and enough shoulder room that you won’t be rubbing up against your front seat passenger.

That said, it still feels more compact than rivals including the Peugeot 2008, which feels more open and airy in comparison. The same can be said for the back seats, where the design makes it feel quite claustrophobic for even shorter people.

Taller people will find space in the rear quite tight, with the Ibrida offering less head and leg room than most rivals. Indeed, if you want a car you can regularly fit people into the back of, you'll be better off trying a Skoda Kamiq or Volkswagen T-Roc.  

Due to the Ibrida having an engine, it misses out on the handy frunk that you’ll find beneath the bonnet of the Junior Elettrica. However, it does get 15 litres more boot space to make up for that fact, increasing it to 415 litres overall.

In more relatable terms, that’s more than the petrol Jeep Avenger but slightly less than the Peugeot 2008 and VW T-Roc. Even so, it should still be more than enough space to carry a decent-sized shop or several carry-on suitcases.

For those times when you need more space, you can split the Junior Ibrida’s rear seats 60/40 and fold them flat. That’s fairly par for the course in the small SUV class, but it’s a shame the Ibrida doesn’t have a ski hatch like the T-Roc does.

"Interestingly, with the sportier seats installed I found that I had more knee room while sat in the back of the Junior Ibrida. The reason is the large cut-outs in the seat backs." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

As a cash purchase, the Alfa Romeo Junior Ibrida will cost you slightly more than an entry-level petrol Jeep Avenger but less than most of its other rivals, including the Peugeot 2008 and VW T-Roc. 

Better still, experts predict that the Ibrida should hold on to its value pretty well, depreciating slower than all of those rivals. That can have an impact on how much you pay on PCP finance, helping to lower monthly payments. 

Being a hybrid means that efficiency should be pretty good, with the Ibrida promising up to 59mpg and low CO2 emissions. The latter will be music to company car drivers because it’ll help to keep BIK tax payments down – although not as much as the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica. 

There’s only one trim level available with the Junior’s hybrid engine, but that’s not a bad thing because it gets plenty of standard equipment. Indeed, every Ibrida comes with 17in alloys, rain-sensing wipers, adaptive cruise control, automatic climate control and keyless start.

We don’t have reliability data for the Ibrida yet, but Alfa Romeo didn’t fare well in the 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey. Indeed, it claimed a poor 30th place out of the 31 included manufacturers, beating only MG.

At least the Junior comes with a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, to help somewhat make up for Alfa’s reputation. 

Euro NCAP has yet to test the Junior for safety, but you can be safe in the knowledge that it comes with a good amount of standard safety features, including automatic emergency braking (AEB) and traffic-sign recognition. You can add blind-spot monitoring, lane-assist and traffic-jam assist by selecting the optional Technology Pack.

"Thanks to the Junior Ibrida’s very competitive pricing, I’d be tempted to add a couple of options packs. That way you’ll get a bunch more equipment and the price will probably only just match rivals." – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

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