{"id":2175227,"date":"2026-10-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2175227"},"modified":"2026-10-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T21:00:00","slug":"alpine-a390-gt-long-term-review-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2175227","title":{"rendered":"Alpine A390 GT – long-term review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There\u2019s a lot of \u2018motorsport DNA\u2019 in the Alpine A390 GT, at least according to Alpine. \u201cA racing car in a suit,\u201d runs the official pitch.<\/p>\n

Keen to build on its long, storied presence in the world of motorsport \u2013 outright wins in the WRC and Le Mans (admittedly a while back), and crashing into each other in Formula One (admittedly quite recently) \u2013 it has sprinkled a bit of that enviable racing know-how into everything it builds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That matters in something fighty and nimble like the superlative A110<\/a>, but in a 2.1-tonne crossover billed as a more \u2018practical\u2019 car? Let\u2019s take a look.<\/p>\n

Photography: Alex Tapley<\/em><\/p>\n

At the looks. We\u2019ve long discussed the aesthetic appeal of the A390, and it continues to be a magnet for attention. It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Does it matter? Not in terms of efficiency because we\u2019re still only seeing 2.7mpkwh, but it certainly makes a statement and gives the shape some \u2018texture\u2019. Plus you can point to it and speak confidently to your friends about ‘motorsport DNA’.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Then comes the F1-style \u2018RCH\u2019 button on the left-hand side of the steering wheel. This does<\/em> 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.<\/p>\n

As for the F1-style \u2018OV\u2019 button? That of course gives a little shortcut to max power for up to 10 seconds for overtaking\u2026 and we\u2019ve 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\u2019re fairly certain both of those drivers would just avoid this pointless affectation and use the traditional method of \u2018deploying thine right foot\u2019.<\/p>\n

The cockpit? Feels snug and sporty, for sure, with a lot of data on the touchscreen that you really shouldn\u2019t be looking at because 400bhp and \u2018the road\u2019 should focus your mind somewhat.<\/p>\n

Where the motorsport know-how really<\/em> comes into view? How the thing drives. The Alpine\u2019s setup is sweet, the steering sharp-enough to make it feel pointy and racecar-y. It\u2019s a little too sensitive if you\u2019re just cruising down the motorway, steadfastly refusing to settle, but on a winding road it really does feel like an Alpine.<\/p>\n

The various drive modes on offer change the car\u2019s personality too: while we mostly potter about in \u2018Save\u2019 (that feels like it\u2019s being pegged back), \u2018Sport\u2019 really lets fly, with a super responsive throttle pedal. We haven\u2019t tried \u2018Track\u2019 yet because we\u2019ve not taken it on a track. Honestly, why?<\/p>\n

So while it\u2019s not quite<\/em> a racing car in a suit \u2013 too heavy, though it\u2019s not actually that tall \u2013 it\u2019s as near as Alpine can get in a car like this. Certainly helped when we pitted it against the Porsche Macan<\/a>, which is also shot through with \u2018motorsport DNA\u2019. Porsche isn\u2019t too shabby at racing either, don\u2019t forget.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s a lot of \u2018motorsport DNA\u2019 in the Alpine A390 GT, at least according to Alpine. \u201cA racing car in a suit,\u201d runs the official pitch. Keen to build on its long, storied presence in the world of motorsport \u2013 outright wins in the WRC and Le Mans (admittedly a while back), and crashing into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-2175227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2175227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2175227\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2175227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2175227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2175227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}