Meet The Alpine A390: France’s Answer To The Tesla Model Y

The new A390 shows how Alpine blends performance with practicality. It's sharp, powerful, and built for everyday life, combining comfort with the kind of excitement that makes you want to take the long way home.

If the A110 coupe is the playful athlete of the family, the A390 is the more mature sibling that still knows how to have fun. It keeps the low roof and sharp lines that hint at its sports car roots but stretches the shape into something more useful. With five doors, a roomy trunk, and enough ground clearance to handle everyday roads, it’s built for life beyond the twisties.

You might remember the A390_β concept from late 2024. The production model doesn’t stray far, which is a nice surprise in a world where concept cars often lie. It’s toned down just enough to make it street legal but still looks edgier than your average SUV.

The roofline dives sharply toward the rear, giving the A390 a fast, athletic profile. Angular LED bars stretch across the front and rear, while small triangle details add personality to the front end. Even the lower cladding has a sporty edge, looking more track-ready than typical SUV filler.

Inside, the layout might be similar, but the details are all their own. In the top GTS version, the deep Sabelt seats are finished in soft Nappa leather, adding a sporty and upscale feel.

The steering wheel, stitching, and center console are all crafted to feel high-end without being flashy. You get a clean digital layout with a 12.3-inch driver display and a 12-inch central screen, plus a 13-speaker Devialet system that pumps out 850 watts of crisp, French audio.

The A390 is sized just right. It’s a bit smaller and lower than a Tesla Model Y, so it’s easy to park, fun to drive, and doesn’t feel like you’ve settled for a crossover. It uses the same platform as the Renault Scenic and Nissan Ariya, but Alpine’s engineers clearly put in extra work to make it their own.

The suspension is tweaked with hydraulic bump stops (like the ones in the old Megane RS), and the steering has been sharpened to feel more go-kart than grocery-getter. Even the tires are custom Michelins.

Then there’s the fun stuff: three motors. One up front, two in the back. That means full all-wheel drive with torque vectoring, and enough twist to make you double-check the speedo. The base GT model makes 396 horsepower, but the GTS dials it up to 463 hp and nearly 600 lb-ft of torque.

Zero to 100 km/h? 3.9 seconds if you go for the GTS. There’s even a temporary “overtake” boost button that gives you an extra jolt for 10 seconds. Like a real-life cheat code—with a 30-second cooldown, of course.

Range? Up to 555 km (345 miles) on the WLTP cycle, thanks to an 89 kWh battery. That’s proper road trip territory. Fast charging tops out at 190 kW, so you won’t be stuck waiting forever on long hauls. And just to add some theater, Alpine added two artificial sound modes: one for daily drives, one for spirited blasts. Because sometimes silence just isn’t satisfying.

What’s the damage? Pricing isn’t locked in yet, but expect the GT to start around £60,000 and the GTS closer to £70,000. That puts it up against heavy hitters like the Porsche Macan EV, BMW i4 M50, and Tesla Model Y Performance. Not an easy crowd to beat, but the A390 isn’t trying to be the most logical choice. It’s trying to be the most fun.

Now, if you’re in North America and already reaching for your wallet, hold that thought. Alpine’s plan to launch in the U.S. by 2027 has hit a wall thanks to tariffs on imported EVs.

The A390 is as French as a fresh croissant—built in Dieppe, with its guts coming from Cleon and Dunkirk—and that’s not great news for avoiding import taxes. Still, the door’s not closed. Alpine’s watching the political winds, and if things shift, they’re ready to make a move.