Alpine brought a five-seat crossover to a race track, which tells you most of what you need to know about the A390 GTS. The video from Everything Electric CARS frames it as a sports car wearing a suit: a sport fastback aimed at the premium electric crossover class, but engineered to feel like the brand's A110 sports car. The GTS starts at 69,000 pounds and uses a tri-motor setup, 350 kW of power, 824 Nm of torque and a 0 to 62 mph time of 3.9 seconds, according to the figures in the video. Its 89 kWh battery is quoted at 325 miles of range. The cheaper GT trim starts at 61,000 pounds with 300 kW, a 4.8 second sprint and a slightly longer range of around 345 miles on smaller wheels.
Alpine is Renault Group's performance brand, and the A390 marks its move into a larger five-seat body, well beyond the two-seat A110 it is known for. That matters because the premium electric SUV space it is entering is already crowded. The video positions the GTS against the Porsche Macan Electric and the Hyundai Ioniq 5N, and on size compares it to the Polestar 2, the Cupra Tavascan and the Macan, putting it at roughly 4.6 meters long. Underneath, the host notes, it shares its platform with mainstream Renault Group cars such as the Scenic, which is part of why the chassis work layered on top of it is the real story. The host's own conclusion is worth flagging for buyers: if you have this budget and need genuine family space, cars like the BMW iX3 and Volvo EX60 are said to offer more range, faster charging and a roomier back seat. The A390's pitch is not practicality. It is the way it drives, which is a harder thing to sell on a spec sheet.
The driving hardware is where the video spends its time. The GTS runs three motors, two at the rear and one at the front, which Alpine uses for torque vectoring: applying power to individual wheels to rotate the car through a corner. The host explains this as an alternative to brake-based vectoring or an electronic limited-slip differential, both of which either scrub speed or add weight. The car also gets a revised suspension geometry, a cast aluminium rear cradle to lower the rear center of gravity, passive dampers and six-piston front brakes behind 21-inch wheels. The host describes the effect as disguising the car's 2.1-ton weight, making it feel lighter and more agile than the numbers suggest. There is clever detail work too: the video says Alpine recorded the motor's real sound and tuned it to match what the car is doing, a more restrained approach than the gamified noise of the Ioniq 5N. On the outside, the video points to a wraparound rear light bar, a snowflake-pattern wheel design, red brake calipers and a front-mounted charging port, with a boot the host measures at more than 500 liters. Inside, it highlights a driving coach feature, challenge modes that hand out certificates, a regen dial and a 10-second overtake boost button. The criticisms are honest: one cup holder, a single phone slot, tight rear headroom and legroom, a large rear sill the host warns is not built to be stepped on, and some cabin materials that feel shared with cheaper Renault Group cars.
Bottom line: The A390 GTS is for the person who wants an A110's character but has a family to haul, and is honest enough to admit that is an emotional purchase, not a logical one. On paper, an iX3 or EX60 will likely do the family job better. But almost nobody in this price bracket buys purely on paper. If the tri-motor chassis delivers the engagement the video describes, Alpine has a real reason to exist in a segment where most rivals feel interchangeable. Test drive it before the rational part of your brain talks you out of it.
Commentary on a third-party video. Figures and claims are as presented in the source and have not been independently verified. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.