It’s almost six years since Alfa Romeo axed its baby model, the Mito – but the iconic Italian brand is now returning to the small car market with this new SUV, called Milano.
The Alfa Romeo Milano is the company’s twist on the formula already used by Stellantis stablemates Opel/Vauxhall (Mokka), Fiat (600), Peugeot (2008) and Jeep (Avenger). It uses the group’s e-CMP2 modular architecture and will be offered with a choice of two electric-motor versions or a 48-volt petrol hybrid.
The Milano is actually one of the bigger e-CMP2 creations; at 4.17 metres in length, it’s a few centimetres up on both the Avenger and Mokka, though pretty much identical to the 600 and a fair bit shorter than the 2008. The Alfa manages to look distinct, though, thanks to some typically sharp styling elements. The front end features stacked ultra-slim headlights and daytime-running lights, with a darker intake lower in the bumper and Alfa’s ‘shield grille’ set in textured plastic beneath a badge mounted on the leading edge of the bonnet.
The side features cleaner surfacing, with a simple crease lower down and another higher one that curves over the rear wheelarch to accentuate the rear shoulders of the car. The side profile looks more hatchback than SUV, with a relatively large glass area and a door handle that, as on the Jeep Avenger, is integrated into the C-pillar. The rear has a swept-up tail, with a one-piece lighting element that incorporates a slim LED signature, plus the Alfa Romeo script badging.
The Alfa Romeo Milano EVs will share the usual Stellantis battery and charging configuration, with a 54kWh (50.8kWh usable) capacity and refills at up to 100kW, but there will be two motor options. The Milano Elettrica gets the typical 154bhp motor set-up, allowing up to a claimed 255 miles of range and delivering a 0-62mph time that’s likely to be around nine seconds.
The Milano Elettrica Veloce, meanwhile, features a punchier front-mounted 237bhp motor (almost certainly shared with Abarth’s forthcoming 600e, since that car has a similar quoted figure) and a bespoke chassis calibration that includes a Torsen mechanical differential, a faster steering ratio, a widened track, different front and rear anti-roll bars, stiffer suspension that lowers the ride height by 25mm, beefed-up brakes (380mm discs at the front) and 20-inch alloy wheels.
Alfa says that both Elettrica editions will get a Free2move charging card that includes access to over 600,000 charging stations across Europe, and a wallbox as standard.
The petrol-powered version of the car will be called the Milano Ibrida. It gets a 134bhp 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol motor that’s then boosted by a 28bhp electric motor integrated into the six-speed automatic gearbox, allowing the car to run on electricity alone around 50 per cent of the time in town.
The Ibrida will be initially offered with front-wheel drive, but Alfa says a four-wheel-drive Q4 version will arrive “at a later stage”. It hasn’t released any technical details on the Q4, beyond saying it will deliver “automated rear-wheel drive axle management”, but it’s likely that it will share at least some components with the forthcoming Jeep Avenger 4xe, which places an additional 28bhp electric motor on the rear axle. Auto Express understands that the Ibrida is not yet confirmed for the UK, and that even if it does make it to showrooms here, it’s likely to be in two-wheel-drive form only.
Inside, the Milano stays true to Stellantis’s e-CMP2 hardware with a pair of 10.25 displays – one for the digital instrument panel and the other a touchscreen for infotainment. The designers have tried to give the Alfa’s fascia its own distinct identity, though, with a more pronounced cowl shape around the dials and ‘cloverleaf’ air vents.
The central screen, meanwhile, sits a little lower than in other e-CMP models, with slim air vents above it. There’s a more conventional lower centre console, too, with familiar Stellantis switches present but not the foldable cubbyhole cover that we’ve seen in the Avenger and 600e. Alfa says the infotainment interface will be easily customisable, thanks to app ‘widgets’ that can be dragged around the screen and saved in position. The system gets over-the-air updates and connected navigation, too.
We haven’t had a chance to sit in the Milano yet but based on other e-CMP models, it should have sufficient space for four adults. Alfa says the Milano offers 400 litres of boot capacity, which is generous for the class, plus an additional area beneath the bonnet of the EV versions for storing charging cables.
Regardless of powertrain, the Milano will be available in a choice of three trim packs. Techno brings matrix-LED headlights, a powered tailgate with gesture control and navigation, while Premium gets an uprated interior finish and electric adjustment and massaging function on the driver’s seat. Sport, meanwhile, gets exterior styling tweaks, plus Sabelt sports seats and Alcantara upholstery.
In addition, the Elettrica and Ibrida models are being offered with a launch edition, called Speciale. It mixes many of the key functions from the three packs, so it includes red paint and 18-inch alloy wheels, plus a unique upholstery finish, a leather-covered steering wheel, eight-colour ambient lighting and keyless entry and start.
Maximising synergies with the Jeep Avenger would appear to make sense for Alfa Romeo, since the Milano is being built on the same production line as that car (and the Fiat 600e), in Tychy, Poland. Alfa UK will start taking orders in the summer, with the first cars expected to be delivered to customers in by October. There’s no word yet on pricing but we’d expect the regular Alfa Romeo Milano Elettrica to start at roughly the same price as the Avenger EV, around £35,000, with the Elettrica Veloce coming in at more than £40,000.
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