Alpine A110 Review (2018-present)
Pros and cons
What we like
Tremendous balance of ride and handling
Surprising fuel efficiency for such a quick car
The A110S is a great track day car
What to consider
Sparse dealer network
Most rivals are more practical
Plasticky interior
The CarGurus verdict
Many would-be buyers will wonder why they’d ever want something called an Alpine when they could have a Porsche for similar money. Others will think the A110’s interior too plasticky to justify the asking price, while a fair number will think its sub-300bhp power outputs are rather meagre. Those complaints and others besides (notably a sparse dealer network) explain why the A110 hasn’t sold in stronger numbers in the UK.
For a certain type of buyer, though, nothing will come close. There is a purity about the A110’s engineering: aluminium construction is expensive and double-wishbone suspension tricky to package, but both of those things make the car better to drive. Alpine was uncompromising in its pursuit of ride and handling brilliance, and that shows on the road. The A110 won’t be for everyone, but for a small number of people – people who care about driving above all else – it’ll be everything.
out of 5 expert review
What is the Alpine A110?
True to Alpine’s little-known but very rich heritage, the A110 is a compact, lightweight French sports car that derives its performance not from a very powerful engine, but through its unrivalled agility. The all-aluminium two-seater – dwarfed in size by its most immediate rival, the Porsche 718 Cayman – carves out its own niche in the sports car segment. It's a pared-back but usable car; focused, for sure, but not punishing
With the backing of parent company Groupe Renault, the Alpine brand – originally founded in 1955 but dormant since the mid-90s – was revived a few years ago. The company now builds A110s in modest numbers in the same factory in Dieppe in the north of France that manufactured Alpines for several decades (more recently, the Dieppe site was where Renault Sport cars were produced).
The A110 is a mid-engined, rear-wheel-drive coupe. It uses the same basic 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine as the now-defunct Renault Sport Megane, with power outputs ranging from 249bhp to 288bhp. Although it lacks power compared to rivals such as the Porsche Cayman and Toyota GR Supra, the A110 is substantially lighter than both. At around 1100kg, it undercuts the Porsche by more than 350kg and the Toyota by almost 450kg, giving the Alpine comparable levels of performance.
Practicality
Practicality
It may have two boots – one above the front axle and one behind the engine – but both are very small, offering less than 200 litres of storage space between them. There’s little room within the cabin to stuff your phone, wallet, keys and so on (unless you pay extra for leather stowage compartments) and the touchscreen infotainment system feels rudimentary compared to the far more advanced systems you’ll find in its rivals. A good example is Alpine’s phone-mirroring programme, called MySpin. It’s not as intuitive or reliable as the Apple CarPlay or Android Auto systems used elsewhere (these were added to the Alpine as part of a 2022 update).
Those few practicality issues aside, the A110 is far easier to live with than most would assume. It’s comfortable (even the fixed-back Sabelt bucket seats are cosseting hour after hour), quiet on the motorway and effortless to drive around town. Even lighter sports cars such as the Alfa Romeo 4C, the Lotus Elise and the Caterham Seven are invariably more demanding in daily use.
Driving
What's it Like to Drive?
All A110s steer with a precision and a crispness that you only find in light cars that don’t press too much rubber into the road. The lower-powered versions in particular are known for their supple and fluid suspension, which lends them a calm and composed ride quality. All versions are wonderfully balanced in corners and have limits that are approachable at road speeds, where some sports cars feel so fast and so grippy that you barely scratch the surface on the highway.
The lower-powered version has a 0-62mph time of 4.5 seconds and a 155mph top speed. The more powerful models will reach 62mph in 4.4 seconds and run on to 162mph.
The only gearbox option is a seven-speed DCT dual-clutch item. Slender aluminium shift paddles mounted on the steering column allow drivers to change gear themselves. Suspension is by double wishbones at all four corners with passive - rather than adaptive - dampers. Where some sports car makers favour very wide, sticky tyres that only really work in dry weather, Alpine prefers narrower tyres that offer consistent grip in all conditions. The company reasons that it doesn’t matter exactly how much grip a car has, but how much confidence the driver has in that grip.
Tech and equipment
Technology & Equipment
Paired-back sports car it may be, but the A110 isn’t badly equipped. The standard model includes a 7.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system, housing the aforementioned phone mirroring systems and satellite navigation, plus swish digital dials that adopt a different appearance according to the driving mode.
Tick the Comfort Pack box, and you get six-way adjustable ‘Comfort’ seats, 18-inch alloy wheels, aluminium sports pedals, front- and rear parking sensors with a reversing camera, and an upgraded Focal audio system: and you get most of that, or a variation of it, with the GT trim level, too.
The performance-themed S model has a track day function included in its infotainment system that records lap times and displays other pub-ammo data, such as how much power you’re using, turbo boost pressure and engine- and tyre temperatures.
Running costs
Running Costs
Compared to certain rivals, the A110 is inexpensive to run. That's because it's extremely light, and it has a surprisingly fuel-efficient engine (a relatively modest four-cylinder). On the motorway, the A110 will return around 40mpg, while in mixed driving, an mpg figure of 32 or so is easily achievable.
Beyond fuel economy, A110 running costs are kept in check by the modest Michelin tyres that aren’t fearsomely expensive, plus reasonable servicing costs. Expect to pay around £600 for a full set of replacement tyres, while a first service will set you back around £360. An Alpine Service Plan brings the cost of routine maintenance down further.
All versions costs more than £40,000 from new, which means you’ll pay the higher rate of Vehicle Excise Duty each year, while insurance groups range from 44 to 48 out of 50. Replacement parts are likely to cost more for an Alpine than for other similar cars simply due to scarcity, but for the most part, an A110 will ask less of your wallet than a Porsche 718 Cayman, a BMW M2 Competition or a Toyota GR Supra.
Reliability
Not only is the A110 too new for any commonly-occurring faults to have made themselves known, it’s also still too rare in the UK to have earned itself a reputation for reliability, good or bad. Anecdotally, there don’t appear to be any major faults reoccurring as yet, but minor issues such as rattling door cards and loose rear screen seals have emerged more than once.
Those sorts of issues will be put right under warranty, which runs for three years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes sooner: that's pretty much the industry-standard. Owners can pay extra to extend their warranty for a further six years or 100,000 miles, and that’s transferable between owners.
What owners say
Three things to know
- The A110 as we know it today (for A110 was also the name of Alpine’s most famous model from the Sixties) appeared in 2017. The first 1,955 cars to roll off the production line were Premiere Edition models, each fitted with specific 18-inch alloy wheels, a numbered plaque and additional equipment, such as a sports exhaust. Just three paint colours were offered – Alpine’s signature blue, plus black and white – with very few extras on the options sheet.
- Alpine followed up the A110 Premiere Edition with two further variants, the Pure and the Legende. Mechanically they’re identical with the same powertrain and chassis settings, but while the Pure features lightweight bucket seats, the Legende uses comfort-oriented multi-adjustable chairs. The latter also gets its own wheel design and interior trim. The line-up was expanded again in 2019 with the arrival of the A110S. With more power (from the same four-cylinder engine) and much firmer suspension (50% stiffer springs, 100 per cent stiffer anti-roll bars), the A110S is faster with a distinct dynamic character.
- With the Pure, Legende and A110S serving as the pillars of the model range, Alpine has begun to introduce further limited-run variants. The Legende GT is targeted at more image-conscious buyers and gets custom wheels, paint finishes and interior flourishes, although mechanically it’s identical to the Legende. Meanwhile, A110 Color Edition (this is the correct spelling!) is a rolling annual programme that plucks one model from the line-up and presents it in a unique paint colour for a limited time. The 2020 Color Edition is based on the A110S, the unique paint colour an eye-popping Sunflower Yellow.
Which one to buy
- On a budget: the A110’s residual values are among the best of any car on sale today. The earliest 2018 Premiere Edition examples will still fetch £40,000, meaning that over several years, they’ve dropped in value by only £12,000 or so. Expect depreciation to be slow and steady for years to come, too.
- For track day drivers: while the Pure offers the most authentic Alpine driving experience, the A110S is better suited to trackday driving, thanks to its more focused chassis settings. Just be aware that its firmer springs mean the A110S can be more demanding in everyday use. It also the most expensive version by quite some way.
- The Porsche alternative: the basic Porsche 718 Cayman is a good contender for the entry-level Alpine. The German car has the more prestigious badge, more power, the option of a manual gearbox and a better-appointed cabin with more storage space, but its turbocharged flat-four engine is rather unsatisfying. Serious drivers may well prefer the A110, even in its most basic form.
