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April 11: Alfa Milano Junior revealed
Alfa Romeo turns a new page in its style book with this week's reveal of the Junior compact SUV, launching in Europe soon with petrol and electric options. Australians will get a look at it too – in late 2025.
If you don't need petrol range or the greater interior space, you might want to skip the only recently launched Alfa Romeo Tonale in favour of the compact new Junior.
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✋ APRIL 16: Stop the presses! Milano name banned by Italian govt
If you had read this story when it was first published on April 11, you might recall Alfa's new compact SUV was named Milano – honouring the brand's heritage, having been founded in Milan in 1910.
However, following a decision by the Italian government to ban the name Milano, Alfa Romeo has decided to call its new model Junior, after the GT 1300 Junior unveiled in 1966. Alfa parent Stellantis says Junior was a favourite name among fans when it canvassed fans in the lead-up to the Milano name's reveal.
In the meantime, we'll look forward to a brisk trade in Milano badges on eBay.
JUMP AHEAD to see the full Alfa Romeo announcement, or continue reading for details on the compact SUV formerly known as Milano.
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STORY CONTINUES (with Milano renamed Junior)
It’ll be quite the wait for Junior to reach Australia, with the local Stellantis office confirming it’ll be sometime in the second half of 2025 before buyers get the chance to plant one in their driveway.
The very closely related Jeep Avenger will make its Australian debut in the fourth quarter of 2024, priced from $53,990 – learn more about that one at the story linked below.
Back to the Junior…
Alfa Romeo calls this “a symbolic ‘welcome back’ to fans of the Giulietta and Mito”, two fairly well-regarded hatches that didn’t quite get the long-term upgrade commitments they deserved.
But, with Alfa now a part of the wealthy Stellantis family, the Junior will likely be better served at the table.
To that end, Alfa Romeo promises “best-in-class driving dynamics”. Class rivals are limited in number, in terms of likely price, but the larger Volvo EX30 will be among them – along with the mechanically (and historically) related Abarth 600e, for a bit of sibling rivalry.
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Power, battery, charging and driving range
Like the Fiat and Abarth 600e models, ‘Elettrica’ versions of the Junior open with a 112kW model and leaps to 177kW for the hero Junior Veloce.
Both variants use a 400V electric system and a 54kWh battery pack.
The electric Alfa Romeo Junior claims a driving range of up to 410 kilometres on the combined WLTP test cycle, but Alfa reckons those sticking to urban environments will see as good as 590 kilometres.
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Charging from 10 to 80% on a 100kW station is promised to take “less than” 30 minutes.
There’s a petrol-powered ‘Ibrida’ version of the Junior, too, matching a 100kW 1.2-litre turbo petrol three-cylinder engine with a 21kW electric motor and a six-speed dual-clutch auto.
MINI MATCH-UP
| Measurements | Alfa Romeo Junior | Alfa Romeo Tonale | Volvo EX30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 4170mm | 4530mm | 4233mm |
| Width | 1780mm | 1840mm | 1836mm |
| Height | 1500mm | 1600mm | 1550mm |
| Wheelbase | 2562mm | 2637mm | 2650mm |
| Weight | 1560kg* | 1525kg | 1830kg |
| Boot | 400L | 500L (hybrid), 385L (PHEV) | 318L |
| * Junior weight estimated, based on Avenger & 600e | |||
When will the Alfa Romeo Junior come to Australia?
For now, Stellantis has confirmed only that we’ll see the Junior here in the second half of 2025, “with engine variants, pricing and spec released later in the year”.
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How much will the Alfa Romeo Junior cost in Australia?
With the Jeep Avenger priced from just under $54K and the Abarth 500e priced from a smidge under $59K, the more premium Alfa Romeo Junior's Australian pricing could easily start in that high $50,000 to low $60,000 window.
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Will the petrol-powered Alfa Romeo Junior come to Australia?
Stellantis hasn’t said if we’ll get the petrol version of the Junior, but as we’re only getting the electric Avenger, it would seem unlikely – especially with Alfa Romeo phasing petrol out of its global line-up by 2027.
APRIL 16: Alfa Romeo parent Stellantis announces Milano is now Junior
In Alfa's own words
MILANO NAME IS NOT OKAY? JUNIOR THEN!
During one of the most important weeks for the future of Alfa Romeo, an Italian government official declared that the use of the name Milano – chosen by the brand for its recently unveiled new compact sports car – is banned by law.
Despite Alfa Romeo believing that the name meets all legal requirements, and that there are issues much more important than the name of a new car, Alfa Romeo has decided to change it from Milano to Junior in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding.
The name Milano, a public favourite, was chosen to pay tribute to the city where our history began in 1910. This was not the first time that Alfa Romeo has asked for the public's opinion when choosing the name of a car. It was previously done in 1966 with the Spider 1600 when the name chosen by the public was Duetto.
The Alfa Romeo team would like to thank the public for the positive feedback, the Italian dealer network for their support, journalists for the enormous media attention given to the new car and the Italian government for the free publicity brought on by this debate.
With a unique story and an endless list of names to choose from, the name change was not an issue. It was a pleasure to go over the list of names selected as favourites from the public’s suggestions, one of which was Junior.
Jean-Philippe Imparato – CEO Alfa Romeo: “We are perfectly aware that this moment will remain engraved in the history of the brand. It's a great responsibility but at the same time it's an exciting moment. The choice of the name Junior is completely natural, as it is strongly linked to the history of the brand and has been among our favourites and among the public's favourites since the beginning. As a team, we are choosing once again to share our passion for the brand and make the product and our customers the priority. We decided to change the name, even though we know that we are not required to do so, because we want to preserve the positive emotion that our products have always generated and avoid any type of controversy. The attention to our new sports compact that we’ve received the past few days is quite exciting as we had an unprecedented number of visits to the online configurator, causing the website to crash for a couple hours."
Stefano Odorici – President of the Italian Alfa Romeo Dealers Association: “Alfa Romeo is an inclusive brand, which welcomes and generates passion and positive emotions. You can clearly see it when I look into the eyes of our customers when they come to see, test, purchase and collect Alfa Romeo cars in our dealerships. For this reason, we welcome the decision taken by the company to change the name of the car from Milano to Junior in light of the latest news, which could affect the enthusiasm and the enormous attention that the new car is receiving from our customers recently. Junior, like Milano, are both beautiful names that have their roots in the history of the brand. It is no coincidence that they were immediately among the public's favourites.”
Origin of the name Junior
Following the success of the Giulia and its Giulia Sprint GT coupé version, designed by Giugiaro for Bertone, the goal for Alfa Romeo is to attract a new, younger audience eager for a brilliant, exclusive car without excessive purchase and running costs.
On September 26, 1966, the GT 1300 Junior was unveiled in Balocco and, despite the lack of the name Giulia, it was the leader of a new Alfa Romeo generation. Similar versions of the Spider range will also be identified with the Junior.
The main mechanical variant was the adoption of the 1,290cc twin-cam engine, which – thanks to the single power supply and new timing – delivered 89 hp and a top speed of over 105mph (169 km/h)˜, only slightly less than that of the 1600, as well as the fact it could deliver high-level performance and driving pleasure. The bodywork was also updated with a dedicated and more youthful trim.
With sales of over 92,000 units, the GT 1300 Junior soon became the overall best seller in the line-up and a true status symbol of its time.
ENDS
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