New 2024 Alfa Romeo Milano: first images, details and launch date

Here’s everything we know so far about Alfa’s baby SUV…

After launching its first SUV, the Stelvio, in 2017, and the more compact Tonale in 2022, it was only a matter of time before Alfa Romeo entered the highly competitive and hugely popular small SUV segment. Its contender will be the all-new Alfa Romeo Milano: the flamboyant sister car to the rugged Jeep Avenger and chic Fiat 600. 

But the Milano is more than just Alfa’s baby SUV, it will also be the Italian brand’s first attempt at a mainstream electric car, and one of many to come. The Alfa Romeo Milano is scheduled to make its worldwide premiere in April 2024, with the reveal taking place in Milan (obviously), before the first examples arrive in showrooms in September that year. 

How will the Alfa Romeo Milano look?

We’re sure Alfa Romeo would enjoy watching us spend the next few months excitedly speculating about what the new Milano will look like. Unfortunately for the brand, some images of the 4.2-metre-long baby Italian SUV leaked online in September 2023, giving us a sneak peek at the design. 

• Alfa Romeo Milano: new electric SUV gets its name

A quick study of the images reveals obvious Alfa styling traits, including the famous scudetto grille and a new take on the iconic phone-dial wheel design, featured alongside a heavily sculpted bonnet, large roof spoiler and sloped rear windscreen. Split LED headlights are part of what looks to be a very aggressive front end design, while a strong rear shoulder line and short overhangs help to give the small car a bold stance. 

But while those elements will set the Milano apart, we can also see some exterior components will be shared with sister cars from the Fiat and Jeep such as the mirror caps, windscreen, and rear door handles, which are tucked up in the C-pillar to give the car a cleaner look. 

Meanwhile interior images show off a digital driver’s screen, not dissimilar to tech already in use on other Alfa models, with useful information displayed on a central readout, plus the brand’s familiar selection of ‘DNA’ drive modes, which stand for Dynamic, Normal and Advanced Efficiency.

What do we know about the Milano's platform, batteries and range?

Underneath the athletic bodywork, the Milano will use the same CMP/e-CMP platform as the new Fiat 600 and Jeep Avenger, plus several other small SUVs and superminis from the Stellantis paddock including the Vauxhall Corsa and Peugeot 2008. 

Speaking to Auto Express, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said he is confident that the CMP/e-CMP architecture can be adapted enough to deliver the spirited driving dynamics expected by Alfa customers. “You will see that it will be an Alfa Romeo,” he said. “We are spending time on designing that car with the same spirit. And the driveability of the car, the performance of that car, will be driven by the tuning that we do on the Tonale. We can have the driveability of an Alfa with this type of product; I have no doubt of that.”

The Milano will use the same 54kWh battery as the Avenger and 600e, which delivers around 250 miles of range in both cars so we can expect similar results from the Alfa. Meanwhile charging speeds will peak at 100kW, allowing for 10-80 per cent top-up in roughly half an hour. 

At launch, the Milano will only be available as an EV in the UK, however a mild-hybrid petrol engine will be offered in other markets, and could make its way to UK shores if demand is high enough. The CMP platform can also accommodate a pure-petrol engine and manual gearbox combo, which is now available in the Avenger, but there’s been no word whether it will also make an appearance in the Milano.

What kind of performance and driving experience will the Milano deliver?

Imparato has also revealed that the first version of the Milano EV will only be offered with four-wheel drive, not front-wheel drive like you get in the Avenger or 600e right now. It’s a new feature for the e-CMP platform, with Alfa’s boss describing this dual-motor launch spec of the Milano as “perfo”, for performance. We should therefore expect a significantly quicker 0-62mph time than the Avenger’s, which takes 9.6 seconds to complete the benchmark sprint.

When asked directly how the Milano would feel different from the Avenger and Fiat’s 600, Imparato replied: “The answer to that will come on the test track at Balocco. This car follows the platform strategy of the [Stellantis] group, of course. I’m glad for that, because it brings me profits. But always with a touch of Alfa Romeo. When [Stellantis group boss] Carlos Tavares asks me what I want Alfa to be a champion of, I always reply: ‘Handling.’”

• Best new cars coming in 2024

A front-wheel drive variant is likely to join the line-up sometime after the Milano’s initial launch. But it seems Imparato hasn’t ruled out the possibility of an even faster Quadrifoglio version either. “We have a launch version of Milano,” he said, “and afterwards, based on customer feedback, based on what they are ready to pay, we will open the next step in Quadrifoglio compatibility of the car. We want first to test the acceptance and the level of target price and monthly instalments.”

How much will the Alfa Romeo Milano cost in the UK?

While Imparato was happy to talk about the Milano’s sharper focus on handling agility compared to its stablemates, and told us that buyers would have a choice of Veloce and Special Edition trim levels to start, he remained tight-lipped when asked about pricing. “This is the playground for Alfa Romeo,” he said, “in terms of pricing”.

Given the car will be offered exclusively with a dual-motor, four-wheel drive powertrain at launch, we expect the Alfa Romeo Milano will start from just under £40,000 when it finally goes on sale. For context, the front-wheel drive Jeep Avenger currently starts from £35,700, while the Volvo EX30 – which Imparato cited as a potential rival to the Milano – costs over £40,000 in range-topping dual-motor form. 

More electric Alfa Romeos to come

Alfa Romeo will utilise the Stellantis group’s bespoke all-electric STLA platform tech for several cars over the next few years, with the aim of becoming an electric-only brand by 2027. Among them are likely to be successors to the Giulia saloon and Stelvio SUV, bringing both nameplates and, Alfa hopes, existing customers into the BEV era. 

Imparato told us, “We love Giulia and Stelvio and we have to work on those two cars. We will do it.” This supports an earlier interview with Auto Express where Imparato said, “The shape of the Giulia is fantastic, I don’t want to lose this. The car is absolutely gorgeous, so there is a future for this type of car.”

He reiterated that the firm could even revisit some of its most iconic nameplates and body styles in zero-emissions form, once the line-up, sales and balance sheet have been stabilised after years of under-investment. This would not be until well into the second half of this decade, he suggested.

• New range-topping Alfa Romeo electric SUV to rival BMW iX

“We will never give up dreaming,” he said, “so yes, we have projects for Spiders. But it will not be something I will be able to sell to my president [Carlos Tavares] or convince him to validate before having secured the profitability of Alfa Romeo that is positive today. We have already gone from red numbers to black, but we don’t want to go back, ever. We will never lose money any more; there is no option.

“I have to feed the customers, the Alfa Romeo network with offers in the short-term period that are at the core of the European market and at the core of the switch to carbon neutral. For me, it’s an existential question; it is not a choice-driven one.”

Alfa Romeo will also launch a large electric saloon to sit above the Giulia EV and rival the likes of the BMW i5 and Audi A6 e-tron, while its forthcoming large electric SUV will attempt to give the BMW iX and Audi Q8 e-tron a good spanking.

Now read our review of the updated Alfa Romeo Stelvio…

Source: Read Full Article