Alpine A290 vs Citroën ë-C3

The Alpine A290 costs £14,000 more than the Citroën ë-C3. For that premium it adds 101 miles more WLTP range, 70 kW faster peak rapid charging and 47 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Alpine A290 comes out ahead overall.

The Citroën ë-C3 is £14,000 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £184 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Citroën ë-C3 comes out roughly £14,000 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 155 miles for the Alpine A290 and 94 miles for the Citroën ë-C3 - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Alpine A290 goes roughly 61 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 30-36 minutes.

The Citroën ë-C3 is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 68 mm narrower than the Alpine A290. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 645 mm of total clearance for the Citroën ë-C3 and about 577 mm of total clearance for the Alpine A290. The Alpine A290 also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Alpine A290 and 90% for the Citroën ë-C3. That gives the Citroën ë-C3 a modest edge in retained real-world range. The Citroën ë-C3's LFP-type pack tolerates daily 100% charging, while the Alpine A290's NMC-type pack lasts longest kept to about 80% for everyday use.