That is EXACTLY how I felt when I first drove an Alpine... 7 years after I let my Elise go it felt like I was at home again, but I had a/c, stereo etc etc.
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OK talk to me about the Alpine 110
- Thread starter Leonard
- Start date
Is this a new review ?
topgear.nl
Alpine A110 vs Porsche 718 Cayman GTS vs Lotus Emira: Welke kleine sportauto moet je hebben?
Binnenkort zijn deze auto's verleden tijd
topgear.nl
Wizardwings
Emira Fan
Unfortunately no, from June this year. Here's the article in English https://www.topgear.com/car-news/bi...-lotus-emira-vs-porsche-cayman-vs-alpine-a110Is this a new review ?
Alpine A110 vs Porsche 718 Cayman GTS vs Lotus Emira: Welke kleine sportauto moet je hebben?
Binnenkort zijn deze auto's verleden tijd
- Thread starter
- #85
- Thread starter
- #87
But what about the weight and handling....
JohnHoward
Emira Fanatic
As the Alpine A110 may be considered a cross-over car for anyone looking at the Emira, I wanted to share my first impressions of this car.
Background – I put a deposit on a V6FE Auto on the first day of Goodwood 2021 and at the time of writing, my car is not due until April 2023. My deposit remains with Lotus for the Emira. I have really missed having a sports car since I sold my Evora 410 Sport (auto) in October 2021 (thinking the Emira would arrive the following spring). It was this thread that introduced me to the Alpine (thanks @Leonard).
After researching and watching lots of positive reviews, I found a great example of the car just a few miles from where I live. I picked it up last Friday and despite some grim weather, I have been able to get some first impressions.
The car – Alpine A110 in Alpine Blue with a number of extras (about £6,500 worth), first registered in June 2022, with 2,500 miles on the clock. As you would expect, it is just like a brand new car. For comparison, I will use my Evora 410 Sport Auto.
Overall looks – The design styling obviously follows the 1970’s Alpine, but has added modern styling. It doesn’t have the supercar looks of the Emira or the eye catching design of the Evora, but it does have its own unique style. It does stand out when you park it between two regular cars in a car park and you really notice how low it is, this also makes the car appear wider than it really is.
Getting in and out – The doors open very wide, so getting in and out is effortless. I would say it is as easy to get in and out of as my Ford Fiesta. When you open the door, you instantly notice how light weight the door feels and of course this extends to every aspect of the car.
Starting up – all very straightforward, the car ‘key’ is a key card borrowed from the Renault Megane, so it is tried and tested. The mode select button is on the steering wheel with a choice of normal, sport and track. Like the Evora/Emira, the sport mode opens the exhaust valves, alters throttle response and auto gearbox.
Driving – my experience at this stage is limited, but it instantly has the steering feel of my Evora, you can also tell it is a lightweight car. This is hard to describe, it holds the road exceptionally and is sure footed, but in the feedback you get the car feels light but not in any bad way. I may be able to expand on this as I drive the car more in different conditions.
The gearbox is very responsive up and down and more so in Sport mode (with my very limited experience so far). The brakes (mine has the optional upgraded brakes) work very well with a good feel.
Power - Despite the smaller engine (compared to the Evora/Emira V6) and less horsepower, it is definitely not lacking any power. Under harder acceleration you are treated to turbo noise as the turbo does its thing.
Exhaust – In Sports mode the valves are open and the soundtrack is louder with a very satisfying tickover sound. On acceleration you hear more from the exhaust and on lifting off you get a series of pops. The exhaust is not as aggressive as the V6 Evora, but this is a much different engine.
Comfort and interior – The driving position is excellent, you can adjust the steering wheel as necessary. The seats move backwards and forwards old school style with a lift up bar to adjust. Adjustment of seat height requires some tools and is probably something you would only want to do once. The interior is very nicely finished with blue stitching that matches the paintwork.
Infotainment – the system has both Apple Car Play and Android Auto (via wired connection). I have got the upgraded radio and there are 30 presets for your favourite DAB stations. The radio seems to stay tuned in (unlike the Evora!) and it sounds fine for background music which is how I will be using it.
Storage space – it is limited, but this is a Sports car at the end of the day.
All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase and this will certainly ease the wait for the Emira. I will wait to see what happens next year, but I don’t feel any rush to do anything, I will keep my FEV6 auto deposit in but, who knows, I may change that to the 2.0L FE or even look at base models plus a few upgrades. I feel that now I have a very nice car again, I can keep my options open.
For anyone else looking at an interim car or changing to another brand, I would certainly recommend a test drive of the Alpine A110, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.
Background – I put a deposit on a V6FE Auto on the first day of Goodwood 2021 and at the time of writing, my car is not due until April 2023. My deposit remains with Lotus for the Emira. I have really missed having a sports car since I sold my Evora 410 Sport (auto) in October 2021 (thinking the Emira would arrive the following spring). It was this thread that introduced me to the Alpine (thanks @Leonard).
After researching and watching lots of positive reviews, I found a great example of the car just a few miles from where I live. I picked it up last Friday and despite some grim weather, I have been able to get some first impressions.
The car – Alpine A110 in Alpine Blue with a number of extras (about £6,500 worth), first registered in June 2022, with 2,500 miles on the clock. As you would expect, it is just like a brand new car. For comparison, I will use my Evora 410 Sport Auto.
Overall looks – The design styling obviously follows the 1970’s Alpine, but has added modern styling. It doesn’t have the supercar looks of the Emira or the eye catching design of the Evora, but it does have its own unique style. It does stand out when you park it between two regular cars in a car park and you really notice how low it is, this also makes the car appear wider than it really is.
Getting in and out – The doors open very wide, so getting in and out is effortless. I would say it is as easy to get in and out of as my Ford Fiesta. When you open the door, you instantly notice how light weight the door feels and of course this extends to every aspect of the car.
Starting up – all very straightforward, the car ‘key’ is a key card borrowed from the Renault Megane, so it is tried and tested. The mode select button is on the steering wheel with a choice of normal, sport and track. Like the Evora/Emira, the sport mode opens the exhaust valves, alters throttle response and auto gearbox.
Driving – my experience at this stage is limited, but it instantly has the steering feel of my Evora, you can also tell it is a lightweight car. This is hard to describe, it holds the road exceptionally and is sure footed, but in the feedback you get the car feels light but not in any bad way. I may be able to expand on this as I drive the car more in different conditions.
The gearbox is very responsive up and down and more so in Sport mode (with my very limited experience so far). The brakes (mine has the optional upgraded brakes) work very well with a good feel.
Power - Despite the smaller engine (compared to the Evora/Emira V6) and less horsepower, it is definitely not lacking any power. Under harder acceleration you are treated to turbo noise as the turbo does its thing.
Exhaust – In Sports mode the valves are open and the soundtrack is louder with a very satisfying tickover sound. On acceleration you hear more from the exhaust and on lifting off you get a series of pops. The exhaust is not as aggressive as the V6 Evora, but this is a much different engine.
Comfort and interior – The driving position is excellent, you can adjust the steering wheel as necessary. The seats move backwards and forwards old school style with a lift up bar to adjust. Adjustment of seat height requires some tools and is probably something you would only want to do once. The interior is very nicely finished with blue stitching that matches the paintwork.
Infotainment – the system has both Apple Car Play and Android Auto (via wired connection). I have got the upgraded radio and there are 30 presets for your favourite DAB stations. The radio seems to stay tuned in (unlike the Evora!) and it sounds fine for background music which is how I will be using it.
Storage space – it is limited, but this is a Sports car at the end of the day.
All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase and this will certainly ease the wait for the Emira. I will wait to see what happens next year, but I don’t feel any rush to do anything, I will keep my FEV6 auto deposit in but, who knows, I may change that to the 2.0L FE or even look at base models plus a few upgrades. I feel that now I have a very nice car again, I can keep my options open.
For anyone else looking at an interim car or changing to another brand, I would certainly recommend a test drive of the Alpine A110, I think you will be very pleasantly surprised.
- Thread starter
- #89
Sounds perfect
Where are the pictures tho!
I'm going to book a test drive at Solihull same day as the Emira test drive for sure.
Early days but is there anything you don't like about it!!!?
I test drove one at Alpine in Cardiff on Sunday. The sales guy (Kevin) was great and he allowed me 'as long as I wanted' to test drive both the A110 and the GT. He spent a total of 3 hours with me showing me all manner of different configurations and I can only describe the customer relations as on par with previous experiences with Porsche Swindon.....except the lack of a young lady plying me with tea and biscuits...but I can live without that bit
10 out of 10 for customer service
I drove both cars for 40 mins each (and was allowed to take my son rather than going with the Alpine rep) and found some nice windy roads to test it fully, during what was probably the wettest day we've had since last year! The power delivery and agility was intoxicating and there was an additive whistle/wine on full throttle that somehow added a unique character to the car. Even in the treacherous rain I struggled to get the car to break traction. The only annoyance was the over-synthesised pops from the exhaust, which was a characteristic of my old Megane RS 300 Trophy but I'm sure these could be mapped out. The power difference between the A110 (252 bhp) and the GT (292 bhp) wasn't hugely noticeable IMO except higher up the rev range. Either is enough to get the smile glands working overtime!!
All I can say is that I couldn't stop smiling from the moment I got in the cars right up until later that evening when I found myself watching every A110 review under the sun!
I'd never really given the car a second thought as I wasn't overly sold on the looks and if I'm honest, I'm still not. But the drive alone trumps the subjective looks, hands down.
I've got my Emira drive booked for Monday so there are some big boots to fill.
In all honesty, I really want the Emira to be as great as I have hoped after all this time but I can finally take solace that if it isn't, there's another car out there for me that I would buy in a heartbeat.
JohnHoward
Emira Fanatic
Not found anything I don't like so far!Sounds perfect
Where are the pictures tho!
I'm going to book a test drive at Solihull same day as the Emira test drive for sure.
Early days but is there anything you don't like about it!!!?
I really like the cost of insurance at £249 fully comp for me, my wife and 30 year old son.
I also like the MPG, currently reading 35 MPG on the average reading on the dash and that is with no attempt to drive it economically.
There are a couple of things to get used to like the speed limiter and cruise control being next to the handbrake switch and out of your immediate line of sight whilst driving.
The access to the engine is an interesting design, you have to open the boot and undo three thumbturn screws, then open the back window and then remove a bunch of engine cover screws (you can use a coin to unscrew them). I probably won't be looking at the engine too often, but it makes you feel like a proper mechanic when you do!
The car did not have the reverse camera specified and the view out of the back isn't great (as all mid-engine cars), so I will most likely replace the rear view mirror with a digital version and that will also give me dash cam front and rear and a reversing camera. I had one on my Evora and it was really good. I have posted about it on the dashcam thread.
JohnHoward
Emira Fanatic
I know what you mean, I kind of feel the same, but it is growing on me.
One thing I have noticed after only a couple of days is the reaction you get to the car. I have already seen people do a double take when they hear you coming and then try to figure out what on earth it is. Probably most see the Alpine text and are non the wiser! I have never seen one on the road before and if I had, I woudn't have known anything about it.
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Nice video of A11O run by Francois Delecour
Great write up @JohnHoward . I see you have joined the useful Facebook group as well. Where are you based? I can recommend John Banks if you are around the Cambridge area for servicing
JohnHoward
Emira Fanatic
Thanks, I am in Cheshire. There are two Alpine dealerships in my catchment area. One is in central Manchester and the other in Liverpool. Although the Liverpool branch is further in miles, it is a much easier drive straight down the motorway and is located near an exit of the motorway. I am only about 15 minutes drive on rural roads from the motorway network. Manchester is closer in miles, but can be a difficult place to get to with often heavy traffic and endless road works. Hopefully, I won't need to visit the dealer until next summer for the 1st service.
JohnHoward
Emira Fanatic
You can certainly feel the 'lightness' of the Alpine, although I still can't describe it properly!
This will be a very interesting comparison. An Alpine A110 with a few extras (sports exhaust, parking sensors etc) comes in at around £55K vs the Emira FE at nearly £25K more. Will the Emira be worth almost 50% more than the Alpine? (this is the million $ question - or £25K in this case).
I hope you get reasonable weather, dry and not freezing cold, so that you can get a proper idea of both cars. It seems to rain every time I get in my Alpine, but at least the rain sensing wipers work very well
- Thread starter
- #98
Lol good point about the weather....You can certainly feel the 'lightness' of the Alpine, although I still can't describe it properly!
This will be a very interesting comparison. An Alpine A110 with a few extras (sports exhaust, parking sensors etc) comes in at around £55K vs the Emira FE at nearly £25K more. Will the Emira be worth almost 50% more than the Alpine? (this is the million $ question - or £25K in this case).
I hope you get reasonable weather, dry and not freezing cold, so that you can get a proper idea of both cars. It seems to rain every time I get in my Alpine, but at least the rain sensing wipers work very well
It's middle of the day at least.
I hear the LIFE110 geometry setting make the Alpine A110 particularly planted as well. If you didn't know you can download these for free and have the geometry tweaked locally
A fairer comparison would be against the Emira i4 base plus a few options, so more like £65-70k.You can certainly feel the 'lightness' of the Alpine, although I still can't describe it properly!
This will be a very interesting comparison. An Alpine A110 with a few extras (sports exhaust, parking sensors etc) comes in at around £55K vs the Emira FE at nearly £25K more. Will the Emira be worth almost 50% more than the Alpine? (this is the million $ question - or £25K in this case).
I hope you get reasonable weather, dry and not freezing cold, so that you can get a proper idea of both cars. It seems to rain every time I get in my Alpine, but at least the rain sensing wipers work very well
JohnHoward
Emira Fanatic
Yes, that is a very fair point. I was thinking of a direct comparison between a good spec Alpine vs the fully loaded FE Emira and is this worth the extra money. Also, to be fair, the GT version of the Alpine is an extra £10K, so the gap begins to close somewhat. I think that @Leonard will have a very interesting day trying the two cars and will have a difficult decision.
You watch, he will try them both and then go and buy something completely different to leave us competely befuddled.
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