By Roger Biermann
The Alfa Romeo Milano won't only be available with an electric powertrain, but it also won't be available in the USA.
The Alfa Romeo Milano may be a name familiar to American buyers, as the Alfa Romeo 75 was called that when sold in North America. But now there's a new Milano, and it's a far cry from the old one. This time around, the Milano name is being applied to a small crossover slotting in beneath the Tonale, which will be available in both hybrid and electric guises. The bad news is that it's not coming to the USA, and is engineered specifically for the European market, where it's Alfa Romeo's first series production EV.
Related
Alfa Romeo Giulia To Be Gorgeous Italian Dodge Charger
Alfa Romeo's CEO has provided insight into the Giulia and several future models, including hinting at a potential Duetto revival.
Hybrid, Electric, And Veloce
Sharing its CMP/eCMP underpinnings with other Stellantis models, including the Jeep Avenger and Peugeot 2008, it inherits the mechanical elements of those models too. That means the electric variant is powered by a 53 kWh battery feeding a single front electric motor with 156 horsepower and 192 lb-ft on tap, but a Veloce model bumps the peak horsepower to 237 hp with a rear motor added to the mix. An electric range of approximately 255 miles on the WLTP cycle is expected. But it's not electric-only, and the ICE variant finds motivation from a 1.2-liter turbo three-cylinder with 48-volt hybrid assistance benefiting from a 28-hp electric motor in the six-speed dual-clutch transmission. This variant outputs 134 hp and can be had with either front- or all-wheel drive.
The Veloce variant is meant to be sportier and, as such, boasts suspension lowered by a full inch, bespoke steering calibration, stiffer roll bars, and a Torsen front limited-slip differential. To maximize its performance potential, it has 380 mm front brakes with four-piston calipers, housed within 20-inch wheels.
| Alfa Romeo Milano Powetrain Specs At-A-Glance | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Milano Ibrida (Hybrid) | Milano Elettrica (EV) | Milano Elettrica Veloce | |
| Powertrain | 1.2-liter turbo 3-cylinder 48V hybrid, FWD or AWD | Single electric motor, FWD | Dual electric motors, AWD |
| Horsepower | 134 hp | 154 hp | 237 hp |
| Transmission | 6-speed eDCT automatic | Single-speed direct drive | |
Controversial Styling At Odds With Alfa's Beautiful Past
Alfa has a history of building beautiful cars, and even the current crossovers, the Tonale and Stelvio, are attractive propositions, but the Milano is not quite as timeless and sensuous. The front end has a wide lower grille straight from the Stelvio, but the upper portion is where it goes all wrong. On the EV, instead of a traditional triangular grille, there's a body panel with a blown-up version of the Alfa crest on it in place of a traditional grille; it's too shouty and contradicts the understated beauty Alfa is known for. The hybrid version does away with this in favor of a mesh grille with vintage Alfa Romeo script on it, the closest thing on this car to the beauty we were promised for the brand's EVs, which were supposed to adopt styling cues reminiscent of Alfas from the 1960s. Perhaps platform-shared models are excluded from this philosophy and must be subjected to bolder styling to attract younger customers.
On either side of this, stepped headlights dominate the front fascia, with portions of the front bumper blacked out to give the headlights a C-shaped appearance. The rear has a sloping window and a full-width lightbar that tapers down sharply at its outer edges, creating a Kammback effect, with traditional Alfa Romeo script badging underneath. Meanwhile, the rear doors have hidden door handles recessed into the C-pillar, which is blacked out to create a floating roof effect.
A Better Interior Than The Exterior
Alfa owners in the CarBuzz office claim that the point of a beautiful Alfa is so that when you're broken down on the side of the road, you can sit on the curb and admire its beauty, but with the Milano's interior, we suspect you'd rather be sat inside most of the time, whether parked or otherwise.
A shapely digital gauge cluster emulates a more traditional binnacle with a large round speedometer and tachometer on either side. The rest of the dash appears surprisingly low and flat, with horizontal vents integrated in the center above a 10.25-inch touchscreen. The outboard vents are round and emulate the quadrifoglio (four-leaf clover) signature of the brand. It's seldom we look at an entrant in the subcompact segment and call its interior sexy, but that's what this is. That concept is amplified when you see the sculpted Sabelt front buckets with aluminum detailing, leather and Alcantara upholstery, and red contrast stitching.
Comfort, Practicality, And Autonomy Come Standard
Alfa Romeo claims the Milano has the largest trunk in its (battery-electric) class at 14 cubic feet, augmented by the "Alfa Romeo cable organizer" under the hood to store the charging cable for the EV. When you need to charge, a DC fast charger will replenish a 10-80% charge in under 30 minutes, and you can find a charging station with the inbuilt EV Routing functionality. The Milano features ChatGPT AI assistance, too, using voice recognition to allow you to control the climate, navigation, and more.
On the safety front, the Milano has Level 2 hands-free driving capability, along with surround-view cameras, 180-degree rearview cameras, and a semi-autonomous parking system.
The Milano launches with a Speciale model, which is available to order in Europe now. This launch edition model is based on the standard EV and hybrid derivatives, featuring Progresso badging, 18-inch Petali wheels, and Spiga vinyl-and-fabric upholstery.
