Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica vs Vauxhall Astra

The Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica costs £3,905 more than the Vauxhall Astra. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. The Vauxhall Astra is not just cheaper - it also offers 26 miles more WLTP range. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Vauxhall Astra comes out ahead overall.

The Vauxhall Astra is £3,905 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £168 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Vauxhall Astra comes out roughly £3,905 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 176 miles for the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica and 191 miles for the Vauxhall Astra - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Vauxhall Astra goes roughly 16 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 26-27 minutes.

The Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica is the easier car for tight UK car parks: it is 79 mm narrower than the Vauxhall Astra. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 619 mm of total clearance for the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica and about 540 mm of total clearance for the Vauxhall Astra.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Alfa Romeo Junior Elettrica and 84% for the Vauxhall Astra. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.