Alpine A290 vs DS 3 E-Tense

The DS 3 E-Tense costs £3,000 more than the Alpine A290. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. The Alpine A290 is not just cheaper - it also offers a 1.6s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Alpine A290 comes out ahead overall.

The Alpine A290 is £3,000 cheaper to buy. The DS 3 E-Tense is cheaper to charge, roughly £152 a year versus £184 for the Alpine A290, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Alpine A290 comes out roughly £2,840 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 207 miles for the DS 3 E-Tense - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The DS 3 E-Tense goes roughly 52 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 30-30 minutes.

The two are within 21 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 598 mm of total clearance for the DS 3 E-Tense and about 577 mm of total clearance for the Alpine A290. The Alpine A290 also turns in a 0.5 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.