Alfa Romeo Milano – divisive B-segment SUV available as mild hybrid, EV with up to 240 PS, 410 km range

Alfa Romeo hasn’t had a car in the lower reaches of the premium segment since the Giulietta was discontinued in 2020, but it’s back with the Milano, which aims to replace both the hatchback and the smaller MiTo. This latest model has grown into a B-segment SUV in the style of the Lexus LBX, the Volvo EX30 and the forthcoming MINI Aceman, and this one certainly has the most polarising design of the lot.

While the serpent brand is well known for building achingly beautiful cars, it also hasn’t shied away from controversy (remember il mostro, the SZ?), and the Milano certainly flirts with the latter. The front end is by far the most polarising aspect of the design, with C-shaped headlights and air inlets flanking a non-traditional Alfa shield.

Rather than being filled in with slats, the grille can be had in two flavours – one stamped with an oversized version of the Alfa logo’s cross and biscione graphic, another with a mesh cover with the traditional Alfa Romeo script. The headlights – optionally available with matrix LED technology – feature three “eyebrow” daytime running lights on each side, a nod to the triple-barrel lamps of the Brera and 159.

The rest of the design is far more agreeable, with simple organic surfacing, muscular fender flares and rear haunches, blacked-out D-pillars (again with the serpent on it), optional black roof and an inverted U-shaped black bar at the rear that integrates the triple L-shaped taillight graphic. The aforementioned Alfa Romeo script is also plastered on the rear of the car – a cue first seen on the reborn 33 Stradale – while the chopped-off tail is said to be reminiscent of the 1960s Giulia TZ.

Measuring 4.17 metres long, 1.78 metres wide and 1.5 metres tall, the Milano is around 36 cm shorter, six centimetres narrower and 10 cm lower than the hitherto entry-level Tonale. Against its closest rivals, the Alfa is around two centimetres shorter than the LBX and six centimetres shorter than the EX30.

Inside, the Milano carries over the general style of the Tonale, albeit one wrapped around the underpinnings of the former PSA Group’s Common Modular Platform (CMP). Some of the switchgear will be familiar to owners of recent Peugeots, most notably the gear selector toggle, but it’s been offset by typical Alfa touches like the angled centre console and the hooded instrument binnacle housing a 10.25-inch display.

In the middle sits another 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with home screen widgets that can be customised by dragging and dropping. The Milano also features several “quadrifoglio” (four-leaf clover) design touches strewn throughout, including on the round corner air vents and the range-topping 20-inch wheels. You can even get the car with some serious-looking Sabelt sports seats.

Being based on the CMP platform, the Milano can be had with the same powertrains options as its other Stellantis stablemates, such as the Peugeot e-208 and Jeep Avenger. Taking centre stage are the two electric variants, the base model being powered by a 156 PS motor at the front, plus a 54 kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) battery that provides a range of 410 km.

One notch above that is the Veloce, the first of its platform-mates to be offered with a 240 PS motor. Befitting its sporting bent, it also comes with 25 mm lower sports suspension, stiffer anti-roll bars, a Torsen limited-slip differential and 380 mm front discs with four-piston callipers, hidden behind the 20-inch rollers. Tuned by the same team that developed the Giulia GTA track-bred sedan, the Milano is said to feature the most direct steering system in the segment.

Also available is a mild hybrid powertrain, again taken from the Avenger. This pairs a 1.2 litre Atkinson-cycle three-cylinder petrol engine with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission and a 28 PS (21 kW) electric motor sandwiched in between; total system output is rated at 136 PS. It’s optionally available with all-wheel drive, and with a 48-volt lithium-ion battery, Alfa says it can travel on electric power more than 50% of the time, at speeds of up to 150 km/h.

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