10 annoying things about the Alpine A110

The Alpine A110 is a fantastic drivers car, but what's it like to live with every day? In this video I show you 10 annoying things.
00:00 Intro
00:38 1. Infotainment system
02:37 2. Battery problems
04:37 3. Interior storage
06:39 4. Luggage space
07:46 5. Sports exhaust
09:15 6. Weather sealing
10:18 7. Interior quality
12:23 8. Engine access
13:38 9. Cruise control
14:51 10. Three little things

[@ChapHammersmith]

Pretty sure that ‘cheap plastic’ is actually real carbon fibre the fitting is just bad and causes it to wobble on the dash. The pure has a matte finish and the legende has gloss but they are both genuine. It’s the same carbon fibre that is used for the roof on the a110s.

[@fgardner]

I've seen some reviewers say it wasn't real carbon but happy to be corrected if you can find some evidence!

[@Snazzydriver]

Also I believe that the shift paddles are metallic

[@Franzino]

Correct; it's real carbon...

[@Franzino]

@@Snazzydriver Get the Life110 paddles shifters and get some really great paddles. You can see them in my You Tube videos.

[@Snazzydriver]

@@Franzino I know them, but at the moment I'm happy with the OEM paddles

[@MitchWebb94]

I’ve got a Premiere Edition, picked it up about 3 months ago - never had an issue with the battery although I do use it as my daily driver. Regardless that issue would be a deal breaker for me, that definitely should not be happening! My most annoying bit is the indicator stalk - not sure if it’s just mine, but it’s far too easy to flick it into full beam without knowing as you go to indicate! Cup holder is pointless, infotainment is basic (although ultimately it has Bluetooth, DAB and SatNav so everything I need). I actually did a long weekend recently to the Lake District, (Me, myself and our dog) and you’d be surprised how much you can fit in the car if you just do a bit of planning.

[@adamrawlings6789]

The paddles are a steel alloy, not painted plastic

[@eddibinder]

1 - infotainment system is crap 2 - space? Isn't annoying buy a van if u want space 3 interior is fine 100% better than a lotus 4 windows misting up ? Not an issue 5 battery? Not an issue 6 engine bay access is a bind but only once a week

[@blackbess338]

The problem with the electrical is not normal . Have My A110 for about 3 years now and never had any issues with the Electrics ! During the Corona pandemic in the winter left the car outside for about 1 month and it started immediately Without any Help . Regarding the rest of your issues , what did You expect from a light sportscar !

[@fgardner]

Agreed! We have spoken to the dealer about the "Braking System Fault" issue and they tell us it's normal for A110s to do it... Something to do with the lithium ion battery they use to save weight. We're thinking we might change it to a regular battery instead :)

[@nyc863]

@@fgardner There is no lithium ion battery in the alpine that I know of. Unless you put it in? Or I should say, in other markets than UK, they did not come with lithium ion batteries, as far as I know. The car charging circuit is fixed to lead acid. It will not keep a lithium battery correctly at high enough voltage.

[@anyone933]

Thank you for this video!!! It safed me from buying this car!!! The infotainment is rediculous.evrn in the new version. It's from 2010. I come from a Cupra Formentor and even if the infotainment isn't perfect, I don't wanna go 10 years back!

[@spolo123]

How do you check the oil level? Also, are the intake valves easy to clean or is it fitted with some oil catch system? Can you easily access the injectors as well? I've heard the engine must come out to change the timing chain. I fear that you must remove the cylinder head for this.

[@markymarkreviews]

Great review. These are the things that magazine or "youtube" reviewers never get to talk about or choose not to. Some of these would irritate immensely. Just poor design. I know it is a great car and rides nicely though.

[@paulmanning9540]

That magic tree will tarnish anything it touches! If your car has a tracker, I would look there for a battery drain. Nice car

[@adamb8690]

Nice simple and informative video. Out of interest how long before the battery fault comes up? As in how many days can you leave the car off the charger?

[@fgardner]

It takes about a week of non-use without being connected to the charger to show the error Adam. Lots of people have commented that it's a problem with our car, and we've spoken to the dealer about it - the dealer says they all behave in a similar way.

[@lucaskook9440]

@@fgardner thats not a reason to not fix it for the customer dont let them rip you off next time buy at a different dealership

[@simonhurlimann908]

Battery is dead for shure - thats not normal

[@LawrenceTimme]

Have you considered getting machined aluminium paddles? You can get them and they would make a touch point feel much nicer.

[@fgardner]

Yes I've seen these Lawrence! Might get some as a Xmas present 🙂

[@LawrenceTimme]

@@fgardner great 👍

[@CarCandid]

1, 3 and 6 have been fixed with the facelift. It has apple car play now. Cup holder now fits a small cup, can or bottle properly and there is a net behind the passenger seat, which you can access if the passenger is smaller than 1,80cm. Exhaust is pretty loud in normal mode and has no pops/bangs there. Interior is pretty nice overall. If you are willing to do work on the engine, you should manage to unscrew three screws beforehand. Your battery problem is not normal. Re #10: Get a garage :-)

[@moe120]

regarding the cruise control switch thing: i had a laguna coupe before my alpine and it was the first car i had with such a feature, the switch was at the very same position there and i never had any problems with it. so maybe they just took over existing design from renault and its a thing you can get used to if you hadnt experienced the switch anywhere else?

[@onboardaddicts]

It is indeed a Renault thing, they hide it the best they can in every model. Clio IV has the same style as the Alpine, the 3 had it near the headlight setting, the Master had it behind the turning signal on the dash, it is a mess ^^ (I only talk about the LHD versions, it may vary for our RHD friends)

[@michaelarchangel1163]

Would a lithium ion battery offset the need to constantly use the CTEK maintainer ? I suppose it would depend on how much drain is being caused by alarms and so on but may be worth an ask, albeit the car's original battery is otherwise fine.

[@pistonburner6448]

Why do you need to use the cruise control button at all? It seems to be a rocker switch, so just leave it on the "cruise control on" setting!?

[@jeremyingham2953]

You can get a 75l bootbag for an alpine which I have for tours and week long camping in a 124 spider. Providing you are fine taking it off and chucking it in the car when you get out it added an extra 2 carry on cases worth of extra storage 👍

[@dofnad]

Excellent information. Thank you. 10k more and you can have a much better Lotus Emira!

[@MiniEggs1999]

Do you still have it ? When you have an iPhone connected via bluetooth or cable can you get a LIST of podcast series and episodes and select one? Like you can in most VAG cars

[@yannjref]

Wouldnt it be great if alpine did a final edition a111 ? To iron out some of these sloppy flaws ?

[@fgardner]

Agreed! You'd hope this is what the new "GT" version would be, but really the problems are still very present.

[@mikedstringer]

@@fgardner great little review, thank you. I’m looking at a 22 GT so would hope these issues have been fixed or else I’ll spend more money and buy the Emira!

[@JPB57]

I have an A110 Legend, I use it only once or twice a month, it happened that I did not use it for a long time in winter (more than two months), and I never had any problem with the battery, I never had to charge it, and the car always starts immediately! After watching your video, I think that you have not understood the philosophy of this car. You should have bought a Porsche with a minimum of 30% more money, consumption, and a much bigger ecology malus.

[@K_umeda]

I couldn't agree more. I think he would have been happier buying a used Porsche Cayman for the same amount of money. The Alpine concept and what he wants are a bit out of sync.

[@MrRoyck10]

At least with Porsche Cayman he wouldn’t have to put up with those cheap nasty scratch plastic that would age very poorly, A110 is a good car but those ugly switch gears from Renault and cheap plastic made me opt for a Cayman

[@fire3500]

Actually the same. I adore the A110 but so many parts common with our Dacia Jogger. So Cayman it was.

[@Franzino]

#1: 100% correct #2: not correct; is an issue on your car. Never had this issue on ours and ours in only in a trickle charger in winter if not used for longer then a couple of weeks

[@fgardner]

Some other people have mentioned this so I think our battery may be in bad shape - we will talk to the dealer!

[@spolo123]

Hey Felix, could you talk to the dealer? Let us know if they could fix this

[@donhenshall7653]

Done 17609 miles in 2 years. Never had any battery problem. Think it’s your car. Agree 100% need a apple car play upgrade

[@andreashofmeister1590]

The battery thing is a specific Problem of YOUR Car. Dont get me wrong, but you buy a Sportscar expecting Features of a Family Van. Its the drivers cabin when you are on the Road, not a living room and the Access to the engine is because of the Position of it self. If there would be a large "Trunk" you wouldf first ruin the Design and second make the Car heavier. Maybe you would be happier buying a Cayman.

[@Natak222]

Just sold my alpine recently, did about 7k miles in 26 months, drove almost daily and loved every second of it. Top annoyances were: - speakers developing an unpleasant crackling sound and having to be replaced twice - front window screen cracking due to vibration (?) - bottom of car accumulating acorns and rocks which you could hear when cornering - extremely squeaky brakes, fixed once at 2k miles into ownership but came back - terrible speaker quality All issues were fixed under warranty. As for as the issues mentioned in the video, i can’t directly relate to any, especially the battery issue but appreciate you adding some variety to everybody praising this car.

[@mikedstringer]

Did you have the uprated Focal set-up, or the base version? It shouldn’t happen in either, of course.

[@Natak222]

@@mikedstringer Yup, it had the focals but not the top spec premium focals. though, I suspect they have the same issue

[@chuakz]

the paddle shifters looks like they are lifted off the Renault RS parts bin but they are metal I believe...

[@fgardner]

I think they might be metal, but they have a very thick paint on them which makes them feel soft like plastic? Hard to describe!

[@andreashofmeister1590]

They are Metal, just like the paddels you get from the Aftermarket.

[@jagymeister]

yes, they are from Clio 4 RS

[@alistairkelman5518]

Nice video - I'm thinking of getting one. My question concerns the screen wash holder. How do you refill it in an A110? Is it in the engine bay which then means that to refill it you have to completely undo all the complex wing nuts and locking mechanisms? Or is the screen wash holder accessible via the front boot?

[@mrh107]

Yeah it's in the front boot mate

[@prorace_type_r]

I wonder if there is a way to transform the cruise control and speed limiter buttons into a small lever, even if it is 3D printed. That should make them much easier to reach and more difficult to mistake with the Handbrake and Start/Stop buttons. What a bad design that feature.

[@jean-guybadiane]

11:39 and 12:09 : Are you really sure it's plastic ? (I thought i read somewhere that it is real carbon...)

[@jansefran1752]

This is pure driving machine ... It has no direct rival ... I don t care about a la annoying things ... You like it or not. Period.

[@fasthracing]

Interesting

[@arno9498]

Have the A110S and never have the battery problem? Maybe they changed it on the A110s...

[@fgardner]

I hope so honestly!

[@alpine1600s]

Really? If I could afford an A110, I'd daily drive the piss out of it, rain, shine, sleet, snow. 🧐

[@AndreasMartinLaute]

Why would you start the car without pulling off? You must have some happy neighbours 😂!

[@MusicCitySoulClub-hh8jw]

Pitiful storage. For more storage for interior get a nice vinyl/leather bag like the manual is in or larger, and velcro it in place of the manual. Put the manual in trunk.

[@michaeloates2940]

The cruise control buttons 🤦

[@andysbmw74]

Great little car, but the infotainment system is rubbish has anyone seen or know of a retrofit aftermarket unit that would work within the car

[@fgardner]

Glad you agree Andy! Sadly not yet but I know that the Suzuki Jimny has the same basic infotainment system as the A110 and they've got Apple Carplay / Android Auto working on thiers. Bizarre I know! It's an off-the-shelf system made by Bosch I think. Hopefully someone will be able to put Suzuki firmware on the Alpine one day.

[@mikedstringer]

The ‘22 cars have a heavily updated infotainment system coming.

[@mescko]

Here's my 10, short and sweet: 1. Automatic, repeat 9 times. Done.

[@rodneyapcar9384]

Why did you buy it then.

[@fgardner]

It's a great car Rodney! Don't get me wrong. These are just the things I'd want to know if I were buying one... better to be well informed than not I'd say.

[@rodneyapcar9384]

@@fgardner These are all things that are evident when I looked at the specs online even before they landed in Australia. There were a number of us that ordered the A110 sight unseen. As we already own original Alpines models and are passionate about the marquee it was a no brainer

[@dougt1230]

He didn’t, I think you’ll find it’s his father’s car. Most of the issues he mentioned are nonsense.

[@supertouring22]

@@rodneyapcar9384 "no brainer" - the irony of your comment is off the scale. Thanks

[@rodneyapcar9384]

@@supertouring22 "no brainer" definition in my comment meant "anything that requires little thought" in purchasing the Alpine. Thanks

[@kapzuk]

lol - there is only one thing annoying about the A110 - this video lol

[@HAPPY-SKYWALKER]

10 little things

[@lucaskook9440]

maybe get the car repaired...

[@o7717717195]

Its a track focused car, surely these little things are not relevant? It seems that you really have to dig deep not to like it. I can't afford one and this just seems like 1st world problems for me.

[@vlip8334]

I have the 2024 model. It hat wireles android. Problem solved.

[@anyone933]

This screen. I mean srsly...lol!

[@timbrookes3699]

Could these guys have found a more awkward / Difficult place to review a car?

[@lbretigny]

If this car costed 30 000 € more perhaps those annoying points would have been resolved I think 🤔

[@timbottman3479]

one of GREATEST JUNCK CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU JUST NEED TO JUNK IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@LawrenceTimme]

Lots of butt hurt alpine owners disliked this video in denial that problems exist or could annoy someone 🤣🤣🤣 I reminds me of my TVR on some ways. Although it seems to be even less practical which is quite impressive 😄

[@stehob]

I think you bought the wrong car

[@kkkim8096]

No manual? FC, this car is junk trash.....

[@hyweltthomas]

Test drive it, you will change your mind. The paddles are great.

[@dunconpitbull3520]

@@hyweltthomas the true pleasure of driving a car is to feel the car ,not to use the paddles..... not to do it for you

[@hyweltthomas]

@@dunconpitbull3520 Test drive it and then decide.