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Friday, 04 June 2010 11:52

The Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 Turbo

Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 Turbo Fast Facts

Engine: 1368cc, turbocharged four-cylinder petrol

Power: 114kW at 5 500rpm

Torque: 230Nm at 3 000rpm

0-100km/h: 8.0 seconds (claimed)

Top speed: 215km/h (claimed)

Fuel consumption: 6.5l/100km (claimed combined)

Price: from R228 500

At last, a modern Alfa Romeo that drives just as well as it looks, writes The Wheel Deal. Stealing its styling cues from the 8C Competizione, a sizzling Alfa Romeo sports car capable of mixing with the ranks of the Ferrari and Maserati, this new MiTo promises much from simply looking at it squatting in the car park.

Although it may share a chassis with the humble Fiat Grande Punto, its fresh Milanese sheet metal wears all sorts of exotic curves and creases that make even the mighty MINI Cooper seem, well, just a little too corporate.

From that sexy chromed grille and raking roof line to those four fabulously bulbous wheel arches, the MiTo is jewelled with the sort of stylish and sporty detailing that only Italian car manufacturers seem capable of pulling off.

Likewise, this supermini’s interior is as evocative as its exterior, thanks to a liberal usage of leather, carbon fibre-like plastics and evil red instrument lighting.

Now, while all this makes the MiTo lovely to look at and spend time in, the nagging question is: Does it deliver in the driving department?

Well, I am pleased to tell you that unlike its disappointing 147 cousin that I had the displeasure of testing last year, this funky Italian proved to be quite the entertainer across the asphalt. Fitted with a turbocharged engine that growls like a mobster gruff from excess scotch and cigarettes, the MiTo feels properly fast when you decide to get on the good foot.

And while it is in no way as quick as the more powerful Cooper S, the Alfa’s 0-100km/h dash time of eight seconds certainly does not put it very far behind.

What’s more, adding to the fun and overall involvement, you actually can tweak the MiTo’s driving manners to suit your mood. By flipping the cool metal DNA switch – yet another one of those mapping systems that seem to be so in vogue with manufacturers at the moment – next to the gear lever, you can influence things such as steering feel and
throttle response.

Alfa has given us three distinctive modes to chose from here – Dynamic, Normal, All-weather – but I found it best to keep it permanently in the very first. After all, who wants to be normal?

In keeping with its straight-line verve, the MiTo has been matched to a sorted chassis that features a sophisticated coil-over suspension system.

The ride may be very firm, becoming jarringly harsh over more choppy surfaces, but this simply means that the handling is poised, accurate and supremely entertaining.

Alfa even has thrown in its famed Q2 system as standard which, using the front brakes, acts like a limited-slip differential by quelling understeer through tight, hard corners. It works beautifully, and the MiTo grips the ground like a limpet no matter how hard you decide to push it.

As a complete package, the Alfa MiTo simply rocks the party; it is a car that bypasses the rationality of the head and hits home deep in your heart.

It is very well priced too, considering all the plush standard equipment with which it comes loaded, and makes an interesting, left-field alternative to the evergreen MINI.

But best of all, it is finally an Alfa that does its gorgeous looks justice.

First published by Thomas Falkiner on his “The Wheel Deal” blog at www.timeslive.co.za.

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