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Jaggy Cars - July 2009
Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4 Veloce
Quite a Nippy Wee Sweetie
I'm not sure about the Mito. I like the side view and the rear end, but I'm not so sure about the face, a bit like Jordan I suppose. There seems to be an awful lot of sagging plastic underneath the headlamps. The bonnet line swoops down from the windscreen and then drops to the ground. Whatever, it's buyer's choice. Beauty is always in the eye of the beholder.
Nor do I get the whole Alfa thing where car enthusiasts reckon you can't call yourself an enthusiast till you have actually owned one. I can accept that up to a point, but whilst Alfa has produced some truly desirable classic cars in the past, there have been quite few right old skip loads of rubbish at times too - and that applies to every marque you can think of.
So why single out Alfa? It probably has as much to do with the automotive legend that is Italy, where cars are built from passion and pedigree flavoured with Chianti and pasta, rather than slide rules and anvils inspired by boiled sausage and fizzy beer.
You can't fault the passion for engineering, just the execution.
But the Italians always go that little bit further. If it's a choice between looks and function, looks win every time. If it's a choice between being legal and being loud, then noise wins. That I can appreciate and understand, so if that is the difference between me and one of those wheel nuts who has owned an Alfa then I can live with that.
Having said all that, one of my favourite cars of all time was the Alfa Romeo 145. It had looks, handling and a glorious sound from the V6. Yes, it was front wheel drive, but then the Italians always took fashion seriously and that is the way of the car industry these days.
So the Mito is front wheel drive too, and at first I was disappointed. There was nothing special or Alfa about it - till I noticed the 'DNA' switch. Apparently, this stands for Dynamic, Normal and All-Weather.
In Normal mode, the throttle is made of sponge and the steering lacks inspiration, but switch it over to Dynamic mode and the wee thing turns from soor ploom into nippy sweetie. If you think 1400cc is a bit wimpish, forget it, with 155 bhp on tap in a car that weighs just 1145 kgs and provides turbo-overboost, it puts a bit of sparkle back into your life.
In Dynamic mode, the throttle response is quicker, the steering is sharper and the handling is more direct, making better use of Alfa's electronic Q2 limited slip differential and the six speed gearbox.
And once you've had your fun, switch it back to Normal and let the wife or the weans have a shot - but it does need a tamper-proof lock otherwise they'll all switch it back to the hooligan setting when they leave the drive!
And if you're Granny wants a shot, then the All-Weather mode should suit because it softens everything up further, primarily for driving in snow or ice.
Conclusion
I liked it, but I wouldn't buy one. It's just a bit on the wee side for me. Driving position is good and comfort adequate, but it was like fitting a size ten and a half shoe on to my size 11 feet. It fitted but only just.
In Short:
Price: £14,995
Engine: 1368 cc, 4 cyl. Turbo-petrol with 155 bhp
Performance: 0 - 62 mph in 8.0 seconds, flat out at 134 mph
Economy: 53.3 mpg extra urban, 43.5 mpg combined
CO2 emissions: 153 g/km
Insurance Group: 10
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