Well I got to have a bit of a drive in one of these and I must admit it was a very very nice car!
I personally think Alfa Romeo make some of the best looking day to day cars of any manufacturer and the MiTo is a really nicely styled car.
The one I drove had full red leather, heated seats etc so was a really high spec and had the 155bhp 1.4 turbo charged engine. The ride was probably comparable to the firmness of a non-Cup'd 133 but plenty of grip and changed direction nicely. Also the engine was surprisingly quick, plenty of torque too. Quicker than a 133 in a straight line but not in the corners.
The only thing I thought was strange is it has this 'D.N.A' system. D meaning dynamic, N meaning normal and A meaning all weather. For driving day to day you leave it in normal, all weather is for snow/rain and dynamic is for when you're giving it the beans. Thing is it resets to normal each time you start the engine where as you want it in dynamic all the time. What's the point in turning down the hotness of a warm hatch? lol
Cool thing is when you put it in dynamic mode you've got an electronic boost gauge that appears on the trip computer! haha Simple things amuse me! :lol:
Anyway, I reckon the MiTo is a great step up from the RS Twingo. Not as quick as a Clio 200 and no better screwed together than any Renault either but it's certainly a very nice car. Far nicer than a lot of average cars out there. If I was in the market for a car that bit bigger than the 133 it'd certainly be a contender. Less poncy than a Mini or Fiat 500 as well just not as performance orientated as a RenaultSport.
Oh and I know it's a Punto underneath but it's got enough Alfa-ness to make me like it!
I personally think Alfa Romeo make some of the best looking day to day cars of any manufacturer and the MiTo is a really nicely styled car.
The one I drove had full red leather, heated seats etc so was a really high spec and had the 155bhp 1.4 turbo charged engine. The ride was probably comparable to the firmness of a non-Cup'd 133 but plenty of grip and changed direction nicely. Also the engine was surprisingly quick, plenty of torque too. Quicker than a 133 in a straight line but not in the corners.
The only thing I thought was strange is it has this 'D.N.A' system. D meaning dynamic, N meaning normal and A meaning all weather. For driving day to day you leave it in normal, all weather is for snow/rain and dynamic is for when you're giving it the beans. Thing is it resets to normal each time you start the engine where as you want it in dynamic all the time. What's the point in turning down the hotness of a warm hatch? lol
Cool thing is when you put it in dynamic mode you've got an electronic boost gauge that appears on the trip computer! haha Simple things amuse me! :lol:
Anyway, I reckon the MiTo is a great step up from the RS Twingo. Not as quick as a Clio 200 and no better screwed together than any Renault either but it's certainly a very nice car. Far nicer than a lot of average cars out there. If I was in the market for a car that bit bigger than the 133 it'd certainly be a contender. Less poncy than a Mini or Fiat 500 as well just not as performance orientated as a RenaultSport.
Oh and I know it's a Punto underneath but it's got enough Alfa-ness to make me like it!
