IS IT the end of the road for the MiTo? According to Alfa Romeo boss Reid Bigland, speaking earlier this year, there are no plans to replace the supermini when the model reaches the end of its current life. On the back of success with the new Giulia saloon and Stelvio SUV, the company is focusing on larger cars that will sell well in major markets including China and America; traditionally, those buyers aren’t enamoured with cute little runabouts.
It’s a shame, really, because the MiTo might not be perfect — in fact it’s a long way from perfection, as you’ll see — but it is arguably one of the best-looking little cars on UK roads.
The original MiTo was launched in 2009 and mechanically, the car hasn’t changed much since then, although there were tweaks in 2014 and a more thorough update came at the end of last year. It now looks more like a shrunken Giulia, so still pretty, with new sports grilles, dark-finish headlamp bezels, revised rear bumper designs and new alloy wheels. Inside there are new seat upholsteries and a new finish on the centre console, dashboard and door trims.
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Buyers also get updated tech and the 1.3-litre turbodiesel engine, which we tested, has been upgraded to increase power and reduce CO2 emissions (just 89g/km).
This is all good news but, like rearranging the furniture on the Titanic, none of it saves the MiTo from its most troublesome issue: the way it drives. If the Ford Fiesta is the high watermark of supermini handling, the MiTo is struggling around in the silt.
At first it feels as if the suspension is firm, especially compared with the Fiesta. Bumps tend to send a shock through the chassis and the corners the car can feel quite unsettled; go round a fast bend on an uneven surface and you tend to get vibrations through the chassis and an unbalanced ride.
Which would be fine if the firm ride translated to stability and sportiness out on the open road, but turn sharply and the front end seems curiously spongy; it dips and bobs in corners. And when you drive over road humps, even at crawling speed, the nose bounces off the bump and then dives towards the ground on the other side. This isn’t helped by the fact that the front plastic trim is low so it tends to scrape the ground.
It could be that the springs are too soft and, to compensate, the dampers (which control the up-and-down motion after the spring has been compressed) have been turned up to 11. Other cars of similar size are far more capable under the same loads.
The MiTo has Alfa’s trademark three driving modes, under the neat acronym “D.N.A.”: Dynamic, Natural and All-weather. Switching between them alters the traction control, braking, stability control systems, steering effort and throttle response, but unfortunately doesn’t help the handling.
“You’ll have the armrest folded up for the most part, as, in a triumph of idea over function, it gets in the way while changing gear”
Frustratingly, Alfa has made the comfort on a nice straight road extremely good, giving you a hint that this could have been a good car. There’s a bit of noise from the tyres but compared with almost every other supermini, the MiTo is well insulated, making it a relaxing motorway cruiser.
Or it would be; the driving position, which the similarly-heighted Jeremy Clarkson in 2012 found to be “set up for that orang-utan that used to hang around with Clint Eastwood,” isn’t far from ideal. The roofline is quite low so if you are quite tall you have to cower forward slightly and look up. But then, if you’re as long as Clarkson or I, you probably wouldn’t be looking at a daily driver as small as a MiTo, anyway.
Meanwhile, the updated 1.3-litre JTDM-2 turbo diesel engine, with 95bhp, is surprisingly quiet and refined. It also pulls well if you treat it roughly, but we found there’s not a lot of grunt low down in the rev range. If you’re used to larger diesels or turbocharged petrols it may be a surprise that you have to give it so much wellie to wake it up. Its CO2 emissions of 89g/km are marginally better than the 1.5TDCi Fiesta engine, which has the same power, and makes the engine tax free for models registered before April 1 this year. However, this is less appealing under new tax rules: it’s now £100 for first year and £140 from year two.
Aside from the driving position, the interior is a mixed bag. It employs some rather nasty hard plastics on the doors and around the edges of the dashboard, then across the centre of the dashboard is fake carbon fibre-effect plastic, which is actually rather good to look at, and is moulded nicely; the shapes are good.
The switchgear is lifted from the Fiat parts bin, which is understandable but mildly disappointing in an Alfa. The stereo works well, and connects to your phone without any problem but it’s not the most attractive touchscreen infotainment system – it looks a little aftermarket.
The armrest between the front seats adds to comfort on long runs but you’ll have it folded up for the most part, as, in a triumph of form over function, it gets in the way while changing gear. Similarly, tall cups won’t fit in the cupholder as the centre of the dash protrudes over the top of the clasp. You have to wonder how on earth it comes about during the design process; don’t these people try these things for themselves?
Also my knee rested against the hard plastic door handle, which isn’t very comfortable, and the five-speed manual gearbox isn’t the smoothest.
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These grumbles aside, there’s a fair amount of kit on even the most basic MiTos: alloy wheels, air conditioning and a 5-inch touchscreen infotainment system with DAB and Bluetooth connectivity. Our “Speciale” press car came with larger wheels, rear parking sensors and cruise control, and was packed with optional sat nav (£750) and dual-zone climate control (£450). So for a small car the MiTo is fairly well kitted out.
Meanwhile, the rear seats are tight but not criminal and the boot is not a bad size, either. In terms of interior space for a small car, you’re doing alright.
The MiTo, then, proves itself to be a typical Alfa Romeo; Alfa of old, at least. There are plenty of flaws, which are in part balanced out with good levels of kit and oodles of style, and the overall package has plenty of character. It’s a car you could love, despite its irritations. But it’s a shame that it’s biggest problem is the way it drives. You want Alfa to do much better than this with a supermini but it looks like it may be a while before the company tries again, as it leaves small cars to Fiat and tuner Abarth, while it focuses on saloons and SUVs designed to sell in China and America. More’s the pity.
The post Alfa Romeo MiTo review (2016-on) appeared first on Sunday Times Driving.
source https://www.driving.co.uk/car-reviews/alfa-romeo-mito-review-2016/
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