Alfa MiTo 1.4TB Veloce

ALF · Alfa MiTo 1.4TB Veloce

The GTA was in the local main dealer on Friday to investigate the non-functioning air con, which meant I had a MiTo loan car. In all, I did 60 miles of good quick B-roads in both the GTA and MiTo and 100 miles in the Audi that day, an interesting comparison. I was driving the GTA for the first time in a while too, the Audi has come to feel the norm for me.

First impressions of the MiTo were of a very long gear stick (Martin would not be pleased) rising practically from the floor, as on the Mk1 Focus. The seats were nice and grippy - similar to the CTR items - and the interior has a little too much false carbon for my liking but looked good overall. I'll make it clear now that I'm no fan of small cars, believing Focus sized cars a better compromise of size/practicality than the MiTo, but the room in the front was very good, though lacking anything of the "cockpit" feel I like.

The service manager in the garage knows me a little and put the thing straight into "DNA" mode, saying I'd not like it in normal. This just affects the throttle mapping and steering, not the suspension. I tried both and I'm more than a bit confused - the steering changes are barely noticeable but the throttle mapping is about right for normal sensible use in "DNA", it took me some time to work out just how far you need to press the annoyingly long-travel throttle to get a decent amount of go - in normal the car honestly feels like the handbrake has been left on - it is incredibly slow-witted and basically horrible. The point of this gimmick is lost on me! The GTA's throttle feels "you've been Tango'ed" instant by comparison. So why not make the DNA setting more like this, since it is optional not the default?

Leaving it in DNA as I had some desire to be home before dying of old age, it felt OK, but I was very interested to try one of these modern small turbo petrol engines and am pretty deflated about it. It felt less obviously turbocharged at low revs than our Audi 2.0T unit, with relatively lag free power from 2200rpm and up, but below that it feels suprisingly flat - it really feels like a basic 1.2 or 1.4 NA engine in a fairly heavy car, to the extent of having to change down a lot to get up hills in traffic. There is no point comparing it with the mastery of the GTA's lump but in the audi if doing, say, 1800rpm in third in traffic you reach a steep hill, you just squeeze the throttle a little, there is a little lag then the turbo gives you ample torque to spear smoothyl up the hill. In the MiTo you just judder to a halt or change gear.

Even when you get it to the happy zone, it doesn't feel like 155bhp in such a small car ought to. Yes, there is decent go in the mid-range and it feels adequately quick, but (again unlike the Audi, which revs cleanly to 7k) it has a very old-school tubocharged feel at high revs, slowing suddenly as you pass 5500rpm - a terrible characteristic in an Alfa! Personally I'd rather have a good 2.0, 1.8 or even 1.6 NA petrol and give up a bit of economy and ultimate urge for much more linear power at low revs and a revvier top end.

On the road the ride was suprisingly jiggly for a car that when really leant on has insufficiently stiff damping, even the spring rates felt a little soft for really hard cornering. Despite approaching the same jiggly ride in normal driving, it lacks the tied-down body control of a typical S-Line Audi when really pressing on, though it is more adjustable and playful - like the 156's and 147's I'm familiar with, the back end is "in play" when really going for it, and feels like it may break away first at times. The ESP must be decent enough as it never annoyed me, and the car pulls away cleanly even with a bootful of throttle in first, not following treamlines or torque steering as much as Alfas of old. The steering was fine - pleasingly quick as with all Alfas, and not at all the computer-game electric setup I'd been led to expect.

In black with the nicer wheels it looked a lot better in the flesh than I expected, and overall it is a pretty nice object. But I have to say I found it too gimmicky (DNA switch, daft dash with big turbo-boost graphic and the useful info in tiny script, etc) and a little bit jiggly without really providing the thrills and driver interaction that I personally want. I've not driven one, but I'm guessing the mini would have the depths of dynamic ability that would personally make the difference... Not that I would buy a car like this anyway! Even a 1.6 147 is a better steer in my book, with a more quality feel, a better cabin, and a revvy, zesty engine that gives instant response.

SpecB

This is obviously a marmite type of car as I have read mixed reviews.

Did you get the a/c fixed though!

Guitar Zero

Oh, but air con is such a waste in this country

Why ever did you bother to get it fixed ?

Bleat, bleat, bleat - etc, etc, etc

Eff One

So when does your new MiTo arrive then?

Sounds pretty disappointing, I hope they do better with the GTA version.

Gurney

Rumour has it there will be a Veloce version first, slotting in just below the GTA with the same tune as the Punto Abarth.

Problem is, I prefer the Punto. The one at Bauer Millett looked fantastic inside and out.

Could possibly see myself in a MiTo GTA though. Some really silly performance figures being bandied about - sub 5sec 0-60 Rhubarb in particular. Alfa have officially said nowt so far. The TB engine seems a whole lot more interesting than the 1400 though, that's for sure.

Meanwhile I have lost a rear jacking plate cover on the GTA - probably due to a damned speed hump.

A call to EB Spares beckons.

Nice Guy Eddie

Couldn't disagree more.

The one I drove had plenty of poke, rode well and looked fantastic. What more could you want from a small car. Its not the last word in handling but its not that sort of car. It wouldn't see which way a Cooper S went but then it offers individuality and a sense of occasion that the mini can't get close too.

ALF

Well, I did preface that by saying I don't much care for small cars. Ultimately you pays yer money, but second hand cars from the classes above offer a lot more IMHO - this is not a small car with a small price tag... Performance is obviously a personal thing on personal expectation, and this car was slower than the Audi which is itself borderline for me - particularly in the low-rev normal driving situations where a big hole in the power/torque curves can always be a PITA. Nothing but a bigger engine works for me!

It was certainly jiggly and unsettled - in fact it was marginally more comfortable than the Audi in pure ride terms but not nearly as stable, being far more likely to need correction on a poor road just to stay in line. The GTA - post FSD's particularly - is absolutely serene by comparison with either, as is our 9-year old Focus... Which has much better low-rev engine characteristics and steering, too...

TimR

I didn't think the ride was too bad but wouldn't want it any harder.

Initial response with Dynamic mode on was impressive but, as ALF says, it dies above about 5500rpm.

I thought the car felt quite flimsy - not in a badly screwed together way, but in a 'feels too light all round' way.

Not on my shopping list for the future.

I wasn't keen from sitting in a Grande Punto Sporting either as it felt like a greenhouse after the Alfa.

ALF

It is a shame for me that "superminis" have become so big (and heavy, and expensive) and the "compact executive" cars I tend to like have also become far bigger - and heavier, and more expensive... Superminis will be 156-sized before long, but will still have that flimsy quality, 4-pot only engines, very "open-space" interiors without a high-quality feel and cockpit design, etc etc. Manufacturers typically limit their quality and performance to ensure people buy their higher end cars... I can't see there being many more 147GTA-type cars, and possibly not many more 130/R32/135i type cars either. Those of us that want this sort of practical yet smallish vehicle with high quality and a proper engine, and don't want an all-out coupe, could be struggling soon, if not already.

I'd love to try a supercharged or twincharged engine to see if they get over the low-rev response concerns...

Martin

TimR

Martin

I was just going by what ALF said

"with relatively lag free power from 2200rpm and up, but below that it feels suprisingly flat - it really feels like a basic 1.2 or 1.4 NA engine in a fairly heavy car, to the extent of having to change down a lot to get up hills in traffic."

About the 2.0T compared to the 1.4 MiTo..."if doing, say, 1800rpm in third in traffic you reach a steep hill, you just squeeze the throttle a little, there is a little lag then the turbo gives you ample torque to spear smoothyl up the hill. In the MiTo you just judder to a halt or change gear. "

Nice Guy Eddie

I was quite impressed by the performance of the 155 to the extent that I thought a 120 would be good enough for the missus. It was quite a bit quicker then her 1.8 MX-5.

The performance didn't tail off at the top end so much as it reamined fairly flat throughout the rev range which made running to the red line a rather pointless task. I don't know if Alf took it out of Dynamic as in normal the throttle response is crap.

Mark

TimR

Nice Guy Eddie

Mark

Eff One

The MiTo looks to have great sense of occasion for a small car and I certainly like the look of the interior in pictures. I must try one, because there seem to be a lot of conflicting opinions. Maybe AR are still sending them out with the wrong suspension settings?

Mini - bleurgh. I've always reckoned I could put up with almost anything if it was a good enough steer, but the Mini is one of the very few cars which will never make my shortlist on the grounds of styling alone.

TimR

We asked a friendly AA man what his most frequent callouts were to and he said "anything French".

I think the Mito looks pretty good and is especially snug inside, well made, nicely designed and I love the high scuttle (?) on the windows.

DarthBalls

Martin

Mark

An ex girlfiend had a 2003 Cooper for a couple of years with zero issues.

Gurney

My Mini One - one of the first. Broke down 3 times and had the interior quality (in the back) of an early 70's made in Hong Kong toy. Seems they ran out of money after doing the dashboard and proceeded to fit joke seats (they didn't tilt on consecutive days) and the most shocking plastic in what passed as the rear accomodation.

Didn't bother us as a) we used it as a two seater with the back seats folded and b) the unreliability was off set by sheer pleasure in flinging the thing round corners, refinement and that thing Alfas have in spades - character.

Racing

Gurney