Pint-size Italian
August 26, 2008 by nitram
Alfa targets mini with 2009 Mito hatchback
SPECS
ON SALE: Now, in Europe
BASE PRICE: $22,000 (est)
DRIVETRAIN: 1.4-liter, 155-hp, 170-lb-ft turbocharged I4; FWD, six-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 2,524 lb
0-60 MPH: 8.0 sec (mfr)
FUEL ECONOMY (EPA): 36 mpg (est)
The best, Alfa Romeo boss Luca De Meo insists, is yet to come. Those are strong words when you consider the great interior design, swooping body and ultrasecure handling package of the new MiTo, but there is truth in what he says. The big technology is still cooking in Torino, and by the time the MiTo arrives in 2010, it will have both a revolutionary camless engine and a direct-shift gearbox.
In the meantime, the 1.4-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder engine makes 155 hp, which works nicely with its 2,524 pounds. It gives Alfa a lightweight, small hatchback that can hit 62 mph in eight seconds, with a 133-mph top speed.
But this is a car about in-gear flexibility, because the Alfa’s engine feels as strong as a conventional 2.0-liter. It has 148 lb-ft of torque, but you can flick that up to 170 at the push of an engine-mapping button. It’s a smooth engine, but the tone, sophistication and enthusiasm for the upper reaches are lacking. There’s no sweetness to the way the revs jump.
The chassis is considerably improved over the Fiat Grande Punto on which it is based. It’s far stiffer in the body, shares no suspension hardware and gets everything from 16- to 18-inch rubber–there is plenty of grip.
Alfa’s “DNA” operation is simple. It’s a chunky chrome switch sitting in front of the uninteresting six-speed gearshift, and it flicks through dynamic, normal and all-weather (hence DNA) computer-setup packages.
These adjust throttle mapping, steering weight, electronic “differential” (which brakes the inside wheel to send drive to the outside) and the ESP settings.
The MiTo, it turns out, is a terrific car, but it’s not yet all it could be.
Ironically, though, while the new engine and DSG will help, it really will come into its own when Alfa turfs its silly Dynamic Torque Control steering and puts some progressive fun back into its handling.
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