Alfa Romeo MiTo review

The MiTo is no mini 8C, sadly. In fact, it’s no Mini either. Despite Alfa’s raison d’être being great handling and driver involvement, the MiTo is a very ordinary driving experience. It’s based on the (quite old now) Fiat Punto, no driver’s choice itself, and as such gets a raft of decent enough engines: various turbo petrols, topping out at 170bhp, and two strong if agricultural diesels. But, charismatic as the two-cylinder TwinAir is (in 105bhp guise, it’s punchy too), none provides the MiTo with a convincing performance angle, and despite the inclusion of Alfa’s ‘DNA’ system that offers three settings for throttle, ESP and steering weight, this remains a woolly driving experience with insensitive controls and a terrible ride. It’s a shame, as we love the idea of an affordable and entertaining Alfa in the vein of the legendary Alfasud, but this isn’t it. Anyone looking for performance on a shoestring would be mad to overlook the Mini for this.