Economic Cars - Alfa Romeo's new sporty MiTo challenges the Mini Cooper
Alfa Romeo has stepped into the world of sporty economic cars with its new MiTo which will challenge the Mini Cooper. Two MiTo models are available and they are a direct price rival to the two Mini Cooper models. The base model MiTo will compete with the base Mini Cooper while the MiTo Sport is up against the Mini Cooper S. Since its 2001 launch the Mini has been very successful and Alfa Romeo hope to steal some of the Mini's customers with its own blend of economic car, stylish design and sports handling.Alfa Romeo have not produced a car as small as the MiTo until now and the new economic car will sit below the current 147 in terms of size. The MiTo shares its chassis with parent company Fiat's Grande Punto. Whereas the Mini was based on a vehicle of the past, the MiTo is not but it has been designed as the spiritual successor to the Alfasud of the 1970's and 80's. Its a a really good lokking car, combining classic Alfa Romeo design features with hints of the 8C Competizione, Alfa's limited edition sports car.
Fifty per cent of Mini purchases are by females while the 30-45 age bracket are the largest buyers of these economic cars according to BMW. Alfa Romeo are therefore aiming the MiTo directly at these groups. Alfa Romeo's current owners are usually aged 45-60 and are male. By exploring new demographics with the MiTo, Alfa is hoping to double its global sales to around 300,000. The success of the MiTo is therefore hugely important to the company. It will probably be their most important new model for the next 5 years. Regarding sales of the MiTo, Alfa Romeo said 'We anticipate 80 per cent of MiTo buyers will be new to the Alfa brand, while female buyers are expected to account for 12 per cent of MiTo sales compared with 1.5 per cent for the brand overall currently.'
So, is the MiTo a decent economical car? Lets take a closer look at the top model MiTo Sport compared to the Mini Cooper S.
The MiTo Sport has a 1.4 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder engine producing 114kW. It accelerates from 0-60 mph in exactly 8 seconds. Its a good engine, revving to 6500 rpm and feels powerful and eager. The Mini's 1.6 litre turbo is a bit more powerful at 128 kW and gets you to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds but the Alfa engine doesn't feel underpowered and is good competition to the Mini. The Alfa is slightly more fuel-efficient than the Mini, with fuel economy figures of 6.5 litres/100km compared to 6.9 litres/100km but its not a big difference and both are very economic cars. Its amazing that cars can be this economical yet still so fun to drive and quick too. CO2 emissions are also lower from the Alfa at only 149 g/km versus the Mini's 169 g/km. At first only manual gearboxes will be available on the MiTo, but a dual clutch auto will soon follow.
The Alfa Romeo MiTo has a fun device called the 'DNA' switch. It allows drivers to alter the engine response, steering weight and stability control sensitivity. The cars handling feels best when 'Dynamic' mode is selected which offers the sharpest throttle response and weightiest steering. The MiTo's steering is ok but not as accurate or reassuring as the Mini's. Similarly the Mini's suspension is better too, although the fuel efficient MiTo is by no means a bad car to drive. Its a lot of fun on a twisty road, has minimal body roll and grips really well around corners. It drives excellently, its just that the Mini is incredible in these areas.
Personalization has been an important feature in the appeal of the Mini. Customization options on the MiTo are not as large so it'll be interesting to see if its popularity is affected by this. Mini say that its very unlikely two identical Mini's would leave the plant in the same year given the huge range of options. Alfa Romeo will only be offering a choice of alloy wheels, stickers, mirror colours, light surrounds, sunroof and leather seats. In their defence, Alfa say they have a policy of providing a comprehensive equipment list as standard on all their cars including base models.
When you climb inside the MiTo Sport, the first thing thats apparent is that the driving position isn't perfect. The steering wheel doesn't go low enough for many people. The interior of the economic car is very stylish though with pretty trim, soft touch dash and attractive Italian instrument dials. You get dual zone climate control as standard and the optional leather seats look great. The interior is very pleasing to the eye. The Mini's interior is more spartan by comparison, though its also stylish in its own unique way. There's a lot more legroom in the back of the MiTo, but headroom is still tight as you'd expect from all economic cars of this size.
Both the Alfa MiTo Sport and the Mini Cooper S can boast excellent safety to their fuel efficiency. They both get a 5 star NCAP rating which is excellent for cars so small. The MiTo has an impressive total of seven airbags, while the Mini has six. Both of these sporty economical cars also have stability control.
To summarise, the MiTo Sport is a very good car. It looks great both inside and out, it drives very well, and is sporty yet economical. However its up against pretty stiff competition against the outstanding Mini Cooper S and mechanically the Mini does most things a bit better. This results is a car thats a little more rewarding to drive. This doesn't mean you should definitely buy the Mini though. If driving dynamics are the most important thing to you then, yes, buy the go kart like Mini. A big part of the buying decision for these type of cars though is based around emotion and fashion. How does the car make you feel? If you love the look of the pretty MiTo then go ahead and buy it, its a great car. Really you can't go wrong either way - both are excellent sporty economic cars.
Learn
Best Mileage CarsCar Fuel Mileage
Fuel efficiency figures explained
Improve Fuel Economy