WHAT WILL they make of the little MiTo in Michigan? It's not as silly as you might first assume, for some 16 years after Alfa Romeo withdrew from the US market, the Italian brand – via its parent Fiat – is set to become the white knight of the US auto industry, rescuing the ill-fated Chrysler brand. In return, the Italians hope to bring some European small car flavour to the US, writes MICHAEL McALEER, Motoring editor
Even in the midst of the deepest economic recession since the second World War, it’s not going to be easy to wean US car buyers out of their SUVs and into European small cars. Throw a diesel powertrain up front and some Americans might rather walk. In Idaho, it’s downright auto communism. You might as well paint a hammer and sickle on your forehead.
Yet the imminent return of higher oil prices – due when those illusive “first shoots of recovery” spring up – are likely to force a seachange in US motoring tastes. Small cars will become more popular and suddenly it won’t seem surreal to spot a MiTo in Montana.
The Italians certainly think so: in court documents filed as part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for Chrysler, Fiat reportedly outlined plans to produce its 500, Panda and MiTo models at US plants.
The choice of vehicles will be crucial, not only for Fiat but for all the following European small cars to enter the market. If Americans have a bitter experience with the first raft of our small cars, it will do detrimental damage to all that follow. For the sake of European pride – and jobs – Fiat had better get it right.
No pressure then. The good news is that the 500 and Panda are well-proven winners on the continent already. Even the odd American who finds themselves stuck in a supermini after being bumped by their rental firm are usually pleasantly surprised by their ability.
The good news with MiTo is that it builds on the established qualities of Italian small cars and – like the 500 – adds some design appeal. Then, to top that off, comes the Alfa badge.
The MiTo represents two advances: firstly it’s a fully-fledged supermini that carries a premium badge. BMW didn’t have the bottle to do it with its own brand and opted instead to use Mini for this market. Alfa had no such qualms. It knew that there is a market there for a premium small car. The trick was to get the styling right. Soon, Audi will follow suit with its A1.
The second advance is the attempt to add more appeal to the supermini segment. There have been some really good cars in this field over the last decade, but the Mini aside, few have matched the poster car credentials of the Peugeot 205, at least in our eyes. The MiTo makes a decent effort in this regard.
Exterior styling, according to Alfa, has been influenced by the gorgeous 8C Competizione supercar. That’s something of a stretch, even if Alfa’s trademark deep grille and sweeping lines do feature on the car. It’s certainly not your typical boxy supermini, but it’s not quite a supercar either. It is undoubtedly cute, however, and has head-turning appeal. It’s a decent alternative to the Mini if looks are what you’re after, even if it doesn’t quite garner the same kudos, largely because of the enormous heritage of Mini.
Alfa is determined, however, that the MiTo is considered more than just a design shell on a Fiat supermini. For that, they’ve added some of the brand’s own DNA, literally, in the form of a three-setting switch down by the gearstick that offers Dynamic, Normal or All-weather.
Now we have always found these adjustable settings to be little more than electronic gimmicks designed to fulfill the dreams of Knight Rider fans, who used to watch as Kitt went from sports car into rocket at the flick of a switch. You can imagine the MiTo owner with furrowed brow gravely warning passengers to hold on as he moves from Normal to Dynamic.
In reality, there’s a little less drama to different settings but there is a noticeable pep in the MiTo’s step when in Dynamic. It’s based on the same electronic throttle, steering and handling adjustments in other smallFiats. For example, in Normal, steering, when stopped or at a crawl, is remarkably light and nimble, making parking a breeze. That’s similar to the City setting on the Panda range. We spent most of our initial city driving time in Normal mode and found the only downside was a noticeable sluggish performance in second and third gear. Despite a whopping 350Nm of torque from the 1.6-litre diesel engine – far superior to most competitors – the car seemed listless at city speeds.
Turn to Dynamic mode, however, and it zips around with remarkable aplomb and you get the full effect of all that engine power. Steering also becomes a lot sharper, if a little heavier, but there’s not much change in terms of handling prowess and the car still has a tendency towards understeer in all settings. The final all-weather setting gives prominence to the traction control, which would prove useful in slippery conditions but was irrelevant during our time testing the car.
The six-speed transmission is relatively smooth and ride quality is standard for this class of car, if a little firm for some who might be used to family-sized softer motoring.
Up front, the 1.6-litre diesel was incredibly noisy when started cold and continued to rattle along even when warmed up.
It’s a great long-distance runner, as we discovered on a spin up to Derry, but it belies the sleek look of the car. However, whatever qualms you might have about it should be displaced by the financial reality: it manages to come in with just 126g/km of emissions and we managed to average 5.9l/100km (47.9mpg) over two tanks of fuel and several hundred kilometres of testing, during which maximising fuel economy never influenced our driving habits.
Living with MiTo does, however, require a little sacrifice over and above the average supermini. The rear-seat headroom is cramped, access back there is awkward and the boot is smaller than you’d think.
Up front, the little Alfa touches like the deepset dials, the Alfa logos stitched into the seats and the carbon fibre dash design give it a proper premium feel, while the build quality seemed better than what many might expect of Alfa, even these days.
The Italian brand, for all its historic flaws, has garnered an incredibly loyal – and forgiving – following. As many of them seek to cut their motoring costs, they might consider retaining some element of premium motoring. The MiTo lets you downsize with a touch of style.
The 1.6-litre engine might be noisy but it packs a punch significantly ahead of its rivals. The VW Golf might offer much more practicality, but it’s much blander.
Its greatest rival will remain the Mini, but it’s been around for so long that some who own or have sought to own one may well be looking for something different. The MiTo offers Mini-like street cred with cute looks and a sprightly performance. It’s a class contender in the supermini stakes.
Factfile
Engine:1598cc four-cylinder diesel putting out 118bhp @ 3,750rpm and 320Nm of torque @ 1,750rpm; six-speed manual transmission
Specification:seven airbags, collapsible steering wheel, ABS with EBD, VDC dynamic stability control, ASR with traction control; Lusso adds 16" alloys, remote audio controls, lumbar support on driving seat; Veloce (only on petrol models) adds 17" alloys, red painted brake callipers, rear spoiler; options include cruise control (€350); split folding rear seats (€140); bi-zone climate control (€450)
L/100km (mpg):urban – 5.9 (47.9); extra-urban – 4.1 (68.9); combined – 4.8 (58.9)
CO2 emissions:126g/km
Tax:VRT – 16 per cent; motor tax – €156
Price:€23,695