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Alfa Romeo MiTo, a car that looks better than it moves. Alfa Romeo MiTo, a posher Vauxhall Corsa? Is it worth your money?

I liked the Alfa Romeo 147. A simple and relatively reliable car. Even today it is one of the best budget cars you can buy, but sadly only the taxes are immune to the passage of time.

So Alfa Romeo almost released a new relatively cheap model with which to take on the supermini segment. I say almost released because 80% of this car is shared with the Fiat Grande Punto and the Vauxhall Corsa D. Very good and honest cars of their kind – cheap and simple cars, for the urban jungle.

But for a car like the Alfa Romeo MiTo, a car that looks like an Alfa Romeo MiTo, you would expect some sportiness and dynamics. But, just as your expectations after watching lesbian movies have nothing to do with reality, the Alfa Romeo MiTo has nothing to do with sportiness. Yes, there is a 1.4 Turbo with 135 and 170 horsepower, but at the bottom of the options aka the engines that will be bought you have a 0.9 petrol in 2 cylinders and a 1.3 diesel borrowed from the Corsa. Decent engines for a simple city car and the occasional long road, but for a car with the appearance of the MiTo it's like asking Kevin Hart to dress in Kevin James' clothes. But at least you have engines for everyone, regardless of gender, religion, sexual orientation, professional orientation, spiritual integration and preferences for TV shows.

Alfa Romeo MiTo Engines

Petrol

• 0.9 TwinAir of 85 horsepower – There are no known issues (only a few cases of the occasional coilpack), but the most shady thing about it is that it runs on 2 cylinders, not 4. In mid-life it develops an appetite for oil and luckily for you the oil dipstick is hard to reach and painted the same color as the oil, making it impossible for you to read the oil level. Plus the dual mass flywheel which when it fails will cost you. Of course they installed dual mass flywheels on a 2 cylinder petrol engine, it wouldn't have been an Alfa Romeo otherwise. I'm not big on this engine, and neither should be you.


• 1.4 Fire of 77 and 95 horsepower – The standard engine on the Grande Punto and Fiat Linea which then received some extra horsepower and was flown on the Tipo. A popular engine among taxi drivers, and that says a lot about its reliability. Of the most reliable modern engines in the world.


• 1.4 Multiair 105 horsepower – The same 1.4 Fire unit but with a Multi-Air unit installed. I would call it a step up, even though the Multi-Air unit does have an history of failing.


• 1.4 Turbo of 120, 135, 155 and 170 horsepower – The miniature version of the fantastic 1.75 TBi on the Alfa 159 and Giulietta. Issues with the BorgWarner K03 and K04 turbochargers failing and you also get as a bonus the problems with the Multi-Air unit. But it is the only sports engine on the Alfa Romeo MiTo so you have to choose between your emotional health and your financial health. Anyway, life is too short to play it safe.

Diesel

• 1.3 JTD of 85, 90, 95 horsepower – Another village bicycle, the microscopic 1.3 JTD powered just 24 chassis from 5 manufacturers. However, if you choose an Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.3 diesel, you deserve everything that comes your way.


• 1.6 JTD of 120 horsepower – Came only in the Veloce version and left just as veloce. There are no known particular issues with this engine, but the MiTo is a city car and you don't put an Euro 5 diesel in a supermini and expect it to work.

Alfa Romeo MiTo Reliability Issues

• You can only assume that they used leftover paint for the Mito. Thin, cheap and of dubious quality. Normally I don't put a price on paint, but on a fashionable car like the MiTo I have to mention this.


• Start/Stop sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, and it's more confused than a college graduate who is now applying for his first resumes but doesn't know where to apply first because he can't decide from all those  well-paid offers available on the market.


• The rear springs are sturdier than a chiropractor's hands. Just as achiropractor breaks your back, the rear springs on the Alfa Romeo MiTo will also break your back.


• As usual, the Mito was given belt drive and is kicking the microscopic MiTo in the balls. A good part of Alfa Romeo's reputation stems from the fact that owners didn't change the belt on time, the belt snapped and wrapped around the engine neck, hanging it so do replace the timing belt every 30,000 miles.


• The electric power steering (ofcourse it's electric) has times when it refuses to work. But at least the car weighs 2 kg so you can manage with the regular power steering.


• And I can't end this list without the famous M32 manual gearbox comes and wreaks havoc on the 1.4 Turbo and 1.6 CDTI engines, especially on it's bearings. And if you're looking for one of the two cars with automatic transmission, beware of the C635 automatic.

Alfa Romeo MiTo Verdict

As I said in the intro: Maybe with the turbocharged petrol engine from 120 horsepower upwards it's worth it, but for the rest it's just a car that looks good and does its job around town. Especially when you consider that the MiTo only comes with 2 doors. In fact, if I sit down and think about it, the Alfa Romeo MiTo is a serious alternative to the Mini Cooper. So, will you go with the Italian or the British-German-French?

Which engines do I recommend? For a city car, I can only recommend the 1.4 petrol engine, with or without a turbo. And if every penny counts and you absolutely want diesel, you don't really have a choice other than the 1.3 CDTI diesel with 90 horsepower.