My First Italian - 2018 Alfa Romeo Mito TwinAir
Discussion
Hello All,
After having my Tucson Hybrid for a year, it then spending nearly 2 months at the dealer broken, and me tiring of paying the best part of £400 a month PCP payments, and of course the forthcoming economic apocalypse... I decide to make a change. I wanted to downsize to a smaller runaround, and not be paying silly car payments. Got a buy back on the Tucson and got a nice lump of equity out. Time to go shopping!
Spent hours on various sites looking at pretty much anything and everything! I tend to go for maybe slightly left field choices, and I've always liked Alfas. After owning an apparently reliable Korean car (lol), I decided to go all in and finally proclaim myself, by the law of Mr J Clarkson, to be a true petrolhead.
It's a 2018, so one of the last, Alfa Mito in Etna Black. It's the 'Super' trim, although there seems to be quite a few different trims, and it was difficult to work out what the differences were, but it has 17" Alloys, Touchscreen Bluetooth stereo, Front Fogs, Cruise Control, and Rear Parking Sensors. I'm the 3rd owner, it's done 28k, and full dealer history.
The TwinAir engine is interesting, makes a strange noise, and you almost have to drive it like a diesel! It's taking some getting used to, but turbocharged to 105hp is more than enough for my country lane commute. It pulls surprisingly well for what it is, and has been reasonably economical (51 mpg from the selling garage to home over 60 miles mainly motorway, settled to around 44mpg on shorter trips.) I only picked it up Friday afternoon.
Pictures aren't great at the moment. I've spent the weekend cleaning and polishing it properly, and the colour really flares up a brown/red in the sunlight, but by the time I was done it had clouded over!
Really pleased with it. I have a few little trinkets planned to make it my own. I've kind of got bored of cars after a run of PCP stuff, and just not really enjoying driving. Hopefully, this is just the ticket to get me back into cars again!
After having my Tucson Hybrid for a year, it then spending nearly 2 months at the dealer broken, and me tiring of paying the best part of £400 a month PCP payments, and of course the forthcoming economic apocalypse... I decide to make a change. I wanted to downsize to a smaller runaround, and not be paying silly car payments. Got a buy back on the Tucson and got a nice lump of equity out. Time to go shopping!
Spent hours on various sites looking at pretty much anything and everything! I tend to go for maybe slightly left field choices, and I've always liked Alfas. After owning an apparently reliable Korean car (lol), I decided to go all in and finally proclaim myself, by the law of Mr J Clarkson, to be a true petrolhead.
It's a 2018, so one of the last, Alfa Mito in Etna Black. It's the 'Super' trim, although there seems to be quite a few different trims, and it was difficult to work out what the differences were, but it has 17" Alloys, Touchscreen Bluetooth stereo, Front Fogs, Cruise Control, and Rear Parking Sensors. I'm the 3rd owner, it's done 28k, and full dealer history.
The TwinAir engine is interesting, makes a strange noise, and you almost have to drive it like a diesel! It's taking some getting used to, but turbocharged to 105hp is more than enough for my country lane commute. It pulls surprisingly well for what it is, and has been reasonably economical (51 mpg from the selling garage to home over 60 miles mainly motorway, settled to around 44mpg on shorter trips.) I only picked it up Friday afternoon.
Pictures aren't great at the moment. I've spent the weekend cleaning and polishing it properly, and the colour really flares up a brown/red in the sunlight, but by the time I was done it had clouded over!
Really pleased with it. I have a few little trinkets planned to make it my own. I've kind of got bored of cars after a run of PCP stuff, and just not really enjoying driving. Hopefully, this is just the ticket to get me back into cars again!
Edited by WelshPetrolhead on Sunday 16th October 19:02
Mr Tidy said:
My sister bought a Fiat 500 Twinair last year with the 85bhp engine and really likes it, although I found you do have to let it rev before changing up a gear. But we had to find a Twinair so it would sound like a 500 Nuova!
I had a Punto with that engine as a courtesy car and found that it wouldn't pull below 2000rpm. In a commuting A-road "train", I selected 4th when the speed got to 45mph, but when the speed dipped to 40mph and then went back up to 45mph it wouldn't pull and needed 3rd. Mr Tidy said:
That's quite a change from a Tucson!
Your Mito looks great.
My sister bought a Fiat 500 Twinair last year with the 85bhp engine and really likes it, although I found you do have to let it rev before changing up a gear. But we had to find a Twinair so it would sound like a 500 Nuova!
It is indeed quite a change. I used to use the Tucson to carry a road bike a lot (I don't really like bike racks), but the club I was going to has closed due to costs, and I've generally less need for the space. It was mainly much less appetite to keep paying a PCP and getting the cash out of it ASAP. As for the Alfa, it's a strange engine to drive, all the power is between 2 and 5k rpm, but once you get used to it, it's absolutely fine and nippy enough. 6 speed gearbox, and you need to make good use of it!Your Mito looks great.
My sister bought a Fiat 500 Twinair last year with the 85bhp engine and really likes it, although I found you do have to let it rev before changing up a gear. But we had to find a Twinair so it would sound like a 500 Nuova!
Canon_Fodder said:
Reviews seem to slate the ride of the Mito OP.
Have you found it harsh, coming from a wallowing SUV?
The ride is not as good as the Tucson obviously, but I would put it on par with the i30N (in Normal mode) and an MX-5 on 17 inch wheels that I've had previously. I always take a pinch of salt with reviews, we all have preferences. Another thing that usually gets mentioned is the electric PAS but it seems fine to me!Have you found it harsh, coming from a wallowing SUV?
Thought I'd update this at 6 months in.
Lovely little run about. Really happy with it. I've done around 6,000 miles in it, mainly commuting, but a fair few longer trips from the Midlands to South Wales and back. Averaging about 40-42 to the gallon, and can get it into late 50s on a long run if I'm not pressing on. Nothing else to report and it squeaks and rattles a hell of a lot less than the Tucson ever did!
The only thing bad that's happened is two people reversed into it in two consecutive weeks after about a month of ownership, which was highly frustrating. Minor mark on the front bumper which isn't too noticeable, the other was a scuff on the drivers side front wheel arch that I managed to polish out.
It's just coming up to its first service/MOT under my ownership. Here it is after a bank holiday wash, I swapped my plate on not long after I bought the car, and added some cloverleaf badges which might be polarising to some but I really like them
I've also well and truly fallen into the Alfa trap, and I'm now on the hunt for a GTV/Spider to run alongside as a project/summer/shows car
Lovely little run about. Really happy with it. I've done around 6,000 miles in it, mainly commuting, but a fair few longer trips from the Midlands to South Wales and back. Averaging about 40-42 to the gallon, and can get it into late 50s on a long run if I'm not pressing on. Nothing else to report and it squeaks and rattles a hell of a lot less than the Tucson ever did!
The only thing bad that's happened is two people reversed into it in two consecutive weeks after about a month of ownership, which was highly frustrating. Minor mark on the front bumper which isn't too noticeable, the other was a scuff on the drivers side front wheel arch that I managed to polish out.
It's just coming up to its first service/MOT under my ownership. Here it is after a bank holiday wash, I swapped my plate on not long after I bought the car, and added some cloverleaf badges which might be polarising to some but I really like them
I've also well and truly fallen into the Alfa trap, and I'm now on the hunt for a GTV/Spider to run alongside as a project/summer/shows car
Edited by WelshPetrolhead on Monday 10th April 17:49
Random update. I've now had the Alfa just over 3 years, keeping a car this long is a record for me 
It's not that I particularly love it, it just does what I need it to do really well.
The twinair is a decent little engine. It's not fast, its not actually that economical, but with 105hp and a little turbo there's enough torque that it feels quite perky. The only caveat is to leave it in 'Dynamic' mode, because in any other setting it feels like it has about 2hp.
Peek of the tiny engine while changing the plugs...
Over the last 3 years I've done about 22k miles (now at 52K). So I'm not doing huge mileage. I'm averaging 41mpg with a heavy foot. Faults wise I've had the following..
- 1 TPMS Sensor (Consumable really at 7 years old)
- A pair of suspension top mounts (common on Mitos)
- 1 brake caliper bolt - Departed causing one of the front calipers to start to open up until it contacted the wheel
- I had new discs and pads fitted a couple of months prior, could not have been replaced properly but I can't say for sure.
That's all.
Pros
- I'm 6'1 - the seats fit me well including the position of the head rests. Also being a 3 door car with big doors I don't have a face full of B Pillar when I look right.
- Cheap to run, cheap insurance, reasonable fuel economy.
- I think it looks nice
- 6 speed gearbox is nice to use
- Driving modes/start stop settings are retained, so no having to keep changing stuff.
Cons
- Mine is a 2018 so it falls into the flat rate £195 tax. Earlier twinairs are £20 or 30.
- The ride is a bit crashy
- Rear seats don't fold down very well, so it's crap for loading up/tip runs
- Engine lacks refinement, and is quite noisy when accelerating, however it is quiet at motorway cruising speeds.
- Electric power steering is a bit numb, but the car handles well, could just do with more feedback.
I was starting to get the itch to change it this year, fancying something new and maybe automatic, but to be honest I don't actually know what I would get, I'm not keen on all the 'assistance' stuff on newer cars, and having done the whole car finance thing - I'm saving for a house so its not the right thing to do.
The biggest thing that I've missed from the new cars that I had previously was Android/Apple Carplay. So instead of changing the whole car, I spent a little bit on a JBL carplay head unit and fitted that. It was a bit of a ball ache getting everything working properly, I have multiecuscan on an old laptop, so had to have a few goes at proxi alignments but eventually its all working with functional steering buttons and no flashing mileage display. The OE speakers seem reasonable, but that maybe the next upgrade.
So there we go. Good little car, and I recommend anyone looking for that sort of car to give them a look. I'll probably update this again in another 3 years
It's not that I particularly love it, it just does what I need it to do really well.The twinair is a decent little engine. It's not fast, its not actually that economical, but with 105hp and a little turbo there's enough torque that it feels quite perky. The only caveat is to leave it in 'Dynamic' mode, because in any other setting it feels like it has about 2hp.
Peek of the tiny engine while changing the plugs...
Over the last 3 years I've done about 22k miles (now at 52K). So I'm not doing huge mileage. I'm averaging 41mpg with a heavy foot. Faults wise I've had the following..
- 1 TPMS Sensor (Consumable really at 7 years old)
- A pair of suspension top mounts (common on Mitos)
- 1 brake caliper bolt - Departed causing one of the front calipers to start to open up until it contacted the wheel
- I had new discs and pads fitted a couple of months prior, could not have been replaced properly but I can't say for sure.That's all.
Pros
- I'm 6'1 - the seats fit me well including the position of the head rests. Also being a 3 door car with big doors I don't have a face full of B Pillar when I look right.
- Cheap to run, cheap insurance, reasonable fuel economy.
- I think it looks nice
- 6 speed gearbox is nice to use
- Driving modes/start stop settings are retained, so no having to keep changing stuff.
Cons
- Mine is a 2018 so it falls into the flat rate £195 tax. Earlier twinairs are £20 or 30.
- The ride is a bit crashy
- Rear seats don't fold down very well, so it's crap for loading up/tip runs
- Engine lacks refinement, and is quite noisy when accelerating, however it is quiet at motorway cruising speeds.
- Electric power steering is a bit numb, but the car handles well, could just do with more feedback.
I was starting to get the itch to change it this year, fancying something new and maybe automatic, but to be honest I don't actually know what I would get, I'm not keen on all the 'assistance' stuff on newer cars, and having done the whole car finance thing - I'm saving for a house so its not the right thing to do.
The biggest thing that I've missed from the new cars that I had previously was Android/Apple Carplay. So instead of changing the whole car, I spent a little bit on a JBL carplay head unit and fitted that. It was a bit of a ball ache getting everything working properly, I have multiecuscan on an old laptop, so had to have a few goes at proxi alignments but eventually its all working with functional steering buttons and no flashing mileage display. The OE speakers seem reasonable, but that maybe the next upgrade.
So there we go. Good little car, and I recommend anyone looking for that sort of car to give them a look. I'll probably update this again in another 3 years
Edited by WelshPetrolhead on Friday 28th November 23:19
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