Alfa Romeo Mito Twinair
Discussion
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I'm here to tell you a story of despair, then hope and perhaps in the future, joy
Cast your minds back to August and you'll see me sitting in front of a desk perusing an Excel spreadsheet for my first company car, my heart sank when I read the list of drab and dull hatchbacks with the occasional saloon, was this it? Was my petrol-head life now reduced to joining the Bavarian brigade of monochrome paint jobs and service station lunches?
What's this!
Upon that list there was a lonely Alfa Romeo, shining like a beacon in the dark, perhaps a lifeline with the ability to sneak into a Sunday Service in something other than a repmobile clone
"What colour do you want it?
There was only one natural choice, Alfa Red!
"What about the interior?"
Psh, if this was going to be an exercise in Italian flamboyance then we would pursue it to the end!
"Red."
And the waiting game began, while others took delivery of their monochrome Audi A3s and Seat Ibiza's I bided my time
Today I was rewarded, the tiny Italian terror has arrived...
875cc of pure two cylinder mayhem wrapped in the boldest red available decorated with a badge that gets the approving nod from the fellow petrol-head
What's it like to drive?
Has it got enough power with 2 Cylinders to get out the car park?
Will it explode into its component form?
What's it look like at a Sunday Service?
Will it go round the Evo Triangle?
Stay tuned, for we are going to find out the answer to all of these questions and more
I'm here to tell you a story of despair, then hope and perhaps in the future, joy
Cast your minds back to August and you'll see me sitting in front of a desk perusing an Excel spreadsheet for my first company car, my heart sank when I read the list of drab and dull hatchbacks with the occasional saloon, was this it? Was my petrol-head life now reduced to joining the Bavarian brigade of monochrome paint jobs and service station lunches?
What's this!
Upon that list there was a lonely Alfa Romeo, shining like a beacon in the dark, perhaps a lifeline with the ability to sneak into a Sunday Service in something other than a repmobile clone
"What colour do you want it?
There was only one natural choice, Alfa Red!
"What about the interior?"
Psh, if this was going to be an exercise in Italian flamboyance then we would pursue it to the end!
"Red."
And the waiting game began, while others took delivery of their monochrome Audi A3s and Seat Ibiza's I bided my time
Today I was rewarded, the tiny Italian terror has arrived...
875cc of pure two cylinder mayhem wrapped in the boldest red available decorated with a badge that gets the approving nod from the fellow petrol-head
What's it like to drive?
Has it got enough power with 2 Cylinders to get out the car park?
Will it explode into its component form?
What's it look like at a Sunday Service?
Will it go round the Evo Triangle?
Stay tuned, for we are going to find out the answer to all of these questions and more
ooh, I'll be watching your progress
I tested a mito twinair in the summer, I quite liked it, although I'm not absolutely sure I like the look of it, and the ride seemed to have something about it I wasnt sure about either. But I may still go there, I quite liked the look of the purpley black colour they do, but the sales guy clearly didnt want me to have on lease, he was worried about it's resale! red is a good option
waiting for updates already.....
I tested a mito twinair in the summer, I quite liked it, although I'm not absolutely sure I like the look of it, and the ride seemed to have something about it I wasnt sure about either. But I may still go there, I quite liked the look of the purpley black colour they do, but the sales guy clearly didnt want me to have on lease, he was worried about it's resale! red is a good option
waiting for updates already.....
31/10/2012 - 115 Miles
Well she's already covered her first 110 miles, I'm not going to update people daily but I think its worth putting down my initial thoughts, as the first 100 miles can make or break your opinion on a car
First off, the engine, its certainly a strange little unit
Its really quiet, on idle I have to keep checking the rev gauge to see if its still on, not much vibration in the steering or gear-stick at all and that surprised me for a small 2 cylinder unit, I thought it would be much much harsher
Its also very very easy to red line without realising it as the noise is very deep, again, I thought it would sound like I was strangling a cat but the only time you realise your hitting the red line is when it backs off, I've also seen a post somewhere that states the TwinAir sounds very different in the MiTo than it does in any of the other cars it powers, afraid I cant confirm nor deny that as its the first twinair unit I've seen let alone driven.
Ride isn't terrible, amusingly its better than my old 335i! Not very noisy on the motorway either which was nice
Things I dislike?
The petrol range computer, I understand these aren't always accurate but come on Alfa, seriously? When you drop to between a quarter and empty, the MiTo has decided to just display "--- Miles" which was surprising as 2 miles earlier it said "60 Miles"
The claimed MPG, its basically a flat out lie, without driving hard and sticking to 70mph on the motorway, its average was 38mpg, Fiat/Alfa quote 68.9mpg combined and 76.3mpg extra-urban. Frankly, they are on drugs if they claim that and stand by it, luckily mpg isn't a huge factor for me but seeing at its one of the major selling points of the TwinAir engines I'm amazed there hasn't been more uproar about it, if your looking to buy a TwinAir engine for MPG, my simple advice would be to not bother.
Cruise Control, it works fine but as far as I can tell, there's no visual indication as to what speed its set at!? So you turn it on and have to mash the + or - until its at your current speed.
Well she's already covered her first 110 miles, I'm not going to update people daily but I think its worth putting down my initial thoughts, as the first 100 miles can make or break your opinion on a car
First off, the engine, its certainly a strange little unit
Its really quiet, on idle I have to keep checking the rev gauge to see if its still on, not much vibration in the steering or gear-stick at all and that surprised me for a small 2 cylinder unit, I thought it would be much much harsher
Its also very very easy to red line without realising it as the noise is very deep, again, I thought it would sound like I was strangling a cat but the only time you realise your hitting the red line is when it backs off, I've also seen a post somewhere that states the TwinAir sounds very different in the MiTo than it does in any of the other cars it powers, afraid I cant confirm nor deny that as its the first twinair unit I've seen let alone driven.
Ride isn't terrible, amusingly its better than my old 335i! Not very noisy on the motorway either which was nice
Things I dislike?
The petrol range computer, I understand these aren't always accurate but come on Alfa, seriously? When you drop to between a quarter and empty, the MiTo has decided to just display "--- Miles" which was surprising as 2 miles earlier it said "60 Miles"
The claimed MPG, its basically a flat out lie, without driving hard and sticking to 70mph on the motorway, its average was 38mpg, Fiat/Alfa quote 68.9mpg combined and 76.3mpg extra-urban. Frankly, they are on drugs if they claim that and stand by it, luckily mpg isn't a huge factor for me but seeing at its one of the major selling points of the TwinAir engines I'm amazed there hasn't been more uproar about it, if your looking to buy a TwinAir engine for MPG, my simple advice would be to not bother.
Cruise Control, it works fine but as far as I can tell, there's no visual indication as to what speed its set at!? So you turn it on and have to mash the + or - until its at your current speed.
More pics - engine and interior please.
I knew car manufacturers were doing lots of 3 cyl engines but didn't realise they'd now gone to 2 !
As the other poster said give it a couple of thousand miles and check the MPG again. If you're not getting into the 50's MPG then it is indeed a pointless package. Small diesel engine would easily achieve that.
I knew car manufacturers were doing lots of 3 cyl engines but didn't realise they'd now gone to 2 !
As the other poster said give it a couple of thousand miles and check the MPG again. If you're not getting into the 50's MPG then it is indeed a pointless package. Small diesel engine would easily achieve that.
Rufus said:
MPG will come - new engines never give the claimed MPG, you need to put far more miles on it than you have before you start seeing the claimed figures.
Does this car have the Alfa DNA switch? Is the Dynamic mode a real difference to normal or not really?
I appreciate that new engines take time to bed in but I doubt this figure will improve more than 10%, that's how much it improved in my new/old 335iDoes this car have the Alfa DNA switch? Is the Dynamic mode a real difference to normal or not really?
Yes it has the DNA switch, but I've not used it much to appreciate the differences fully, however the most immediate one is the engine seems to give much more lower end grunt, whether that's due to throttle mapping or an actual change in engine map im not sure, ill have to check the manual
What other cars where on your list? I feel you've picked this car purely for the badge, rather then thinking long term as presumably you have to keep the car 3 years now? Looks really smart though and least it has something petrolhead related about it.
I was in a similar predicament, but went for a sensible but dull company car, Passat TDi. Reliable, big, comfy, quiet and ideal for long journeys.
I was in a similar predicament, but went for a sensible but dull company car, Passat TDi. Reliable, big, comfy, quiet and ideal for long journeys.
Brand new car with 110 miles on the clock and you're bouncing it off the limiter 
Normally with cruise control you press the 'set' button at the speed you wish it to be set to.
This normally also activates the cruise control.
Then you either brake or change gear and it turns cruise control off.
If you then press the 'on' button (not the 'set' button) the car will revert to the speed you previously set it to.
I don't think there is really a need to know what it is set at, and most of the time I press 'set' to activate at the current speed I am travelling at.
Normally with cruise control you press the 'set' button at the speed you wish it to be set to.
This normally also activates the cruise control.
Then you either brake or change gear and it turns cruise control off.
If you then press the 'on' button (not the 'set' button) the car will revert to the speed you previously set it to.
I don't think there is really a need to know what it is set at, and most of the time I press 'set' to activate at the current speed I am travelling at.
zedx19 said:
What other cars where on your list? I feel you've picked this car purely for the badge, rather then thinking long term as presumably you have to keep the car 3 years now? Looks really smart though and least it has something petrolhead related about it.
I was in a similar predicament, but went for a sensible but dull company car, Passat TDi. Reliable, big, comfy, quiet and ideal for long journeys.
I currently have a Passat TDI as a company car. I wouldn't call it reliable as although it's never broken down or failed to start it has had more faults that I'd expect from a brand new car. Also the Alfa Mito is significantly cheaper on the company car tax (I've not checked the mito figures but going off when I looked at a panda and 500 with the same engine).I was in a similar predicament, but went for a sensible but dull company car, Passat TDi. Reliable, big, comfy, quiet and ideal for long journeys.
Although my Passat is a surprisingly capable car it's still quite dull and considering the alternatives the taxman does seem keen on me as it's from before they pulled all the co2 figures down a bit.
MadRob6 said:
I currently have a Passat TDI as a company car. I wouldn't call it reliable as although it's never broken down or failed to start it has had more faults that I'd expect from a brand new car. Also the Alfa Mito is significantly cheaper on the company car tax (I've not checked the mito figures but going off when I looked at a panda and 500 with the same engine).
Although my Passat is a surprisingly capable car it's still quite dull and considering the alternatives the taxman does seem keen on me as it's from before they pulled all the co2 figures down a bit.
Should rephrase my statement, mine has been reliable lol 97k and nothing major to report. Tax though is a major issue I'll agree and like you say, the Mito will be massively lower then pretty much all other cars. Although my Passat is a surprisingly capable car it's still quite dull and considering the alternatives the taxman does seem keen on me as it's from before they pulled all the co2 figures down a bit.
dele said:
31/10/2012 - 115 Miles
The claimed MPG, its basically a flat out lie, without driving hard and sticking to 70mph on the motorway, its average was 38mpg, Fiat/Alfa quote 68.9mpg combined and 76.3mpg extra-urban. Frankly, they are on drugs if they claim that and stand by it, luckily mpg isn't a huge factor for me but seeing at its one of the major selling points of the TwinAir engines I'm amazed there hasn't been more uproar about it, if your looking to buy a TwinAir engine for MPG, my simple advice would be to not bother.
Its not Alfa that claim those figures, they are the figures produced by the testing facility that Alfa Romeo, by law, have to quoteThe claimed MPG, its basically a flat out lie, without driving hard and sticking to 70mph on the motorway, its average was 38mpg, Fiat/Alfa quote 68.9mpg combined and 76.3mpg extra-urban. Frankly, they are on drugs if they claim that and stand by it, luckily mpg isn't a huge factor for me but seeing at its one of the major selling points of the TwinAir engines I'm amazed there hasn't been more uproar about it, if your looking to buy a TwinAir engine for MPG, my simple advice would be to not bother.
zedx19 said:
Should rephrase my statement, mine has been reliable lol 97k and nothing major to report. Tax though is a major issue I'll agree and like you say, the Mito will be massively lower then pretty much all other cars.
I must have a duff one. At 40k mine has had the handbrake system fail and replaced, climate control is on the blink and the CD player is now dead. Mechanically sound though if you ignore the dealer that knackered a brake bleed nipple.I have a 500 TwinAir.
The engine will loosen up and get better MPG over time but it will never get the claimed figures!
My 500 gets about 52mpg on a motorway run and some other owners at FiatForum have said they are getting up to 56 or so.
I know what you mean about hitting the limiter. I've only ever done this a handful of times in other cars in 18 years of driving. I've done it regularly in the TA! Aurally it just seems to be revving at a half the speed it really is and it has quit a low redline at 6k so you bump into it a lot if you are giving it the beans.
Brave company car choice though! Well done you. I'd have done the same thing
The engine will loosen up and get better MPG over time but it will never get the claimed figures!
My 500 gets about 52mpg on a motorway run and some other owners at FiatForum have said they are getting up to 56 or so.
I know what you mean about hitting the limiter. I've only ever done this a handful of times in other cars in 18 years of driving. I've done it regularly in the TA! Aurally it just seems to be revving at a half the speed it really is and it has quit a low redline at 6k so you bump into it a lot if you are giving it the beans.
Brave company car choice though! Well done you. I'd have done the same thing
05/11/2012 - 240 Miles
Bloody hell Alfa, are you purposely trying to piss people off with your cars?
First petrol stop tonight, opened the flap and the fuel cap fell out which could only mean it wasn't put back on properly since the dealer, but I can understand why because it requires a science degree to operate, I had to park in a space at the petrol station to read the manual on how to reattach it, who in the 21st century needs to read a manual to use a fuel cap?!
Got home, reverse it into the parking space, hear no beeps from the sensors so I assume alls good when *Bam* - A wild Citroen Picasso appears, it turns out that Alfa Romeo don't dim the radio so you can hear the reversing sensors, which is worrying as I was hardly holding a rave, so its radio off when reversing in future.
Its trying really hard to make me dislike it, so far, its succeeding
Bloody hell Alfa, are you purposely trying to piss people off with your cars?
First petrol stop tonight, opened the flap and the fuel cap fell out which could only mean it wasn't put back on properly since the dealer, but I can understand why because it requires a science degree to operate, I had to park in a space at the petrol station to read the manual on how to reattach it, who in the 21st century needs to read a manual to use a fuel cap?!
Got home, reverse it into the parking space, hear no beeps from the sensors so I assume alls good when *Bam* - A wild Citroen Picasso appears, it turns out that Alfa Romeo don't dim the radio so you can hear the reversing sensors, which is worrying as I was hardly holding a rave, so its radio off when reversing in future.
Its trying really hard to make me dislike it, so far, its succeeding
dele said:
Things I dislike?
The petrol range computer, I understand these aren't always accurate but come on Alfa, seriously? When you drop to between a quarter and empty, the MiTo has decided to just display "--- Miles" which was surprising as 2 miles earlier it said "60 Miles"
My Nissan does that, the time you need the range computer the most... it stops bloody working. Drives me nuts.The petrol range computer, I understand these aren't always accurate but come on Alfa, seriously? When you drop to between a quarter and empty, the MiTo has decided to just display "--- Miles" which was surprising as 2 miles earlier it said "60 Miles"
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