Alfa Romeo Mito Cloverleaf review

Your say

Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4 170 MultiAir Cloverleaf Road Test

Test date 01 April 2010 Price as tested £18,365

For Clever engine technology, improved ride and handling, positive gearbox

Against Imperfect steering, insufficient steering rake, DNA system is a distraction

There are three good reasons for revisiting the Alfa Romeo Mito so soon after its original road test (4 March 2009). The most significant is that the Mito is one of the first cars in the Fiat group to benefit from Fiat’s revolutionary Multiair engine technology. We think that it’s a system worthy of full explanation and evaluation. Although in time Multiair will also be used on diesel, for the moment Alfa is launching with two Multiair models, both petrol: the 1.4TB 135 and the range-topping 168bhp Cloverleaf.

Which leads us to our second motivation: with the rumoured Mito GTA on hold (indefinitely), the Cloverleaf version could remain the hottest version of the baby Alfa.

But it is the final reason that may be of greatest interest to Alfa fans, because the changes made for the Cloverleaf (new dampers, steering and gearbox) promise to address the areas we criticised most in the Mito’s original test. If these claims ring true, the Mito could finally be the characterful, desirable and entertaining hot hatch it should have been from the get-go.