Alfa Romeo symbolizes the holy grail of the car enthusiast. They are not here to be the most affordable nor the most practical. They aren’t here to please the masses or those seeking “just” a means of transportation. Every single Alfa Romeo is much more than a piece of engineering and it is this concept that many fail to grasp. Can a conglomeration of nuts and bolts have character? It is just a machine so surely it doesn’t imitate a sole? No, an Alfa does not think or feel but what it can do, that not many other hunks of metal are capable of, is induce feeling and emotion. It is this provocation of sensations behind the wheel that makes these cars so unique. Today I received the keys to a Mito with the 1.4 litre 135BHP engine and the new TCT flappy-paddle gearbox.
A few years ago when initially encountering the Mito I had a split opinion on the subject of its appearance. I could see how the companies 8C supercar had influenced the design but somehow it didn’t look quite right on a little hatchback. However, like a fine wine, a few years has made all the difference as our test car in its moody grey tone turned many a head. It’s bold hunches and front facia of pure attitude could only have stemmed from an Italians pen as not a single curve, body line or indentation is present for functionality but pure style. This continues inside the cabin with heavily sculpted seats and a steering wheel so elegant it looks as if it belongs in an art gallery.
In terms of practicality the Mito seats five in relative comfort with a good level of rear leg room. The boot is also very capable of swallowing the weekly shop yet its hight may lead some to employ tactics associated with the shot-put when loading the car. Rear visibility is also compromised with passengers in the rear thanks to a small back window. These faults are by no means the end of the world but could make living with the Mito in a small city a little harder than expected. But as previously mentioned, you don’t buy an Alfa for its ergonomics, you buy it for the way it drives!
The 1.4 litre MultiAir engine is an utter joy on the road providing high levels of torque throughout the rev band. This means you can be on the throttle with a much more instant response from the car. As with most Alfa Romeo’s the Mito is equipped with the DNA system that basically allows the driver to select from three modes ranging from comfort to a much more performance orientated dynamic mode. Naturally whilst we were behind the wheel the car stayed in dynamic for the majority of the time promoting a true Alfa experience. Now let me make this clear before I continue… I dislike automatic cars for several reasons. Firstly a computer does not know what I want and so its second guessing of what gear I require generally annoys me. Secondly it just isn’t as involving as you are no longer an intricate biological element of the car require to bring it to life. You become simply a bag of organs being ferried from a to b. This Mito has an automatic gearbox. So did the transmission kill the joy? Not a dot.
You see this Alfa Mito also has the TCT option giving the driver the ability to override the computer and use the paddles to change gear. Changing down and blipping the throttle results in not only a surge forwards in terms of acceleration, but a harmonic howl from the engine as the revs shoot up towards 7,000. Taking the car down twisting B-roads is such an enjoyable experience as the well sorted chassis and good levels of grip give you the confidence to push a little harder. Throw it into a corner and it copes brilliantly and amplifies the driving sensation that this car is. My only real complaint is that though responsive when shifting up, the gearbox did at times take a second or two to change down, a common issue with this type of transmission in general.
Yes you can hear the wind swirling around the wheel arches in the rear and the speedometer though beautiful in design is a pain in the arse to read; but again this car was built with very different objectives to its competitors. It was built to deliver driving pleasure and that is what the Mito along with all other Alfa’s before it do best. Our test car may have cost £17,500 but in my opinion it was worth every penny.
These days it seems every manufacturer is taking the tin opener to their cars. Be it a Nissan Micra or Pagani Zonda today you can buy most things in both hard and soft-top flavours. Thinking about it this is hardly surprising especially in the UK as we are one of the largest markets for alfresco motoring. Ironic really is the fact that water falls from the sky over here more than Amy Winehouse falls to the floor on the way to rehab. Now cutting the head off a model is not only in breach of the law but is also a cruel and vicious act against humanity, however in terms cars it tends to result in a sales boost. The problem comes when people such as us have to drive them and find that thanks to the lack of a roof, structural integrity has been breached. The knock on effect results in poorer handling, ride quality and it being just generally worse than the original car in every way. But what happens when the original car was a bit of dissatisfaction and then you behead it? Well that is what we intend to find out with this Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Spider.
The coupe variant of this Italian work of art was a stunning piece of design and could produce an engine note so pure itwould make Jesus look like a sinner. The problem was that the car was much more style over sustenance and though we hate to say it, the 8C just wasn’t up to standard. But then we fell under the rose-tinted spell of Alfa Romeo looking over all its faults, forgave it and even justified our actions. This time around, after some unsympathetic comments from Alfa immune readers, we shall treat this 8C with no bias.
Starting with the exterior we are graced with the same fantastic architecture as the coupe with sweeping curves and Italian attention to detail. Its carbon fibre body glazed in a sumptuous cherry red that really showed the car at its best. In my personal opinion I would have to say that this Spider is just a little more attractive than the already gorgeous coupe. I don’t know why, maybe it’s something to do with the rear proportions being more defined in this model. This car really is some of the best design work in the industry and is clear evidence that nobody puts pen to paper like the Italians!
Inside the cabin it is identical to that of the coupe and continues to treat your eyes to a feast of visual splendour. Everything appears millimetre perfect and is arranged in a manner that somehow engages you with the 8C on a more emotional level. Now I don’t think anyone has ever said that about the interior of a car before so I had better explain myself. Each item only requires you to look at it for a few seconds in order to appreciate its intricacy’s. The struts that arch down the centre console for example are so perfectly sculpted that you know that they have had allot of time spent on them, and when you know that so much effort has gone into such an insignificant part of that car you tend to appreciate the entire object more. The 8C Spider is even signed like a fine painting stating that much like the coupe it is one of only 500 examples. With the roof down the interior also feels much more spacious and less claustrophobic than its carbon roofed brother.
Under the sloping bonnet is a 4.7 litre V8 that produces 450 perfectly formed stallions, and this is where the Spider really comes into its own. When the roof is down that wonderful symphony that Alfa’s are blessed with is more audible than ever and is the perfect encouragement to push the car a bit harder. Now Alfa Romeo have done much more to this car than remove the roof as the struts, springs and roll bars are all bespoke to the Spider. The result is that this car is so much better to pilot that the coupe. It is responsive, not sedated. It is refined, not boorish. But more importantly you can enjoy it without your spine disintegrating. I was surprised by this outcome but it is clear that the Italian company has not only tried to reduce the effects of creating convertible but also went about perfecting the product at the same time. Yes the roof may be primitive and manual but the outcome is that the Spider weighs in at just 90KG more than the coupe.
At £174,000 there is no getting away from how expensive the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider is but think about how much people pay for art. Driving this car should be a public service in the same way that the masterstrokes of Rembrandt are displayed every day. The only real issue with the 8C Spider is that the gearbox isn’t as quick as what I would like but other than that this is one of the ultimate drivers cars on offer, and if that’s the case I think we can overlook that foible regardless of being an Alfa Romeo or not. As a car this is a magnificent machine, but as an Alfa Romeo it is perfection.
I love Italian cars; they have that much spoken about yet unexplainable attraction. Alfa Romeo’s in particular have this phenomenal ability to create a bond with the driver. Maybe it’s the craftsmanship, maybe it’s the charming Italian design or even the way they drive. Whatever that “thing” is if you could bottle it you would be a very wealthy individual. In fact Alfa Romeo’s are so potent that we are often happy to forget their faults entirely, we being those who appreciate a car for more than just convenience. To those on the outside they are perceived as “pretty but unreliable and very expensive.” Though it’s their own fault that they can’t own a car for enjoyment alone, Alfa have seen that it’s not going to help them meet their enthusiastic new sales targets. Has the fabled Italian icon sold its sole for profit? You’re just about to find out as we review the Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
The Giulietta is a replacement for the long defunct but much missed 147. The idea behind it is that it will be a big seller for the company as it offers practicality as well as a new found reliability. This particular Giulietta is in grey so you are justgoing to have to take my word for it that this car is good looking in just about any other colour. The other slight disappointment is that we could only get hold of the diesel model due to the car being so fresh on the market. A disappointment that was completely unjustified, let me explain.
Normally what you want from an Alfa is a petrol engine so you can rev the nuts off of it and listen to the symphony under the bonnet. Diesels on the other hand sound like a barge fighting a strong undercurrent no matter how you drive them, but this specific 2.0 litre has been engineered to have a lot of low end grunt. The result of this is rather lively acceleration to say the least thanks to the extra torque. Alfa Romeo have also had a play with the audio as the Giulietta has a very intoxicating growl to it under heavy acceleration. At low speeds it is quiet and very refined allowing you to really relax. The best thing about this 170BHP engine? It will achieve 60.1 MPG meaning you don’t have to be as mundane as to buy a Polo to a) save money and b) get the government off you’re back for killing polar bears.
Inside the Giulietta it is your typical Alfa Romeo offering class leading comfort and unrivalled levels of style. Athletically this Veloce trim level looks fantastic with its red sticking and aluminium pedals. The seats are very supportive and don’t allow for you be thrown around when the mood takes you to drive with a bit of vigour. The rear is just as pleasant to occupy through leg room isn’t that of its competitors such as the Focus. But then again comparing the Ford Focus to this is much like drawing comparison between Tesco’s own brand coffee and an Italian espresso made in Turin, in assents they are the same product but it is the quality that makes them so different.
In motion this Alfa Romeo is as good as it is to look at, in a different colour of course. The drive is so engaging offering sharp turn in and that previously mentioned acceleration despite the extra 30KG of the diesel engine. The breaks are responsive allowing you to really push the car in the right environment, something an Alfa should always encourage you to do. The cars DNA system is a very useful feature allowing the driver to tell the car on-board computer what mood they are in. We found ourselves leaving the car in dynamic as it gives increased throttle response and a stiffer suspension setup.
I am pleased to conclude that the Alfa Romeo Giulietta is everything an Alfa should be. Good looking, exciting, stylish,engaging and in this cars case its practical and reliable too. It might cost £22,985 but think of it this way… You can find various rocks scattered all over the place but every so often you find a diamond, these are much more special than the other rocks and thus more valuable.
A car to many people is a form of transport to move from one location to another, a bucket of bolts that is a better conveyance than the bus. All a car needs to be to most people is functional, just like your washing machine; all it has to do is its job and nothing else. However there are those few people who can appreciate a car for being more than a white good, and I’m not talking about bankers who have a fascination with the RS badge on their Audi. I’m talking about petrol-heads. For these people who can see beyond the bulbs and bodywork and truly appreciate a car for more than just its convenience there has only ever been one brand for them… Alfa Romeo.
Alfa’s are notoriously expensive, unreliable, riddled with faults and 90% of the time a general nuisance. So what attracts a “petrol-head” like a moth to a flame towards a vehicle that has the potential to make life a misery? You see Alfa Romeo don’t build cars, they build dreams. Whilst an Alfa is likely to disintegrate, for that brief moment where there are no warning lights on the dash, it is the most perfect driving experience you could imagine. The cars flatter you as you push on down the road, their sumptuous looks turning every head that is attached to a neck and every Alfa (ignore the Brera) produces the most beautiful symphony. Today after two years of waiting for my turn I got hold of the ultimate Alfa Romeo, the 8C Competizione.
In this profession I am often confronted with alluring pieces of kit that make your mind melt and your spine tingle, but none compete with the sheer beauty of this car. The swooping lines of its body and indulgent details form an elixir of unrivalled visual splendour. Just looking at this car sparks an unexplainable attachment/admiration for a machine that refuses to allow your eyes to stray from it. In layman’s terms it is simply the most attractive car ever built by man.
The definitive design work continues within the cabin as each button, knob and dial is just as much a testimony to the cars visual magnetism as anyone of the exterior features. The steering wheel sits mounted to the dash like a trophy won by the original 8C racer. Aluminium cascades down the centre console and between the two exquisitely finished seats that are an artwork in themselves.
When you can reclaim your line of sight we shall get down to the nitty-gritty. Beneath the 8C’s bodywork lives a 4.7 litre V8 that produces one of the most awe-inspiring sounds that has ever met my ears. It is almost indescribable as the noise reverberates straight through you, stimulating every nerve ending as if you had been soaked in jet fuel and ignited. The epicentre of this joyous sound produces 444BHP and a rather handy 347lb ft of torque. So what’s this purebred Italian like in motion?
Honestly? It’s a bit rubbish… No, no that’s an understatement. I would define it as a conglomeration of truly terrible engineering. This car may have that wonderful 4.7 litre V8, but thanks to a flappy paddle gearbox that is far too busy looking up the definition of a gearbox rather than changing gear, every task is delayed. Though the sloppiness in the gear change is only given away by sound as the speedometer and rev counter t are very much a case of style over functionality in that they are illegible whilst the car is in motion. The entire cabin creeks from the moment you pick up any pace in the Competizione and the steering is so lifeless you can often forget that you have turned the wheel at all.
There are only 500 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione’s on the planet and you are probably now expecting me to say that every one of them has been robbed of their £135,000, but you would be wrong. Like I said earlier, an Alfa Romeo is full of faults by rights and that is just a characteristic of the badge. If the car was faultless then it would be German thus bland and unable to stir a single emotion from anybody. That is the key word there, emotion. Objects do not dictate emotions but an Alfa Romeo is more than just an object, it’s the key to your soul.
Alfa Romeo’s have always been the ultimate drivers car, not necessarily because they are unrivalled in the way specific features of the car work, but because as a complete package it has the ability to stir emotions that most would think misplaced whilst driving. This makes an Alfa not so much a car, but a key to your soul and something that can do such a thing is a very special object indeed. So here I am today with the Brera, a two door sports coupe, and it has to be said it carries the 100 year old company’s tradition of being hallucinogenicly beautiful perfectly.
Nobody does design work like the Italians with each line of the car showing the passion and devotion that went into every pencil mark that was originally put to paper. The swooping bonnet lines that meet the prestigious crest, the deep inset fog lights surrounded by handsome grills, and that curvaceous rear end that turns many a head all come together and make one of the most delectable shapes created by man. It’s not just the design features, it’s the typically Alfa attention to detail such as the chamfered edges to the exhaust pipe that real car fans appreciate. The seductive design continues inside with features such as abrushed aluminium centre console and a dashboard that belongs in an art gallery. The seats appear to have been sculpted by the lord himself as every stich in the leather, every budge in the bolsters creates something of biblical aesthetic beauty. For myself and many others Alfa Romeo’s badge might as well say “you know you want me.”
The other thing these cars have always done well is offer the driver a jubilant time behind the wheel. Every model combines the joy of driving with a machine that loves to be driven, however for the Brera this is where its problems begin. Alfa Romeo’s, despite being the mystical creatures I have just said them to be, do have their fault but these are normally forgiven due to all of their other qualities. In the case of the Brera I feel there isn’t enough of that Alfa magic to wash away the cars problems. That ability to give the driver a meaningful ride is missing, I’m sorry I was rather sure this was an Alfa Romeo when I get into it. One source of this problem is that the Brera is front wheel drive, not normally a problem for small Alfa’s but this one has been skipping its weight watchers classes. The weight not only impedes its 0-62MPH time of a rather tame 7 seconds but also means the front tyres run out of grip every time to push on through a corner. The mass of under steer hits you like the concrete wall you are heading towards, it just kills the fun. Though the breaks are rather sharp and the car corners flat with minimal body roll, I feel this is mainly down to the lower speeds you have to travel at to get it through the corners.
Now we are used to these cars not being big on practicality, other than the 159 of which this car is built on, but the Brera takes a bit of a liberty to say the least. It supposedly seats four but the rear seats are of no use what so ever due to legroom that is inadequate of anything larger than a guinea pig and thanks that sloping roofline, headroom that even mineworkers would find claustrophobic. The boot is yet another impracticality as I have seen fruit bowls with more capacity for a car of this size.
As I said all other Alfa Romeo’s could be forgiven for this long line of problems that in any other car would stop you from purchasing. But the biggest problem with the Brera is that the beautiful handcrafted aluminium engine is missing and in its places sits a cold plastic covered Australian block. Opening this cars shell to find that was like dining at a top Italian restaurant only to be served with a freshly produced elephant turd. The engine may well develop 260BHP but it doesn’t have that Alfa sound nor soul to itstemperament. I could sit here all day and tell you how the old Italian V6 was one of my favourite engines of all time, but I’m far too busy morning over how this car had the potential to be so good yet it doesn’t come close to what I had hoped for.
The Brera is much like a lasagne for the microwave. The picture looks good on the box so you buy it, but when you go to cook it the product doesn’t look like you had hoped. You continue to prepare your meal on the basis that you know you like lasagne, yet when it comes to eating your microwave meal all it does is leave a bitter taste in your mouth.
