Think small, expensive but remarkably charming small hatchbacks and only three cars will come to mind – the MINI, and more recently the Fiat 500 and the Alfa Romeo MiTo. As of today, all three are now available in Malaysia. The MiTo offers a much more affordable price compared to the MINI Cooper and Cooper S, retailing at RM153,888 OTR excluding insurance, registration and road tax.
The 3-door MiTo shares the same engine as the Fiat Bravo – a 1.4 litre turbocharged engine producing 155 horsepower, and in the MiTO it is mated to a 6-speed manual. It is the only transmission available in the car right now, so you’ll have to work your left leg a little if you want to cruise around town with style in this particular Italian baby. 0 to 100km/h takes 8 seconds, and the car is rated to drink only 6.5 litres of petrol per 100km traveled.
There is a decent list of equipment including cruise control, auto clmate control, LED rear lamps, steering wheel audio, VDC with hill holder function (great for starting on a slope if you’re still rusty with the manual’s clutch), a 6-speaker audio system.
There is a little three-position switch near the gear lever which will alter the throttle response and steering assist for three driving environments – Dynamic, Normal and All Weather. This is called the Alfa Romeo DNA system. The MiTo is also equipped with the Q2 electronic limited slip differential, a grand total of 7 airbags including a driver’s kneebag, and finally the chassis is rated 5 stars by Euro NCAP.
Public viewing and test drives are available at the Auto ConneXion Alfa Romeo 3S Centre at Jalan 13/2 Petaling Jaya. More photos of the MiTo available after the jump.
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