Alfa MiTo TwinAir arrives

Alfa Romeo has bolted the 875cc TwinAir engine from the Fiat 500 in to the MiTo to produce a congestion charge busting new MiTo.

The new Alfa Romeo MiTo TwinAir is a logical move by Alfa to produce a MiTo with green credentials but which still offer a decent drive and a dose of fun.

In the Fiat 500, the TwinAir engine is a bit of a hoot, sounding a bit like a cross between a lawnmower and a 2-stroke and with bags of character and lively to boot.

On paper, it doesn’t look like Alfa are promising much in the MiTo with a 12.5 second 0-62mph sprint and a top speed of 108mph, but in the real world the encouraging little 2-pot feels much livelier, and will probably add an extra layer of fun to proceedings.

What the MiTo TwinAir won’t do – at least if our experience of the 500 TwinAir is anything to go by – is offer anything like the headline economy the official figures promise.

Alfa say the MiTo TwinAir will do 67.3mpg and will therefore have emissions of 98g/km. That’s it’s big selling point – no congestion charge and low BIK rates – and we have no doubts that Alfa has tuned the TwinAir perfectly to achieve those sterling economy figures.

But in the real world, with the little TwinAir beckoning you on with every put-put from its willing two cylinders, you’ll be hard-pushed to beat 40mpg most days – less if you’re coerced by the 2-pot’s ability to seduce you in to charging everywhere as if you’re in a go-kart grand prix. But drive like Noddy and you might just bust 60mpg.

The Alfa MiTo will come in two flavours – the MiTo TwinAir Sprint and MiTo TwinAir Distinctive – which will cost you £14,450 and £15,13 respectively, with the Distinctive getting 17″ alloys, red brake calipers and a touch of chrome to mark it out.

The Alfa MiTo TwinAir isn’t the cheapest MiTo – and it won’t be the most economical in the real world – but it could turn out to be the most fun, especially if you are used to paying congestion charge bills and silly BIK rates.