5 posts tagged “alfa romeo”

I passed by Andrew Simms European tonight and saw the new Alfa Romeo MiTo 'in the metal" for the first time. It's just arrived in New Zealand and I was keen to see how it looked as some of the proportions look strange in the web and magazine photos I've seen, even those carefully framed manufacturer shots.

They had two MiTos (or is the plural just MiTo?) on display: metallic red in the showroom - which is above road level and not very easy to photograph - and a black one in the outside yard.

Squeezing the new Alfa look, inspired by the 8C Competizione, onto a small hatchback has compromised it a little but the real thing looks a lot better than any photograph.

What surprised me is how the 1.72m wide MiTo appears narrower than the Punto (1.68m w) which shares it's platform when viewed from the front. ASE had a 3 door Punto beside the MiTo and the comparison was interesting. The MiTo has a low set vertical grille and lights stacked high on the guard which look fine but are responsible for the occasionally gawky frontal appearance. The Punto has similar lights but its narrow horizontal grille makes the chassis appear wider. The short overhangs and overall length of the MiTo aren't a problem and the back, with large round tail lights, looks better the the Punto which has a plain hatch and vertical lights. The lower you are, compare the red car shot below, the better the MiTo looks. My photos don't really do it justice but rushed hand held snapshots of a black car in the dark aren't going to be award winners!

I only peeked at the interior through the window but it looks far more up-market than the top end Punto models, as it should given the $10-15k price difference. The sprinkling of Alfa, Fiat and Citroën logos on the photos are reflections not Alfa previewing some new Fiat Group alliance!

It's a sign of the times that the 1.4 Litre 4 cyl MiTo puts out the same 114kW (155bhp) as my 2.0 Litre 5 cyl Bravo HGT, although it has a Turbo to help. It also does the same 8 sec 0-100 km/h but the claimed fuel consumption, 6.5 l/100km, is at least 1 l/100km better than the Bravo averages.

I wondered if the Alfa Romeo MiTo styling would work but came away impressed. Although Alfa might cringe at reference to it, given it's rust bucket reputation, I reckon this little Alfa is a worthy successor to the long gone, but not forgotten, Alfasud. It might be more conventional in layout, transverse four rather than boxer, but brings essential Alfa DNA back to the small car market. It also appears the MiTo has a level of build quality the old 'sud deserved, but never achieved. New Zealand only gets one top spec MiTo model and its priced to take on the Mini. I reckon the obese German parody, good as it is, has a real rival in the MiTo.

I don't know how it goes but it looks bellissimo! I wonder if Andrew Simms do extended test drives for bloggers

Alfa MiTo: Littlies get the timing right - Motoring - NZ Herald News

 (from TypePad)

The baby Alfa Romeo MiTo is heading to New Zealand in, Mini fighting, high power Turbo form. It will be interesting to see how those lines, sometimes rather strange in photos, look in the metal.

MiTo - It's Mighty Near!

Alfa Romeo has confirmed that its all-new MiTo model will arrive in New Zealand in July providing the car market with a unique compact performance car that sets new standards for style, performance and technology...

From TypePad

Alfa Romeo Style - 159 and Brera Coupe

I saw an Alfa Romeo 166 on the motorway earlier this week and followed it for some distance in peak hour traffic. If you want a big saloon there are thousands of reasons why you should just buy a BMW/Audi/Merc, rather than something less mainstream like the Alfa, and depreciation is just one!

However looks alone would have me ignoring logic in favor of the big Italian (not sold new now) or maybe a Citroën's C6. The same looks over logic argument applies, at a much higher price point, to the Maserati Quattroporte. Why buy a boring 7 or an S Class when you could have a Quattroporte?

Strange thing is when the 166 was released I preferred the 156's style but big brother has aged well. Maybe the fact that it hasn't been replaced is a factor? Aside from it's boring conventional door handles the 159 did make the 156 look it's age, if still stunning.

The reason I was following an Alfa was thanks to my car specific courtesy bias. While I try to be courteous to all in traffic I must admit to being kinder to cars I like. If you're in a smokey diesel or something incredibly boring to look at, like most Toyotas, I'm less inclined to let you in front of me than something stylish like the Alfa. You might be happy with your boring motor but I have to look at the back of it so if there is a choice nice gets preference over dull in the merging queue.

To get back to the paranoia. Since I first saw that 166 earlier this week I have seen eight more my travels. They were all different models and colours so not the same one. None were near the Alfa Romeo dealer I visited durng the week where you might expect to see them. I don't know how many 166s there are in Auckland but I bet it's not many, and I've seen quite a few. Am I being stalked by the 166 owners club or something? 

Then I get home, slightly paranoid about Alfa 166 thing, and find one in my email courtesy of the YouTube Top Gear channel update. Logic be damned, if I wanted a big engine saloon I'd get a 166. As all are now "pre-owned"  the nightmare depreciation makes them far more affordable than the equivalent BMW or Merc. The looks and that V6 sound are worth the ownership compromises, even if it means having to stalk Bravo HGT's at the owners club instruction...

It launched on April 1st but this deal is no April Fool. Andrew Simms European celebrate their arrival as a Fiat, Alfa Romeo dealer with this brilliant deal.

Alfa's lovely looking Coupe for the open road and a stylish Fiat Punto for around town. Both would fit well in the garage! Where to find Ninety Grand?

Buy an Alfa Romeo Brera, get a Fiat Punto free!

Some good news arrived today in the form of a letter from Andrew Simms European. From April 1st, no fool, they are filling the void left by the withdrawal of CCS by adding Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Citroën to the brands represented at their Newmarket premises. The showroom, parts and service facility will be on the corner of Broadway & St. Marks Rd, Newmarket, along with another North Shore Service facility.

Andrew Simms operate six Mitsubishi dealerships around New Zealand. However in the letter Andrew shared his background, which included working for Fiat & Citroën agents before Mitsubishi, and revealed he owns an Alfa Spider and 147 GTA race car.

This is great news for these brands, which are niche rather than the major players they are in Europe, and I wish Simms every success. I'll grab some photos of the new set-up sometime after the opening.