ALFA - An Alternative to the Fiat's?

[Didge3]

Having owned 2 of the "mk3" Puntos, considering not much really changed between the Grande and the last of the Puntos, I had always wondered about the Mito, it is based on the same car so I'm not sure how differently it drives. I didn't like my 2006 Grande at all, the 1.4 8v is pretty lacklusture and the complete lack of steering feel in Punto's makes for a dull drive. I really like the TA engine in my 2013 Punto but aside from the fizzy engine it drove the same way my Grande did.
I want the Mito to be more involving but I'm not convinced it will (despite the DNA switch), once you've got some miles under it let me know how it compares!

 

[AndyRKett]

I had much the same experience with my 2006 grande also a 1.4 8v also lacking any power or poise.

That being said the 1.6 sporting was a whole different kettle of fish, much better handling and more power, the cars got a lot more heavier but the engines never really kept up with fiat and they only ever seemed to want to put small low powered engines in them.

When I owned my mk2b HGT i always joked that it had all all the gadgets and all the the reliability of an alfa Romeo but non of the heritage, so it was the worst of both worlds.

I don’t really feel that the alfa reputation is unfair.

 

[lunchbeers]

I came to Fiat's from the Alfa stable, and my Alfas were incredibly reliable, they're not without their faults, but no more so than any other marque out there, even my Fiat was fantastic.

If I drove any of my previous other cars as hard as I drove my Alfas they'd be wrecked in no time.

My current low mileage BMW is far from reliable, and my Yeti (but that does have 112k on the clock).

If I could afford a Guilia, then I'd be in one in a heartbeat.

 

[Desmo]

A few years ago I bought an Alfa 156 2.0 JTS. When changing the cam belt it was evident that one of the exh lobes of the camshaft had worn though the hardening by about 5mm! A few months later it dropped a valve destroying the engine. They may be part of the Fiat group but I wouldn't have another Alfa.

 

[lunchbeers]

You could argue the JTS is a GM engine... weirdly all the copious Vauxhall diesels are a variation of Alfa's JTD engine, and in return Alfa 1.8 Ecotec and JTS engines.