Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde review

Alfa Romeo claims the MiTo Quadrifoglio hits 60mph from standstill in 7.5 seconds, and this certainly felt achievable to us. As for the rest of the driving experience, the gearbox feels fairly loose and isn’t conducive to fast shifts. Finding a gear is easy, although we did have trouble getting it in to first a couple of times.

The MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde is comfortable, even with these highly attractive 18in alloys fitted

Considering it has 18in alloys and low profile tyres, its ride is incredibly comfortable. You feel the bumps, but they’re nicely dampened, which provides a level of comfort that’s even more unexpected given the carbon-fibre bucket seats fitted to our test car. The Quadrifoglio Verde tailors the suspension setup’s behaviour to road conditions and provides consistent ride quality.

The Quadrifoglio Verde’s handling is incredibly sporty, and we negotiated tight corners confidently and without incident. Tearing around a hillside in Dynamic mode is an incredibly addictive and enthralling experience, and the MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde is tremendous fun on twisting roads. The grip is reassuring and we couldn’t feel the body roll.

We also need to mention the MiTo’s Start & Stop system, which cuts the engine when it’s idle. The intention is to conserve fuel, and we certainly approve of it. Sitting at the lights in eerie silence is disconcerting at first, but you soon get used to it. The engine quickly kicks back in to life when you depress the clutch.

IN THE CABIN

The MiTo Quadrofoglio Verde is as pretty inside as it is out and its minimalist design pleases the eye. As mentioned, our test car was fitted with carbon-fibre-backed bucket seats finished with an Alfa ident, which look fantastic. The seats have a thin sliver of padding that makes them more comfortable than you’d expect. The seats provide lots of lateral support and we only felt slight discomfort after many hours at the wheel, which is to be expected of any car. These are bucket seats you really could live with on a daily basis. Rear cabin space is a little cramped if tall people are seated in front, but it’s still surprisingly roomy for a super-mini.

The optional carbon-fibre-backed bucket seats are surprisingly comfortable

The seat position is neither low nor high, but somewhere disappointingly in the middle. There’s a leg rest to the left of the clutch pedal, but it’s too far forward, which means your knee is bent.

The cabin materials are best described as functional rather than luxurious – there’s certainly a lot of plastic. We expected greater luxury from the £18,755 Quadrifoglio Verde, but perhaps we’ve missed the point. Perhaps this sportiest incarnation of the MiTo is supposed to have a stripped-down feel. Its 270dm3 boot is large enough for a few bags but not large suitcases, although the rear seats do fold down.

The MiTo’s boot will hold your weekly shopping, but you’ll struggle to get large suitcases in it unless you fold down the rear seats

ON ICE

Our test car lacked a navigation system, but it did have steering wheel-mounted audio and phone controls, Bluetooth connectivity, a 3.5mm auxiliary input and a USB port to which you connect your MP3 player or smartphone. Instead, it had a basic CD and radio system. We found the sound a little lifeless and uninteresting, being too tinny at the top end and too flat at the bottom end, although it does have a decent mid-range. If you’re an audiophile it might be worth checking out the optional Bose speaker system.