| Week at the Wheel | Alfa Romeo MiTo Cloverleaf |

Inside & Out:

It was difficult to be discreet in our MiTo Cloverleaf test car, mostly due to the bright yellow paintwork, but its fiendish good looks attract their fair share of attention, too. The trademark Alfa Romeo shield grille, gunmetal grey alloy wheels and deeply sculpted bonnet add up to make it one of the most handsome hatchbacks in its class. Throw in some big, green Cloverleaf badges along the flanks and you have got the impression that this MiTo is something a little out of the ordinary.

Pity the same can't be said of the cabin, though. Swathes of mock carbon fibre cling to the dash and the inside of the doors, but it just comes across as a little cheap and tacky. The dashboard itself is shapely and muscular in its contortions, but again, perceived quality is lacking.

The materials that Alfa has used just aren't up to the same standards as its competitors'. It's not just the dash plastics either; the wobbly handbrake and gear lever don't imbue the driver with confidence, while the stereo fascia, with its luminous orange, squared off digital display, looks straight out of the 1980s.

Engine & Transmission:

The Fiat Group's 1.4-litre 170bhp MultiAir engine is billed as a genuine balancing act between performance and efficiency. Clever camshaft activation and trick valve timing allow it to switch between fiery hot hatch and saintly street sleeper depending on the driver's behaviour.

Initially, you'd think that it leans more towards the latter. The MiTo's DNA (Dynamic, Normal and All Weather) system has a monumental impact on its behaviour - more so than virtually any other car's similar system. Leave it in Normal mode and the engine seems drastically short of any kind of torque at low revs. There's a terrible flat spot and it needs a serious dose of right foot just to get moving.

Push the centre console-mounted silver DNA switch forwards and you start to see what all the fuss is about. Setting the MiTo to Dynamic mode firms up the suspension and steering, lessens the input from the electronic driving aids, improves braking and makes the engine what we can only describe as a million times more responsive.

Engage Dynamic mode on the move and the MiTo lurches forward with an extra burst of ultra-sensitive acceleration. The raucous four-cylinder soundtrack is a pleasure to listen to and a turbo boost gauge even appears on the screen between the dials to show you how hard the blower is working. It's all rather dramatic and thoroughly entertaining.

The six-speed manual gearbox is a little on the slack side, but effective enough and easy to bang through quickly when you're making swift progress. Longer ratios might suit it better though, as you may find yourself shifting from second, to third, to fourth more than you want to on a fast run.

Ride & Handling:

The Cloverleaf's ride is quite firm and it jiggles passengers about, but that's an inevitability of a sporting hatchback. Drop the DNA settings back to normal mode and things improve a little - it becomes less of a boneshaker around town.

What's surprising is that the grip limits are relatively low. Perhaps it's down to the firm suspension, but it's quite easy to unsettle the MiTo - not necessarily intentionally - over undulations in the road. The same goes for cornering, as it seems rather skittish and very sensitive to throttle alterations. In a way, it's refreshing, as most modern cars - hot hatches in particular - have so much grip and traction that they're difficult to exploit at low speed, which is really what a small, punchy hatchback should be all about. Just watch it in the wet...

Equipment, Economy & Value for Money:

The Cloverleaf is priced pretty competitively next to similar warm hatches. It costs £17,895, which renders it £650 more expensive than SEAT's Ibiza Bocanegra and £195 dearer than the RenaultSport Clio 200.

It is a smidgen dearer than those two, which are actually more accomplished rivals, but you do get the cachet of the Alfa Romeo badge on the bonnet, which is no doubt what many buyers will be after.

Overall:

Alfa's modern day 'Sud is a lot of fun in the right places, but not all the time. Leave it in Dynamic mode and you'll have a ball on a back road, but the ride will rattle your fillings. Change to Normal and it becomes easier to live with, but the flat spot at low revs is horrendous - you'll find yourself egging it on at roundabouts and junctions just to get it moving.

Don't get us wrong, this MiTo is a hoot - on the right road, at the right time - and it's drop dead gorgeous. It's just not quite accomplished enough to be a convincing all-round package. The tinny build quality and rough ride would grate on us if we lived with it on a daily basis - and that's its Achilles' heel. A hot/warm hatch needs to be fun, which the MiTo Cloverleaf is, but it also needs to be just civilised enough to live with every day - and that's what the MiTo isn't.

Photography by Max Earey