Mito VS Mini VS Fiesta

Suddenly small cars are becoming hugely desirable, and not just because our credit-crunched wallets are thinning. The 2001 Mini's upmarket, mechanically sophisticated, lavishly trimmed and ultra-stylish package has proved that people are prepared to pay more- often alot more - for afashionable, precision finished small car.

This discovery is not only encouraging other manufacturers to plunge in (Audiwill be next) but also raising the game of mainstream makers. Th new Mito, aimed nose-on at Mini buyers, bring us the most affordable Alfa Romeo yet, for this new hatch sits a class below the 1972 Alfasud that was previously Alfa's cheapest offering.

Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4 TB 155 Veloce

The Alfasud was an ambition venture downmarket, making the preservation of the company's reputation for super handling and entertaining engines an absolute priority. And this cleverly engineered car delivered. Despite serious quality problems, it rarely left enthusiasts' most-wanted lists because it was such a brilliant drive.

Mini Cooper S

Of couse, the "Sud's clean-sheet design owed almost nothing to alfa's rear-drive saloons and coupes, whereas the Mito is based on the cheaper Fiat Punto, much of whose inner hardware it share.

Ford Fiesta Zetec S

Not that you'd know it from looking; there's barely a visible component in common, and the Mito's classy 8C Compertizione-inspired styling and sporty interior is unique to the model. The Mito's Fiat chassis is copiously kitted with electronic, but it lact the mechanical sophistication of the mini's suspension. Still, the Cooper is a sub-assembly sharer too, for its engined are common to Peugeot and Ford.

Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4 TB 155 Veloce

Mini Cooper S

Ford Fiesta Zetec S

The latest Ford Fiesta has a simpler twist beam rear axle like the Alfa's, butFord's reputation for dynamic prowess far outpoints the Italian firm's there days. Couple this with its sexy skin and a very stylish interior and you have a Ford developed to a pitch that makes quite a convincing alternative to this more glamorous pair - or will do until we begin seeing it more often than our reflections.

The notion of bolting an unnecessarily powerful engine into a small car has proved irresistible even since F1 champion constructor John Cooper gave his name to tuned Minis almost half a century ago. Today this Cooper S comes with a 173bhp turbocharged 1.6-litre engine. It's flanked at the lower end of the go=faster Mini range by the 118bhp Cooper and at the other by the 208bhpJohn Cooper Works.

In Alfa Romeo's world, every model comes with sporting ambition, and even its lowliest models aim to deliver dynamic panache. The least potent Mito is a 90bhp turbo diesel.This engines is a downsized Fiat Group 153bhp 1.4 turbo, otherwise known as a T-Jet.

Ford Fiesta Zetec S

The Fiesta faces 153bhp from the Alfa and 173bhp from the Cooper S.So why this comparison, which pits EUR 15,910 Mini Cooper S againts EUR 14,545Mito 1.4 TB 155 Veloce againts EUR 12,331 Fiesta Zetec S? Because the excellence of the Ford makes it one of the superminis to beat, particularly in terms of dynamic, and the Sis the most powerful version available. In any case, all three of these cars make driver enjoyment a priority, and that commodity springs from far more than power alone.

Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4 TB 155 Veloce

Each has 'come drive me' looks,too. The Mito often seems amorphous-looking in photographs, but the light of the real world better picks up its subtle curves to produce a cleanly appealing style that makes the Fiesta look a little fussy. But the Ford is a great looker, the first truly handsome Fiesta since the 1976 original.

The modern Mini is so successful that it's easy to forget what a fabulously appealing reinterpretation of the 1959 car this is;indeed, the chief issue withBMW's second iteration isit indistinguishably from the first. There lies the challenge of updating retro cars. But the huge range of color, trim and detailing options makes this the easiest of the three to personalize.

Alfa has emulated the Mini approach with the Mito's options, but several sets of different-hued lamp surrounds, one of its main personalization elements, only emphasize the slightly unhappy shape of its headlights.

Inside, this particular Mito scores a bag full of points for its beautifully tailored leather seats. Its fascia is intriguing too, though the dash-within-a dash effect created by the spongy carbonfibre insert, available in several colours, is not entirely successful, and the structure's cntre section seems excessively invasive. But a stylish wheel and instruments, the intrigue of the silver 'DNA' switch and some neat detailing give this cabin the class to pass off as premium.

But the Mini does it better. The materials used are generally more attractive and, with the exception of the fiddly and cheap climax controls, it's finished to a higher standard. You won't find as much eccentricity or as wide a palette of finishes in the Ford, but you will sit behind one of the most shapely and attractive constructed fascias to be found in a car this side of EUR 20k. Its architecture is more pleasing than the Alfa's, if less individual than the Mini's.

The Fiesta is also piratically packaged, providing decent head, knee and foot room for four and a usable boot. The same goes for the Mito, which offers as much room in the rear and a similar boot. Unexpected, however, is the cheeky absence of a split rear seat. The Mini is fine up front but laughable in the back, where it has less knee and foot room than the 1959 car. There's no elbow space, either, and the boot will take little more than a clutch of Prada handbags.

Before turning the Mito's slightly fussy key, gadget lovers might spot a mysterious looking silver tab on the centre console. This accesses the so-called DNA system, whose three-position switch toggles between Dynamic, Normal and All-weather modes to adjust the throttle map, damper resistance, steering weight and the extent of ESP and electronic limited-slip diff intervention. Overboost also appears in Dynamic, and in all three modes the electric power assistance nudges you towards steering into any skid.

In Normal you get lighter, more real feel than in slightly springy Dynamic mode, a marginally more compliant but quite noisy ride and somewhat strangled accelerator response. Select Dynamic and the ride stiffens - to the extent that the body rocks sideways quite noticeably on B-roads - and the throttle sharpens to a degree that's more appropriate to an Alfa, and more convenient. Trouble is, progress on bumpier roads is more composed in Normal, despite the shocks' more loose-limited feel, and the steering feels less artificial.

Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4 TB 155 Veloce

The chassis that lies beneath these electronic modifications is capable up to a point, but beyond eight-tenths it loses composure over testing roads, regardless of your DNA choice. And while grippy, it gets the Mito around corners with less fitnesse than either the Mini or the Ford.

Mini Cooper S

Of course, there's less power to challenge the Fiesta, but its suspension is the most accomplished here. It's slightly busy on B-roads, but its reactions are informative and well damped, and matched by fairly keen direction changing, backed up by a resistance to understeer that can be adjusted with the throttle.

You can enjoy some modest interaction with the car, then, despite steering that, while consistent in its resistance in its resistance, is short on feel. TheFiesta's crisp gearchange and progressive brakes underline the harmony in its controls and the mostly satisfying responses they feed you.

The Mini is a more dramatic drive. Its extra power and considerable torque leave you in no doubt that this is a performance car, as does the fact on the same, mildly challenging B-roads you'll have to work harder to correct its trajectory. Its fatter tyres follow cambers more readily and its weightier steering - it feels more real than the Alfa's and about as authentic as the Ford's - demands more effort.

In the car it's much easier to arrive at bends quickly enough that you must think harder about when to deploy its torque.But it feels less adjustable, mid-bend, than either the Fiesta or Mito.Like all the engines here, the Mini's is a smooth-spinning device with a slightly rorty edge. But like the Alfa's motor, it makes more engaging sounds from the outside than from within. The Ford engine makes mildly enthusiastic noises more the time, despite its lower power.

It's a shame that the Mito doesn't sound more Alfa-like from within and, indeed, feel like an Alfa. It has decent go and it's capable enough up to a point, but it lacks the finesse, polish and verve that should be intrinsic to an Alfa Romeo.

The Mito is a competent car that's different, strong on showroom appeal and replete either some intriguing features, but in this nose-to-nose it must come last. You could blame that on the Punto hardware, except that the Fiestaproves what's possible with relatively simple rear suspension and engineering executed on a tight budget.

The more likely reason is that Alfa puts insufficient development emphasis on dynamics, despite this being one of the major theoretical attractions of its cars, which at one time put driving ahead of style. How much longer the firm can get away with six-out-of-10 efforts like this remains to be seen. What makes this conclusion all the more disappointing is that the Mito is a desirable-looking thing; it's also keenly priced and it shows good progress in terms of quality of finish and practicality. And the caliber of Alfa's once-dire UK dealer network appears to be advancing by leaps and bounds. These days it is probably safe to buy an Alfa.

But when the novelty of your glinting acquisition has worn off, it's the Mini and the Fiesta that satisfy more completely as drivers' cars. The Mini is expensive in this company but its potency often tests its chassis, it's hardly out of its depth. And it's fun. The Cooper's packaging is a disgrace - it's 2+2 with a city car's boot - but it's very well made, makes intelligent concessions to the CO2 issue with stop-start, and continues to charm with its character and style.

Still, the most rounded car here is the Fiesta. Or it will be if you can live with performance that's no better than brisk and its busy fifth-gear cruising. You pay thousands less for the less potent Zetec S, but it's the most capable of this trio, with the most controlled ride, the best-matched packaging on a par with theAlfa's.

Despite being mainstream model, it's pleasing style and excellent interior do not leave it so far adrift of these premium alternatives. Rear visibility isn't great, the steering has lost something to the old Fiesta and it could very obviously use more power to compete here. But Alfa Romeo would do well to understand why this supposedly ordinary Ford does a better job of being a driver's car than theMito, and why it is such satisfyingly rounded car as a whole.