Car manufacturers continue to be buffeted by the winds of recession – but Alfa Romeo has surprisingly emerged, of all firms, to buck the downward trend.

The Italian firm has been recording some stellar monthly sales increases in the UK this year – by as much 76.8 per cent in one instance.

And the main reason why Alfa has started to shift metal? It’s the arrival of its sporty new Mito.

This curvy supermini costs from £10,995 to put on the road (£8,995 with scrappage) -and it’s proving an attractive alternative to more retro-styled competitors like the MINI and Fiat 500.

Instead, the Mito draws on Alfa’s flagship 8C Competizione for its design inspiration, with lights, grille and bonnet all clearly derived from its supercar sister. The result is a distinctive, sporty hatch, with a cheeky ‘face’ and muscular haunches.

Alfa sent a flagship 1.4TB Veloce for testing and its resemblance to the 8C was further underlined by its similar gleaming red paintwork and the near identical design of its alloy wheels.

Affordable

And at £15,495 on the road, the Veloce is far more affordable than the eye-watering £138,500 required for the 8C.

For the smaller sum you get a beautifully-turned out hatch with a surprising turn of speed from its turbo-charged 1.4 litre petrol engine.

This unit pushes out 155hp -Êenough to take the Mito to 60mph in eight seconds. Alternatively, there are also ‘cooler’ 1.4 derivatives which develop 120 and 95hp respectively. A brace of diesels completes the engine line-up.

If you like the exterior of the Mito, wait till you sit inside. The cabin is one of the car’s big plus points. It’s admittedly not the most spacious of interiors but it is beautifully designed and appears well-built too.

The dashboard replicates the effect of carbon fibre and can be colour-coded to match the body paint.

Italian style

The front seats are stylish and figure hugging. You’ll find the driving position typically Italian in that it favours those with long arms and short legs, but it should be possible for most drivers to get comfortable.

The gearstick is on the long side but shifts well enough. The car is set up with low gearing which suits a frenetic ‘Italian’ driving style.

There are three driving ‘modes’ for the Mito which can be selected from the toggle switch behind the gearstick. There’s an All-weather setting for rainy or snowy conditions, a self-explanatory Normal setting, and Dynamic for when you want to put the car through its paces.

This last setting really does make a difference: it sharpens the throttle response and steering.

The latter gains a touch of weight too as you increase your speed. The car now really feels like it has some oomph, it holds the road well and the growly exhaust note rounds off the package nicely.

Fuel consumption

Of course, if you leave it in Dynamic too long your fuel consumption will start to suffer. An mpg of low to mid 30s would seem to be par for the course.

The Mito does not have that much room in the back, and access to the boot is restricted by the curvy rear design. But then people tend not to buy Alfas for their family-friendly practicality. Neither is the ride family-friendly – the Mito does not make the best job of smoothing out road bumps.

Depreciation has been the killer for Alfas in the past but the quality of the Mito suggests it is likely to possess more staying power than its predecessors on the second hand market.

While the 1.4TB Veloce flagship is great fun, it nevertheless remains more of a ‘warm’ than a ‘hot’ hatch.

And while I haven’t driven it, the cheaper 120hp model might well be a more sensible buy. It’s only 0.8 of a second slower to 60mph, has lower emissions, better fuel consumption and group six insurance as opposed to 10.

But then again, since when has buying an Alfa been about opting for the ‘sensible’ choice? The whole point is to let your heart rule your head…

By Peter Carroll

MITO FACT FILE

Model: 1.4TB Veloce

Price: From £15,495 on the road

Engine: 1,368cc, four cylinders, turbocharged petrol

Power: 155hp

Transmission: Six speed manual, front wheel drive

Performance: 0-62mph in 8 secs

Top speed: 134mph

Economy: 43.5mpg on combined cycle

CO2 emissions: 153g/km

Length: 4,063mm

Weight: 1,145kg

Insurance group: 10

Servicing: 18,000 miles

Warranty: Three years/unlimited