Alfa Romeo MiTo gets a bit of a facelift for 2014 & more powerful TwinAir

The 2014 MY Alfa MiTo (pictured) get small tweaks and a more powerful TwinAir engine.

We like the Alfa Romeo MiTo; it’s an underrated car and should be higher on most buyers’ wish lists.

What we also like is that the MiTo has the fun little 875cc TwinAir engine as an option, which works pretty well, makes a good noise and promises stunning economy.

In truth, the economy isn’t great in the real world (as is the case when Fiat put it in the 500), but the way it’s set up means it blitzes the official economy test to return 67mpg, which means it also gets rated at 98g/km so appealing VED and BIK rates and no congestion charge (as long as you buy one in the next couple of weeks). The downside of the TwinAir is that it’s not exactly potent, and you do spend most of your time wringing its neck (and keeping the DNA switch firmly forward) to get the maximum fun quotient. But now the TwinAir is getting a bit more power.

The 2014 MY version of the MiTo TwinAir will get a more appealing 105bhp (up from 85bhp), cutting the 0-62mph from 12.5s to 11.4s and managing to keep emissions below 100g/km, and still return official economy of 67mpg. We can’t imagine it’ll be any more economical in the real world, but it should be more fun.

On the cosmetic front, Alfa hasn’t exactly gone overboard for 2014, with a chrome grill, titivated headlight surrounds, a new set of alloys, a new colour option (Anthracite Grey), a revised dash and new trim options. Oh, and you can also now have Alfa’s Uconnect Infotainment with a 5″ colour screen, Bluetooth, USB and optional TomTom SatNav.

It’s not exactly a major facelift for the MiTo, but the more powerful TwinAir engine is appealing. Just don’t buy it expecting stellar economy in the real world (although you will have about as much fun as it’s possible to have with just 875cc).

The 2014 Alfa Romeo MiTo facelift arrives on Italian TV today and should be in Alfa’s UK showrooms soon.

By Cars UK