Present and former Alfa Romeo drivers surround me. The picture editor in front of me, the top analysis writer down the room, the former news editor is on the floor below.
People who love cars tend to spend money on this Italian breed. It has a sporting pedigree and a Latin elan quite different to anything you would get in Teutonic northern Europe or anywhere in the vast factories of Korea and Japan. There is a definite Alfa sound and style.
So it's such a pity that its reputation for reliability is in tatters and, despite all its styling prowess, many people despair of the marque and will vow never to touch them again but love is a strange compulsion and I know people who have returned again and again to this seemingly cursed affair.
Yet maybe even these fanatics may have lost patience and the fact that only 107 new Alfas were sold (in Ireland) in the first five months of 2010 and only nine in May out of respective totals of 59 475 and 8677 does point to a marque on life support.
That the brand doesn't have a mid-range car like the beautiful but unreliable 156 any more is a major contributory factor. The 159 was never really a runner as an executive option and the 147 is very dated so, other than the very sporty trio of GT, Brera and the heart-stoppingly attractive Spider, nearly all the Alfa eggs are in the Mito basket.
Unfortunately, while this supermini has impressive looks - albeit with a very long nose - it seems always to be playing a poor game of catch-up with BMW's, including the new Countryman.
Yet there is something rather appealing about the Mito, especially in the very fast, top-of-the-range and mightily specced MultiAir Cloverleaf version that I've been driving. The automaker is very proud of its MultiAir concept, a system that controls the influx of air into the engine directly as it enters the cylinders.
RELATIVELY CLEAN
Non-petrolheads can skip a couple of paragraphs but for the more passionate, this is what MultiAir is about: the system is based on the insertion of an amount of oil between the cam and the intake valve which can be varied through a solenoid valve. By electronically controlling the opening and closing of the valve, it is possible to regulate the power of the engine with great flexibility.
It is also relatively clean and the 1.4 turbo engine may develop 128kW but still only has 139g/km CO2 emissions.
While the Alfa does give great suspension, stability and engine choices through its DNA switch and some pretty precise handling, it neither has the excitement nor control of the Mini. It is larger and roomier - although the boot is spoiled by a very high lip and rear access could be simpler. Rear visibility is not good and the gearshift isn't precise.
It still seemed a lot of fun, this two-door Alfa hatch, although it was amazingly noisy for a car that's trying to emphasise its build quality and expensive-looking touches. I did want to like the car and the people who delivered it spoke highly of its poke and dynamics. The Cloverleaf badging also confers on it a very powerful heritage but at the end of the week it left me rather cold.
FEELINGS CONFIRMED
It was laden with safety features and good comfort attributes but I felt I have driven and will drive a lot better. It is not a car I could recommend and that probably says more about the brand than this particular car.
The poor sales figure here tends to confirm my feelings that, despite its cuteness, there is a lot better out there. - Irish Independent