SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.

*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.

*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the stories.

Alfa Romeo unveiled two new MiTos with MultiAir engine technology recently. We were there.

This is a launch report. In other words, it's simply a new model announcement. The driving experience was limited to a short drive over a prepared course chosen to make the product look good. We can therefore not tell you what it will be like to live with over an extended period, how economical it is, or how reliable it will be. A very brief first impression is all we can give you until such time as we get an actual test unit for trial. Thank you for your patience.

Pics supplied by importer

21^st Century engineering at work

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday June 15, 2010

Back in the days just after the Rinderpest, when mighty V8s ruled the highways of this great land, barbeque fire talk was often of magical motors that could be driven in “top gear, all the way to Jo’burg.”

Cars capable of this wondrous feat at the time were mostly big, clumsy and American, whereas today’s newest contender is small, agile and Italian. Where five-litre or bigger V8s were the norm, the new kid on the block does it with a four-cylinder, 1400 cc engine.  Part of the reason obviously lies with turbocharging, but there’s some 21^st Century engineering wizardry at work, too.

It’s called MultiAir and it takes over where other electro-mechanical variable valve timing systems leave off. Because they control only one or two functions, they have limited flexibility in managing valve-opening schedules.

By contrast, MultiAir uses five parameters to adjust valve timing and lift between them, to exactly suit different engine speeds and loads. This combines strong low- and mid-range torque with vigorous top-end power, together with good economy and low emissions.

MultiAir engines have just one camshaft, with three lobes allocated to each cylinder. The first two control exhaust valves in the usual way, while the third defines maximum possible lift and opening duration of the two inlet valves. It acts on a small plunger that sends engine oil, via pressurised hydraulic channels, to pistons located just above the inlet valves.

Four solenoid valves, one for each cylinder and individually controlled by the Magneti Marelli ECU engine management system, can be opened at any point during inlet valve movement to bleed off the oil. Varying the oil flow controls opening and closing of the valves within the extremes dictated by the camshaft lobe.

The system can even open valves twice per intake stroke, when running at low speeds and loads around town for example, to create more swirl of the mixture. This enables it to burn more completely, so lowering fuel consumption.

The result is over ten percent lower CO₂ emissions, a power increase of 12,5 percent, up to 15 percent more torque, quicker acceleration, less turbo lag and a reduction in fuel consumption of up to ten percent.

Two versions of the engine, 100 kW and 125 kW, have been released in South Africa using the familiar MiTo platform. The 100 kW model is trimmed to entry-level Progression specification, while the 125 kW version boasts Quadrofoglio Verde trim and equipment. The current 114 kW MiTo Distinctive with its “older technology” engine will continue as is and be priced about midway between the MultiAir cars.

Both new models feature power windows, anti-whiplash head restraints, “follow me home” headlights, electrically adjustable door mirrors, pollen-filtered climate control, height-adjustable driver’s seats with lumbar adjustment, multifunction display with trip computer, height- and reach adjustable leather steering wheel, the familiar Alfa Romeo DNA system that adjusts throttle, steering, braking and ESP characteristics, remote central locking, vehicle dynamic control (ABS, EBA, CBC, ASR and Hill Holder), electric power steering, seven airbags and seatbelts with load limiters and pretensioners. All MiTos are EuroNCAP5 compliant and it goes without saying that the engines conform to Euro5 cleanliness specifications as well.

Following a recent trend, both models feature “Start and Stop,” a system that shuts off the engine when the car is at rest and out of gear. This fuel saving measure is most effective in so-called rush hour traffic, when progress is anything but. Fail-safe measures prevent shutting down of the engine if electrical demand (e.g. air conditioning) is high or the vehicle is in motion (freewheeling).  Higher capacity batteries and alternators, along with modifications to solenoids and ring gears, compensate for expected greater usage of starter motors.

Apart from various trim items including bigger wheels and tyres, the Quadrofoglio version boasts a Bluetooth interface with voice recognition and an uprated media player. An optional extra available only on this model is SDC active suspension that continuously monitors and controls the car’s dampers, managing both lateral body roll and longitudinal movement.

So what about “top gear all the way to Jo’burg”? One thing that stands out from an all-too-brief familiarisation drive during the press launch, is the way the Quadrofoglio reacted to a firm stomp on the accelerator when cruising at 120 km/h in top (sixth) gear. It quite simply dashed toward the horizon at ever-increasing velocity. A couple of unsuspecting BMW drivers were quite surprised.

Since those early days, mushrooming tollgates and endless road works have made the old dream all but impossible. Were things still the same though, cruising all the way to Johannesburg in sixth gear in an Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrofoglio Verde with MultiAir would probably be as easy as barbequing boerewors.

Prices:

MultiAir 100 kW Progression R227 900

MultiAir 125 kW Quadrofoglio R264 000

Warranty: 3 years/100 000 km

Service plan: 5 years/90 000 km

Service intervals: 30 000 km

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax. 

So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

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