Alfa Romeo Multiair

Hydraulic Brakes - Alfa Romeo Multiair

Alfa Romeo Multiair

It is patently obvious that there is a direct correlation between the efficiency of respiration and physical performance. Witness the wonders of the riders in the Tour de France. With lungs as big as airships, their breathing is fine tuned to suit any demands.

Hydraulic Brakes

If only such wizardry could be made metal. Well, I'm pleased to tell you that it has been - thanks to the genious of The Fiat Group engineers who have achieved the near impossible and designed the Multiair System that cleverly enables an engine to breathe according to its specific needs and fine tunes induction to such an accurate level that Fiat Group engines give you your cake and let you eat it: better performance, lower fuel consumption and significantly reduced emissions.

The technical jiggery pokery is the stuff of black magic and frankly beyond your gasping and wheezing correspondent - so suffice it to say that inlet valve opening can be changed from 'just a bit' to 'mouth wide open' in a nano second by electro hydraulics. A 'minding the gap' magical micro chip stirs a hydraulic pump which opens the inlet valves a teeny weeny bit, or three miles wide - according to what the superbrain decides is most efficient for that particular moment in time.

The craniums of Alfas boffins have been bulging if this latest sensational innovation in their Mito model is anything to go by. Maximum power up 12%, low down torque up 15% and fuel consumption down 10%. In a nutshell this results in hitherto unprecedented engine efficiency which converts into more exciting driving.

What better recipient for the award of Multiair magic than the wonderful Mito which, as everyone with a soul knows, is probably the best sporty compact car available. Loads of style, engineering flair, dynamic performance and a sheer pleasure to drive. Not only that, but it has the powerful spirit of Alfa Romeo all the way through and is full of 'non tangibles' that other manufacturers would die for - but only come through one hundred years of proper breeding.(It's Alfa's centenary this year.).

Now available with a 135bhp turbo.unit in the £15,165 Lusso and £16,135 Veloce - or a 170bhp version in the range topping £17,895 Cloverleaf - an auspicious return for that iconic badge on Alfa race cars since 1923. Thrashing round Scotland in one of these as if Robert The Bruce was chasing us back to the border, it was amazing to learn that fuel consumption was a miserly 47mpg overall.

Not only were we experiencing cutting edge engine technology, but in addition, the Mito was equipped with other innovative technologies including active suspension on the Cloverleaf, the 'Start and Stop' system across the range and Alfa DNA - which allows the driver to electronically 'communicate' with engine, brakes, steering and (on the Cloverleaf) suspension at the push of a button - thereby tailoring the car to the chosen driving style or conditions.

Your correspondent dialled in 'manic' mode and greedily enjoyed the hedonism of performance in the Cloverleaf as if there was no tomorrow, hitting warp speed across desolate moorland where only sheep lurked to bear witness. I have to tell you now that - in simple terms - this is a great 'fun' car: moreso even than a 'Works Cooper S' and a jolly sight cheaper too. I assured my companion with the astute environmental conscience from Green Grass Motoring Weekly, that we were doing nothing but good - because the lungs of all those lucky sheep would benefit from the cleaner exhaust.

Here was a wonderfully sporting car that is chocolate and cream, strawberries and sugar, jam and jelly all at once, actually doing good. Imagine, if someone could sell you the most delicious confectionery which - as a by product - could help you lose weight, you'd be queuing for a piece of the action wouldn't you?

In the same way Alfa, in my view, are right to assume that you'd be very silly indeed as a thinking motorist, not to take a deep breath and take the plunge into the Multiair Multiverse (Masters of!).

Thankfully,the beauty of todays technology is that in pursuit of complex solutions, reliability is never compromised. You won't know what magic is being weaved beneath the bonnet. You will know that you're driving experience transforms even our potholed riddled roads into a magic carpet experience.

The sorcerers of the Fiat Group have done their work. Now it is for us drivers simply to enjoy. Mind the gap!