MiTo as an acronym means Milano and Torino — Milan being the spiritual home and headquarters of Alfa Romeo, while Turin is where the new Alfa Romeo is built.

Mito in Italian is also myth — and Alfa Romeo's history is certainly of mythical proportions.

» See the gallery

Our drive took us out of Monza just outside Milan, around the old oval they once raced on, and out onto the roads for years used by Alfa engineers to develop those legendary cars. Up towards the foothills of the Alps and Lago di Como and Lago di Garda, it's clear we were in mythical country for a mythical car…

But did MiTo live up to its promise of 'a step forward in the brand's stylistic, historical and technological identity'?

Damn right it did.

Approaching the sporty mini, there's a promise of quality. Our brilliant metallic red turbo petrol unit glistens in the sun, exuding the magic only an Alfa Romeo can, but this time complemented by Audi-like shut lines and the jewel finishes of a car double the price.

The quality feel follows through into the interior — a stunning, more Germanic instrument cluster, lovely materials and carbon-like finishes setting the tone. Even the ventilation is now BMW-like.

But the most impressive aspect is the seating position: better than in pretty well any streetcar I have driven. My racecar has the seat on the floor with the steering high for minimum effort no matter how heavy the wheel. This is one of the very few everyday cars managing to come close to that.

And MiTo sounds like an Alfa as soon as you fire it up and pulls incredibly well for a 1600. I enjoyed fiddling with its adaptive chassis and engine settings but quickly settled for Dynamic mode, which was smooth on the ride side even when the road was pretty choppy.

But get into the mountains where MiTo really excels and is in its element. Precise, with good steering feel and impeccable response, all that suspension trickery conspires to make this car a delight to drive. I was totally comfortable at the wheel, the car did precisely what I wanted it to do when I wanted it to do it and I came away inspired and wanting much more.

In dynamic mode there is scarcely any lag and it pulls like a little train all the way to a somewhat intrusive 6700-odd rpm limiter I soon found my way around…

But the most impressive aspect of MiTo has to be its big car feel. You could be in a 3-series, an A4 or a C Class, but it's really a junior division hatchback.

That 'downsizing' effect — a smaller car improves energy efficiency, reduces CO2 emissions and simplifies driving and parking around town, without ignoring sportiness — was the most noticeable of Alfa's many best-in-class claims. But we will have to wait to properly judge back home one day — from safety to speed, performance to poise…

All that I can conclude after just a short drive around that those legendary roads is that Alfa's claims are no myths at all. This car's mini class rivals certainly have something to think about.

The story may be mythical. But MiTo certainly is very real in its abilities…

Turbodiesel treat

We drove the MiTo turbodiesel in very ordinary conditions following our mountain spin in the petrol turbo, and while most of the above applies to the little oilburner, we can report a most attractive first impression of the car.

Gutsy and torquey seemingly way beyond its 1400cc capacity, this little 'un boasts more than adequate performance once on the boil, with hugely impressive bottom-end grunt on hand to pull surprisingly high ratios with consummate ease.

We were four up with big lads in the car on the Autostrada, which made it all the more impressive. A tad laggy when asked too much at low revs, again we'll have to wait to try this one on the Reef before making a final call. But on first impressions, this one looks a winner, too…