（转帖）狗与柠檬狠评Alfa Romeo MiTo （英语）

爱国爱港

Quick Summary
Fiat’s latest good-looking lemon.

How Reliable?
Poor. See ‘what goes wrong’ below

How Safe?
Excellent. See our safety summary below

Overall Rating: AVOID like the PLAGUE

ALSO CONSIDER: Mazda2 or 3, Suzuki Swift (current model).

The badge on the front may say Alfa Romeo, but underneath the Italian good looks lurks the bastard child of a brief affair between Fiat and General Motors.

A few years ago, before reality hit, General Motors wanted to buy Fiat. When GM realised that owning Fiat would be a terrible mistake, it backed away from the deal, losing a few billion in the process. Such is life.

However, during the brief period when GM and Fiat were cosy, they agreed on sharing technology. Thus, from this temporary coupling came six vehicles. The MiTo was one of them.

At the time these vehicles were designed, both Fiat and GM were losing billions every year and were struggling just to survive. That’s a fairly shaky environment in which to design a practical and durable car.

However, Fiat in particular is a master at dressing up mutton as lamb, and the huge catalogue of faults associated with Fiat cars are often skilfully concealed behind stylish Italian designs.

Fiat also had one more trick up its sleeve: it could offer cheaply produced Fiats as Alfa Romeos. And thus the Fiat Grande Punto became the MiTo. The MiTo, to all intents and purposes, is a tarted up Fiat Grande Punto with a harder suspension. That’s it.

The correct pronunciation, by the way, is ‘Me Toe’, not ‘Me Too’. The name is allegedly derived from the names of the cities of Milano, where Alfa Romeo is based, and Torino, where the MiTo is built.

To give credit where credit is due, Fiat and Alfa Romeo almost always get their styling spot on, and the MiTo is no exception. It looks good in the office carpark.

MiTos get called different sub-names depending on what country they’re sold in. In this case we’re giving the European versions: cheapie MiTo versions carry a badge called Progression and have a fairly basic specification, with a rudimentary sound system, basic air conditioning, electric windows and central locking. Sprint versions get alloy wheels as well.

Distinctive versions are tarted up to look more sporty, while the top of the range Quadrifoglio Verde model has been tarted up even further and includes both a more powerful engine and a rear spoiler. And, being a product of the Fiat group, that stylish rear spoiler sometimes falls off as you drive along (sigh).

Inside the MiTo, the Italian good looks continue, but they’re only skin deep. Close examination of the plastics (and how they fit together) suggests this car was thrown together on a budget. And it was.

Being a three-door hatchback drastically reduces the MiTo’s usefulness, unless there’s only one other person in your life. There’s plenty of space up front, but it’s often poorly utilised: while the front seats are easy to adjust, the high driving position won’t suit shorter drivers. There’s also a noticeable lack of back support.

The use of dark colours is meant to make the interior look stylish, but mostly tends to make it look gloomy.

This vehicle, like almost all European cars, has its indicator on the left-hand side of the steering wheel. That’s because all European cars are designed for left-hand drive. In the past, the European manufacturers built different steering columns (the part that the steering wheel bolts to) for left and right-hand drive countries, with the indicator on different sides of the steering wheel depending on which side of the road you drive on. In recent years, however, the European manufacturers have simply used the same steering column for both left and right-hand drive cars, with the indicator on the left.

The position of the indicator is a non-issue in Europe, where drivers have simply grown used to it. Those who live outside Europe may find the indicators frustrating: when you go to indicate and turn you instead operate something else, such as the windscreen wipers. You’d get used to this Euro-feature if this was your only vehicle, but if you own two cars with the indicator on different sides of the steering column it will be an ongoing pain in the backside.

The MiTo’s controls are often awkwardly placed and fiddly.

Things aren’t any better for rear occupants: because the MiTo has only two front doors, one of the front occupants has to get out in order to let additional passengers in and out. The rear seats are not only cramped, but also hard to get in and out of. It wouldn’t be much fun to load and unload a family during heavy rain. The large side doors swing wide and the edges tend to get horribly banged up very quickly.

When the rear seats are not in use, they can be split-folded flat to give greater rear storage. The rear storage area is okay without ever coming close to generous, and the high rear boot lip makes it difficult to lift in heavy objects.

Depending on where you live, the MiTo is powered by a range of small but efficient engines, ranging from a non-turbocharged 1.4 petrol, through to a more fiery turbocharged version of the same engine.

There are also 1.3-litre and 1.6-litre diesel engines. The potential for fuel savings make diesels seem very attractive until you realise how much extra you pay for a diesel-powered version. It would take the average motorist years to simply recover the extra cost of the diesel engine. That’s assuming the engine lasts that long, of course. Modern Fiat diesels are notorious for giving expensive problems at very low mileages, usually just after the vehicle has gone out of warranty.

We’re equally uneasy about the MiTo’s gearbox options: there’s a five-speed manual, a six-speed manual, together with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic.

The manual gearboxes are sometimes frustratingly notchy (they don’t always change gear smoothly), with lots of movement required to change gear.

The dual-clutch automatic makes us more nervous; these are a racing system that was never intended for round-town use. On the plus side, you get blisteringly quick gear-changes when everything is going well. On the negative, the transmission’s computer sometimes mis-guesses which gear you’re going to need next. Worse, in stop-start traffic, gearshifts can become jerky and unpleasant. And, dual-clutch transmissions such as this one have a well-earned reputation for disintegrating – most expensively – at an early age.

There’s further proof that this car was produced on the cheap when you drive it: the MiTo gets around corners okay, but that’s mainly because the suspension is as hard as nails. Alfa offers a system called ‘Alfa DNA’ which allows the driver to choose between three different driving settings: Dynamic, Normal, and All-Weather. This system controls the behaviour of the engine, brakes, steering, suspension and gearbox.

The MiTo also features a trick electronic differential on the front wheels, which allows for faster and tighter cornering without loss of traction.

The end result of all this fancypants technology (for as long as it lasts) is a ride that varies between hard and brutal. That’s the main difference between the settings: the actual handling is neither precise nor particularly composed. The handling on diesel versions is front-heavy and the steering on all versions is direct and efficient, but as lifeless as a dead fish.

On smooth city motorways, the ride is okay. On ordinary city roads the ride is bearable, provided you take it easy. On rough roads, bumps and potholes thump up crashingly through the vehicle, frequently ruining your driving pleasure.

The thick roof pillars and small rear window add up to poor rear visibility, making sudden lane-changes into something of a lottery.

Parking is similarly nerve-wracking. Many MiTo versions get parking sensors, but none get what they really need, which is a reversing camera.
On the positive side, however, all MiTos come standard with Electronic Stability Control, seven airbags and a five-star crashtest rating.

The bottom line with any review is: would we spend our own money on this car? The answer is a fairly easy no. But don’t take our word for it. As English motoring commentator Jeremy Clarkson recently confessed:
“despite what we say on TopGear all the time about Alfas and how a breakdown is a sign of ‘character’, the single most important thing you need from an everyday car is reliability. And I’m not sure I’m prepared to spend the next few years driving everywhere with my fingers crossed. Not expecting to arrive, just hoping.”

So, how unreliable is your Alfa likely to be? The independent British consumer group Which? publishes an annual reliability index, based on breakdowns, faults and niggles that occur in cars owned by its members.
Here’s their 2011 list of reliable brands, from the best to the worst:
1 Honda
2 Daihatsu
3 Toyota
4 Mitsubishi
5 Lexus
6 Mazda
7 Suzuki
8 Subaru
9 Kia
10 Mercedes-Benz
11 Hyundai
12 Skoda
13 Chevrolet (mostly built by Daewoo)
14 Nissan
15 Volkswagen
16 Mini
17 Volvo
18 BMW
19 Ford
20 Audi
21 Seat
22 Vauxhall (mostly built by Opel)
23 Porsche
24 Smart
25 Peugeot
26 Jeep
27 Jaguar
28 Citroen
29 Fiat
30 Chrysler
31 Saab
32 Renault
33 Land Rover
34 Alfa Romeo
And, just in case you think we made all that up, here’s the actual experience of one MiTo owner, and we don’t think his experience is all that unusual:
“The [MiTo’s] engine isn’t what you would call efficient, the gearbox is clunky and often just refuses to change into first or reverse without double de-clutching and even then it’s an effort; sometimes it doesn’t go in at all and you revert to second gear. Paint quality is poor; expect lots of paint chips to the rear arches, especially if you have Alfa red. [The] trim quality isn’t that bad, but expect the odd electrical gremlin. My climate control fails quite regularly and also I’ve had the rear spoiler fall off. The back brakes lock on, causing the discs to go a lovely shade of blue.

“The dealers are also a big issue …expect to be told that you shouldn’t expect Japanese build quality from an Italian car and that any gearbox issues don’t exist. I could go on listing the negatives, but, [when things are going well, the MiTo is] a very practical, decent little hot hatch.

“[It has] looks to die for, especially with the 18-inch alloys. In D mode the turbo performs excellently and no other small engine will provide this much mid-range torque. It’s a shame that Alfa’s usual quality and dealership service issues make the vehicle a nightmare to own.”

What goes wrong?
Engine problems
ALL ENGINES
• The electronics that control the ‘stop-start’ system, which turns the engine off while the vehicle is stationary, are prone to problems. In addition to not always starting immediately once the driver is ready to move again, the stop-start sensors sometimes lose the plot entirely and cause the vehicle to break down without warning.

PETROL ENGINE PROBLEMS
• The engine ECUs give lots of problems. Alfa has updated the firmware on many versions and replaced a number of ECUs under warranty. Outside of warranty, this will be an expensive repair.
• Overheating can destroy your engine! See our article ‘Keeping it Cool’ in the links page that follows this review.
• See our general head gasket warning at the end of this review.
• Timing belts on petrol versions require frequent replacement (along with all accompanying parts, including jockey pulleys, tensioners and water pump) to avoid major engine damage. The timing belts are meant to be replaced at 115,000km / 72,000 miles or 4 years, whichever comes first. Timing belt replacement can be extremely expensive on these vehicles, so unscrupulous owners often sell their cars just before the belt needs replacing. You have been warned • See our article ‘A Question of Timing’ in the links page that follows this review.

DIESEL ENGINE PROBLEMS
Buying a car fitted with one of these engines is a bit like buying an Italian kitchen appliance: it might work brilliantly for years, or give problems from new. However, speaking generally, these engines have been set up to provide enormous amounts of power for their size, excellent fuel economy and tiny amounts of pollution. These miracles have been achieved by making this engine work harder than any little engine should ever have to work. This means that, if anything goes wrong, it tends to go wrong in a major way, and quickly. Moreover, many of the parts used in this engine are inadequate for long-term reliability: these are disposable engines, designed to work miracles until they’re out of guarantee; after that, you’re on your own.

Due to the complexity of these engines and the number of things that can easily go wrong, they can be something of a nightmare as they age, or even when they’re quite young.

Below are a number of key issues. Some of the problems below are general diesel engine issues. Engine problems that are specific to this vehicle are listed in dark blue

1) These engines give a lot of head gasket problems, even if maintained correctly. These engines are working hard most of the time, and their cooling system is only just up to the task. If the cooling system loses even a small amount of its cooling ability, the engine will overheat. The likely outcome is a blown head gasket and, very possibly, a cracked cylinder head. However, even on vehicles with a perfectly functional cooling system, some versions of this engine are notorious for blowing head gaskets and/or cracking cylinder heads. A cracked cylinder head is often not economically repairable. Therefore a cracked head will have to be replaced, which won’t be cheap.

Experts are wary about any engine that has been overheated to the point where the head cracks, because there may be hidden damage. If you’re unlucky, the entire engine may need replacing.

When the cylinder head is replaced, the injectors have to be removed as part of the head replacement process. Because the injectors and glowplugs often need to be replaced at the same time as the cylinder head, the whole cylinder head repair job may cost thousands once you add up the parts and labour charges. You should be cautious about these engines at any time, but especially avoid any vehicle fitted with one of these engines if the engine shows signs of having been overheated, or has coolant leaks or a radiator with lots of its fins missing.

• Overheating can destroy your engine! See our article ‘Keeping it Cool’ in the links page that follows this review.
• See our general head gasket warning at the end of this review.

2) Diesel pumps die of old age. Pump failure is often gradual. When it’s close to failure, the pump may supply just enough fuel to start the engine, but not enough to produce any power. The pump may also leak.

Another symptom of a failing diesel pump may be difficulty starting the vehicle from cold (although this may also be caused by other things, including dodgy glowplugs and/or injectors).

Sometimes the pump or filter leaks. Diesel is fairly thin, clear and has a particular odour that is quite different to engine oil. Smelling the drips may be useful in terms of working out where they came from.

3) Multijet injectors give their share of problems, although these problems are often associated with other issues, such as cylinder head failure, faulty EGR valve, turbocharger and/or diesel particulate filter (DPF). The typical symptom of faulty injectors is a difficulty starting from cold, even if the glowplugs work okay. Please note that these injectors require special tools to remove them from the head, which sometimes makes removal for testing an expensive process. Worse, they often seize in place, due to carbonisation. Please note also, that injectors are electronically mated to a particular cylinder. You can’t just put a new injector in.

4) You can make a rough-and-ready diagnosis of many diesel problems by simply ‘reading’ the exhaust smoke.
Black smoke means there’s too much diesel fuel and not enough oxygen, so the carbon in the fuel doesn’t have enough oxygen to combine with. This means that part of the diesel fuel remains unburnt and turns into black soot. This black soot is what makes the exhaust look black.
This problem may be caused by either:
• A dirty air cleaner
• Faulty injector pump
• Faulty injectors
12 All content © The Dog & Lemon Guide 2011. All rights reserved
• Faulty turbocharger / intercooler / hoses
• Clogged and/or sticking cylinder head valves
• Clogged or faulty EGR valve.
White smoke means that the diesel fuel is not burning correctly due to a lack of heat in the combustion chamber. This unburnt diesel contains minor toxins that may sting your eyes.
This problem may be caused by:
• A clogged fuel filter
• Incorrect injector pump timing
• Worn engine (low compression)
• Water or petrol contamination of the diesel fuel.
Blue smoke is caused by excess lubricating oil within the engine cylinders during combustion. This excess oil then gets burnt and emitted as blue smoke.
This problem is usually caused by either:
• A worn-out engine. A worn-out engine is likely to be coated in muck. It’s also likely to be dribbling oil and be very rattly. Sometimes sellers carefully clean the engine to disguise the signs of old age.
• Worn valve stem seals. This problem doesn’t necessarily mean a worn-out engine, just worn-out seals on the valve guides in the cylinder head. If you’re lucky, the valve stem seals can be replaced without removing the cylinder head. It’s still a few hours’ labour, however.
• Excess engine oil in the sump, which is getting splashed up into the bores.
• Faulty injector pump and/or lift pump (which allows engine lubricating oil to mix with the diesel).
• Excess lubricating oil entering the combustion chamber due to overheating (see our explanation of EGR problems below).
5) The camshafts and camshaft followers wear out, especially if the oil changes have been neglected. This will manifest as a terrible rattling from the top of the engine. As the rattling gets worse, the engine will lose power and may misfire.

6) Turbochargers give their share of problems, although these problems are often associated with other issues, such as faulty EGR valves. Repair is expensive and secondhand turbochargers are not recommended.
13 All content © The Dog & Lemon Guide 2011. All rights reserved

7) 1.3 Multijet engines use timing chains, not belts. Although these chains are designed to last the life of the engine, they often fail at an early age, often just after the vehicle has left warranty, and as little as 60,000km from new. Lack of servicing or the wrong choice of oil may also cause or contribute to this problem. Replacing the timing chain is a huge and therefore hugely expensive task (there are ten parts to the best repair kit). The symptoms of timing chain failure are a rattling (especially upon startup from cold) and possibly the ‘check engine’ light coming on. The problem is generally caused by a loosening of the bolts that hold the tensioner. This may occur quite quickly, and the rattling from the chain can go unnoticed or be mistaken for normal diesel clatter. Left unfixed, the timing chain will eventually jump a tooth or two, which may cause damage or may simply cause a loss of power and/or misfiring. Sometimes the chain will snap in two. In theory, only the rockers will be damaged. However, bitter experience indicates that a broken chain may also cause substantial damage to the cylinder head, camshafts, valves and rocker shafts. See also the butterfly flap problem listed below.

1.6 Multijet engines use timing belts, which sometimes fail before their time. Experts recommend that the timing belt, tensioner, pulleys, water pump, together with the auxiliary drive belts be replaced every 100,000km / 63,000 miles or 4 years, whichever comes first. If the timing belt breaks, in theory, only the rockers will be damaged. However, bitter experience indicates that a broken belt may also cause substantial damage to the cylinder head, camshafts, valves and rocker shafts. It appears to be a matter of luck.

• See our article ‘A Question of Timing’ in the links page that follows this review.

8) Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valves cause more than their fair share of problems on these engines.
Problems with the EGR system, like so many vehicle problems, are often caused by a lack of maintenance: diesel owners typically expect high mileages and low maintenance bills. Because owners expect their diesels to go for huge mileages without much maintenance, they don’t pay much attention to their diesel engines until something goes wrong. By then it may be too late. Also, many diesel owners resent paying to have their engine’s EGR valve replaced at a fairly early age (it can be expensive). However, faulty EGR valves can sometimes be fixed by simply cleaning them. Moreover, many EGR problems can be avoided by simply ensuring that the vehicle is maintained regularly and gets a decent blat down a highway at least once a month, with plenty of accelerating and decelerating (pottering around town at low speeds is especially bad for EGR valves).

The Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve is an anti-pollution device, aimed primarily at reducing the amount of nitrogen oxide (NOx) spewing out of the vehicle’s exhaust pipe. The engine produces nitrogen as part of the combustion process. As the temperatures inside the engine increase, this nitrogen and the oxygen in the engine’s combustion chamber can chemically combine to form nitrogen oxides. NOx reacts with sunlight to cause smog.

Exhaust Gas Recirculation works by recirculating a controlled portion of an engine’s exhaust fumes back through the engine. The EGR valve is the tap that turns the flow of exhaust gases on and off, hopefully at appropriate times.
These recycled, carbon dioxide-rich exhaust fumes cool the combustion chambers within the engine. This cooling effect lowers the combustion chamber temperature. These recycled exhaust fumes also displace some of the oxygen that would otherwise be drawn into the engine from the surrounding atmosphere. Because the combustion chamber is cooler and because there’s less oxygen, less NOx is produced.

Also, because the combustion chambers are cooler, the engine as a whole runs cooler. This is particularly important to the engine’s turbocharger: turbochargers (and the oil that they need for their lubrication) don’t last long if the engine is overheating.

Because the EGR’s recycled exhaust gas displaces some of the air within the combustion chamber, the engine’s efficiency is reduced. For this reason, the EGR system doesn’t operate during times of heavy acceleration. It also doesn’t operate during idle, because the presence of exhaust gases at idle tends to cause uncontrollable rough running.

EGR systems operate primarily when the vehicle is cruising under light load. Because there is less demand on the engine when the vehicle is cruising under light load, the engine can afford to temporarily lose some capacity. Also, because of the cooling effect of the EGR system, the engine can run cooler when the vehicle is cruising under light load. Because the engine is cooler, the engine’s lubricating oil is cooler as well. Cool oil lasts longer and works better than oil that has been continuously overheated. Therefore, the EGR system is important for the cool running of the engine and also in the protection of the engine oil from continuous heat.

In the real world, EGR valves often don’t work very well.

What goes wrong is this: the exhaust gases from the vehicle’s engine contain much more than just carbon dioxide: they also contain dozens of chemical by-products, left behind after the fuel was burnt inside the engine. One of these by-products is a fine dust, known as particulates. This dust is mostly unburnt carbon fuel. The more efficiently the diesel engine burns its fuel, the less carbon dust is produced. However, no diesel engine works with anything like complete efficiency and, over time, the carbon dust inside the exhaust gases begins to clog up the EGR system, reducing the movement of the EGR valve. This clogged EGR valve causes the engine to run badly due to an imbalance in the fuel/air mixture. Because the engine is running badly, the fuel is not being consumed efficiently. Because the fuel is not being consumed efficiently, more carbon dust is produced. Some of this carbon dust within the exhaust gets recycled by the EGR system, clogging the EGR valve still further. The more the EGR gets clogged, the more carbon dust is produced. The more carbon dust is produced, the more the EGR valve clogs. This viscious circle continues until the EGR valve jams completely open or closed.

If the jammed EGR valve is not repaired or replaced quickly, all sorts of problems may occur.

Four of the most common are rough running, high fuel consumption, turbocharger failure and, sometimes, total engine failure. Here’s how it works:
When the engine is cruising, the EGR valve is supposed to open to allow the carbon dioxide in the exhaust to cool the combustion chamber.

However, if the EGR valve jams open, exhaust fumes are being fed into the engine at all times. This can mean poor acceleration and rough running, because the excess exhaust fumes are depriving the engine of oxygen. Because there is insufficient oxygen, there’s too much fuel, so the unburnt fuel starts spewing out of the exhaust as black smoke, especially when the engine is at idle. Fuel consumption is likely to rise substantially. Also, due to a lack of oxygen (which is needed to complete the combustion process), the engine sometimes starts to misfire, sometimes seriously (this misfiring may produce an unusual metallic rattle or knocking when the engine is under load). If the engine is left in this condition for too long, the engine life will be shortened considerably. In the worst case this problem may cause melted pistons and therefore engine failure. The valves in the cylinder head may also begin to stick due to being heavily coated with carbon.
However, other really nasty problems occur when the EGR valve jams closed: without the cooling effect of the exhaust gases, the engine starts to overheat. Over time, this overheating causes the engine oil that feeds the turbocharger to break down. When the engine oil starts to break down, the bearings in the turbocharger fail. When the bearings fail, the turbocharger will fail, and replacement won’t be cheap. If the turbocharger is replaced without solving the EGR problem, the next turbocharger will also fail before too long.

It gets worse: when the engine overheats, more lubricating oil can enter the combustion chamber and the engine can start running on lubricating oil even if the diesel fuel supply is cut off. The engine may then begin to run on its own engine oil instead of diesel fuel. The driver may be unable to switch off the engine except by stalling it. Eventually, the engine sucks away all the lubricating oil and then disintegrates.

9) Fiat diesel particulate filter systems are poorly designed and prone to serious, ongoing problems. The diesel particulate filter (DPF) is a device designed to remove soot from the exhaust gas of the diesel engine. However, diesel particulate filters must be cleaned from time to time or they will block up.

Typical warning messages include: DPF light flashing or staying on and/or oil warning light flashing or staying on and/or engine management light flashing or staying on. When you first start the car these messages may display, which is okay as long as they go off again as soon as the engine starts. If the lights don’t go off, there’s a problem, quite possibly a big one. If the lights don’t go on at all, chances are some bastard has disconnected something to hide the problem
On Multijet engines, if the DPF is starting to block, it is supposed to automatically clean itself through a process called regeneration. Regeneration involves the engine management system squirting a little more fuel through the injectors in order to increase the temperature within the exhaust. This increased temperature burns off the soot.
To start this process, the vehicle needs to reach and maintain a high exhaust temperature. This is normally achieved during motorway or higher speed driving. This ‘passive’ regeneration occurs continually, and will generally go unnoticed by the driver.

In certain circumstances (e.g. after frequent short journeys or slow driving in congested areas), automatic regeneration may not be triggered. In this case, the DPF warning light begins to flash.

If the owner is lucky, a half-hour blat down the motorway will solve the problem. If not, the vehicle’s dashboard will display messages indicating that there is an engine management fault and DPF fault. The DPF warning light will now stay on; the engine will drop into ‘limp home’ mode, and the driver will have to take the vehicle to a garage to have the filter professionally cleaned. This process also requires that the engine oil and filter be replaced at the same time, and is not cheap. Occasionally, the entire DPF filter will have to be replaced, which will be very expensive. Often, the turbocharger seals and engine fuel injectors will have to be replaced at the same time.

Please note that none of these problems are generally covered under warranty, because as far as Fiat is concerned, if your DPF system blocks up and fails, then you are the architect of your own misfortune.

There is, however, an equally serious problem: because the regeneration process involves squirting more fuel into the engine, some of this excess fuel may trickle down past the pistons and enter the engine sump, where it mixes with the engine lubricating oil. This has the effect of raising the engine oil level, which puzzles many owners, at least until the ‘oil exhausted’ warning light is displayed on the dashboard. This warns the driver that the oil has become contaminated with fuel oil and needs to be changed.

If the car does a lot of short runs, or sits in stop-start traffic regularly, this problem of oil contamination may occur annoyingly frequently. Some owners have to change the engine oil every few thousand kilometres to solve this problem.
It gets worse: if the excess fuel problem is not addressed, the engine lubricating oil may rise to the point where it can enter the combustion chamber. At this point the engine may begin to run on its own lubricating oil and be unable to be turned off except by stalling. In some cases, because the driver can’t turn off the engine, an accident may occur. Regardless, once the engine has used up its lubricating oil, it will disintegrate.

10) These engines suffer from common problems caused by either minor component failure or poor maintenance. These problems include:
Fuel filters need regular replacement. These have an extremely fine internal mesh that clogs easily. If the filter clogs, the engine will start to lose power and/or misfire and/or drop into ‘limp home’ mode and/or cause the engine to break down entirely.

11) The 1.3 Multijet engine in this vehicle was built by Maruti Suzuki in India. Engines produced between 13 November 2010 and 4 December 2010 may have faulty connecting rod bolts. The faulty bolt has been traced to an Italian supplier. If the bolts fail, the engine is likely to self-destruct without warning.

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Gearbox & drivetrain problems
• Manual gearboxes should change gear quickly and smoothly. If they graunch, won’t go into gear, or jump out of gear, you have problems. If the clutch feels stiff, floppy and/or if there are unpleasant noises when you press the clutch, you have problems. You should try doing a hill start in second gear. If the vehicle stalls, that’s okay. If the vehicle doesn’t move forward when you let the clutch out, the clutch is dead or dying.
• The driveshafts on QV versions are prone to coming loose without warning. They were subject to a factory ‘service campaign’ but not an official recall.

Steering & suspension problems
• Balljoints have a very limited life, along with front suspension droplinks.
• Electric power steering motors die young. Symptoms are a gradual or fairly sudden reduction in steering assistance or else intermittent assistance. It’s not safe to drive the vehicle in this condition. Replacing the motor will be expensive. Typically, warning messages will be displayed, including:
“Steering Corrector unavailable, Hill Holder unavailable, ASR unavailable, VDC unavailable”.

Brake & safety problems
• See our general airbag and ABS warning at the end of this review.

Body problems
• Paintwork is easily damaged. Black and bright red paints tend to suffer the most.
Interior problems
• Interior trim warps and falls off, and rattles are standard on many examples.
• The seat material is of extremely basic quality, even on expensive versions. Leather seats wear out alarmingly quickly.
• Heated seats are something of a bad joke on some cars. Some get very hot very quickly; some hardly heat at all; some work intermittently.
• The air conditioning dies very young on some versions. You really need to try it out to find out. This isn’t a simple or cheap repair, either.
The Body Control Module (BCM), which controls a number of key internal functions, such as electric windows, central locking, dashboard display, parking sensors and others, is prone to faults from an early age. Typical faults are failure of all or some of the above, together with erroneous warning lights for things like ABS and traction control. Generally, replacement of the BCM is your only option. Outside of warranty, this won’t be cheap.
Miscellaneous problems
• Self-levelling headlights give lots of grief. Essentially, they either stop working entirely (sometimes when they’re pointing in the wrong direction!) or they start adjusting themselves incorrectly at random. Sometimes the problem is the front or rear sensors; sometimes the problem is within the headlight unit itself. Because this is a safety issue, it will cause you to fail a safety check. Often, your only option is to replace the offending headlight unit (and/or sensor) entirely. This won’t be cheap if the vehicle is outside of warranty. Be warned that if the headlight unit gets the faintest parking bump, this may cause internal failure. Moreover, the faintest sign of bump damage will give the dealer the excuse not to replace the headlight units under warranty.
• The headlights on Cloverleaf models with VINs ranging from 1054466 to 1129578 (3655 cars in total) need to be replaced due to a possible warpage of the dark frame inside the Cloverleaf headlights due to prolonged sunlight exposure. These headlights were subject to a factory ‘service campaign’ but not an official recall.

Safety Summary
EuroNCAP crash tests: Five stars out of five
In actual road smashes the driver of a smaller (lighter) car is far more likely to die than the driver of the larger (heavier) vehicle it collides with. (A Daewoo Matiz weighs about 725kg and a Range Rover weighs about 2500kg. This vehicle weighs about 1161kg, depending on the model).

Tech Specs
VIN PLATE LOCATION: In the right side of the engine bay, mounted to the front of the strut tower.
ENGINE TYPE & SIZE: (petrol)
• 1.4 199A6 1368cc DOHC MPI or 199A8 1368cc DOHC MPI turbo
or 955A6, 955A2 or 955A7 1368cc SOHC turbo
(diesel)
• 1.3 JTD 199A3 1248cc DOHC MPI turbo
• 1.6 JTD 955A3 1598cc DOHC MPI turbo
RECOMMENDED FUEL/S: (petrol) Premium
HOW MUCH FUEL? Realistic urban averages: (petrol)
• 1.4 7.4 litres/100km • 13.5 km/litre • 34 mpg
(diesel)
• 1.3 4.6 litres/100km • 21.9 km/litre • 62 mpg
• 1.6 5.3 litres/100km • 18.8 km/litre • 53 mpg
22 All content © The Dog & Lemon Guide 2011. All rights reserved
HOW GREEN? (petrol)
• 1.4 K • CO2 emissions (g/km) (typical) 130–153
(diesel)
• 1.3 J Meets Euro Standard V
• 1.6 J Meets Euro Standard V
Safety
PROPER SEATBELTS THROUGHOUT: All models
PROPER SPARE TYRE: No, spacesaver only.
ANTI–SKID BRAKING (ABS): Standard all models
AIRBAGS: Dual front, dual side and head curtain all models.
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC): Standard almost all models
REVERSING CAMERA: No
SUITABLE FOR TOWING? Light trailers only, we think.
TOWING CAPACITY (typical typical typical ) unbraked 400kg, braked 500kg.

All content © The Dog & Lemon Guide 2011. All rights reserved

高飞

丰田合并大发后, 大发的质量居然超过丰田了

ilmaro

Inside the MiTo, the Italian good looks continue, but they’re only skin deep. Close examination of the plastics (and how they fit together) suggests this car was thrown together on a budget. And it was.

看到这一句，我就不想再看下去了。。。。真是挑刺容易，创造难啊。照他这样说的话，那丰田到这年代还全在用黑色塑料材料打造着无趣的内装，是不是更有罪过啊？汽车是一个整合工业，不能说是工业明珠吧，最起码也是体现一个国家工业基石的。新西兰是一个没有自我汽车工业的国家，一个修车工如此挑刺一个有自我汽车工业的国家，有点让我觉得不可理喻。。。。。
无论罗密欧的可靠性差了日本车或别的国家的车多少，但最起码，这一套科技基础，设计能力和制造能力却是具备的。更何况罗密欧也不是一无是处，它的操控悬挂还是非常有特色的。一个民族自然有一个民族的特色和不同的文化思路，体现在汽车设计上的不同，也是情有可原的，这无可厚非。也没有一个人能规定，汽车就该这样布局，就该一统天下的这样设计，这没有道理。。。。。
做为一个公开评论者，没有开放的心胸是不会前进的，是不可能得到公认的，是不可能自我完善达到顶尖的。这只被柠檬汁呛着了，不断咆哮的狗狗，要走的路，还很远。。。。。。开放心胸，能吐故纳新，拥有发展性眼光，是它必需要去补的课了。。。。。。
我绝对不会是它的簇拥者和追随者，因为它的表现也太差了一点。。。。。。我要是向它学习，我这辈子估计就完了。。。。。

无双大蛇

人无完人 车也一样 非要挑刺 恐怕这世上还没有完美的车

                         自己喜欢就好了 保险要买好  其他就是命

silver

ilmaro 发表于 2013-2-26 00:03
Inside the MiTo, the Italian good looks continue, but they’re only skin deep. Close examination of  ...

+1 送那本书八个字：＂井底之蛙，疯狗乱咬＂！

keepower

D&L评价highlander和cx-9都蛮有意思。实在找不出啥问题，就说人家是yuppie 4wd，不能offroad blah blah...真的是很没意思。而且同样关于yuppie 4wd的“批“可以一字不差的在众多crossover的评论上找到...

casanova

。会买的还是会买。。。。。。。。

vassell

虽然是塑料内饰，不过同等级的车里面绝对没有做得比mito漂亮的你信不信，一台小车就应该按照小车的标准来衡量，一开始就拿空间太小来说事也是pointless，操控好就说没意思， lifeless as a dead fish。。。然后我就没看下去了

大义灭猪

总体而言，Alfa Romeo的车，外观内饰的确很帅

爱国爱港

silver 发表于 2013-2-26 06:10
+1 送那本书八个字：＂井底之蛙，疯狗乱咬＂！

人家做了很多功课，还说人家是井底之蛙。D & L说得很准的是欧洲车迷都是"arrogant and ignorant"。不要问我中文解释是什么，请查字典

pyzy001

我靠，被劈的一无是处啊。

silver

爱国爱港 发表于 2013-2-26 13:53
人家做了很多功课，还说人家是井底之蛙。D & L说得很准的是欧洲车迷都是"arrogant and ignorant"。不要问 ...

我自己也有开日本车，只是不喜欢那些很偏激的评价罢了，凡事应该客观评价，没有必要贬低别人去抬高自己。还是那句话：自己花钱买车，肯定买自己喜欢的，汽车对我是种文化。

chapove

作为学生狗，我就是喜欢日系的保养维修便宜，对我来说：车首先是一个工具，不是一个BB喷的东西

蓝白

发动机真的很好，同级别只有大众的连续6年最佳发动机1.4升TSI才可以胜出，漂亮的MM脾气大点也是可以理解的，说实话，买车是选一种生活方式，而不是选专业，专业性太强的评价对新车的购买者没有什么用处。
全新的伏特FOCUS和丰田的COROLLA的测评，综合指数COROLLA不如FOCUS,但是估计还是COROLLA的销量好。