Alfa's Mini rival - interior pics

Alfa Romeo has just revealed the first official interior shots of the new Mi.To compact hatch.

Wrap-around seats and a more sane ergonomic arrangement - very much the antithesis of traditional Alfa Romeo ergonomics - are key design features of the new car.

Characteristic Alfa design cues are present in the cowled instrument nacelle, chrome-ringed dials and the predominance of black leather.

Alfa call the multi-function steering wheel 'Ferrari-esque', while the automatic climate control has an almost Teutonic feel to it according to the press release - which hopefully means it works properly in local heat conditions.

One would expect the Italians to be masterful at leather work and texture matching regards to the interior design.

The upper half of the dashboard has a carbon-fibre ribbed design, whilst the centre console appears to have function buttons mostly grouped in mostly logical arrangements - no doubt a new venture for Alfa.

Full details of the newcomer will be made known within the next two months and in South Africa the introduction is scheduled for the first half of 2009.