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Fiat Bravo
The Fiat Bravo offers a tempting combination of style, performance and equipment while a new eco-friendly, low consumption engine is a major plus in an era dominated by relatively high fuel costs and environmental concerns.
Fiat Bravo Car Review Summary
Fiat has not had a great deal of success with compact family cars over the past 30 years, but the development of the Bravo is a much more attractive offering – particularly as it is arguably the most handsome car in its class.
A replacement for the ill-fated Stilo, the Bravo shares many core parts, but it has had extensive improvements to body strength, suspension, engine range and standard of finish.
This is obvious as soon as you climb inside as it is a massive improvement on Fiat cabins of old.
When Fiat started work on developing a new eco-friendly, low consumption engine for the Bravo, no one could have predicted just how fuel costs would rise.
But the bringing to market of the new 1.6-litre Multijet 105 Eco couldn’t have been better timed.
With both petrol and diesel prices high, a family car that boasts an average fuel consumption figure in excess of 60mpg is a major step forward for Fiat.
Add to that emissions so low that the road tax for this Fiat Bravo will cost just £35 per year and the car starts to look a decent option.
Practicality
The Fiat Bravo is competitively priced and good discounts are expected to make it cheaper still. Insurance premiums, tax rates and fuel bills are all affordable for most people.
Every Fiat Bravo has a driver’s seat height adjustment and a steering wheel that moves for both reach and rake to help you make yourself comfortable.
The Dualdrive electric power steering allows the driver – via a switch on the dashboard – to change the normal setting to one that dramatically lightens the steering making it easier when it comes to parking in tight spots or just generally manoeuvring in awkward situations.
The sleek styling of the Bravo does have one slight drawback – rear visibility isn’t as good as it could be as a small rear screen, sharply rising waistline and chunky rear side pillars all create blindspots.
However, in spite of that swooping roofline, there’s plenty of headroom throughout the cabin, but knee room in the back is tight compared to class leaders.
Luggage space is far more generous thanks to the sheer depth of the boot, although there is a high load lip and the rear wheelarches intrude. If you need to carry larger loads the split rear seat backs drop down.
There are a reasonable number of cubby holes in the cabin for oddments, including a tray that will accommodate a mobile phone.
Good road-holding is a feature of the Fiat Bravo, as is predictable handling which together are more than enough to make the quick versions fun to drive.
The Bravo is civilised on a motorway cruise and the ride is also pretty comfortable either around town or in the country.
The quality of the materials used in the cabin is good which means they should be able to withstand the attentions of even the most energetic of children.
Life Style
The Fiat Bravo is exceptionally good looking with well proportioned almost coupe-like lines, handsome detailing and a little Italian sexiness thrown in for good measure.
Its teardrop headlights and deep front airdam give it the look of a small Maserati.
All bar the basic Bravo are brisk to quick and even the cheapest version isn’t slow. The T-Jet 150 petrol and Multijet 150 diesel are particularly strong performers.
As far as the environment goes, the Eco package offered on the Bravo makes it attractive if you want to look the kids in the eye when they grow up and ask if you did your bit to stop the Arctic melting.
It includes revised engine settings, low rolling resistance tyres and ‘taller’ gear ratios so the car is pulling 2,000 revs at 70mph which also makes it a very relaxing car to drive.
The 105 Eco Bravo is still quite responsive when you need to accelerate hard, thanks to its electronically controlled supercharger.
The cabin makes use of a combination of stylish textures, unusually attractive instruments and good looking trim.
Security and Safety
The Fiat Bravo was awarded a maximum five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests, with twin front and side airbags standard across the board. Full-length curtain airbags are also included on all but the cheapest version. Deadlocks, remote central locking, marked parts and an integrated stereo make the Bravo an unappetising dish for thieves.
The Finishing Touches
Entry-level Bravos come with a CD player and front electric windows, while upgrading secures extra kit such as air conditioning, alloy wheels, cruise control and Bluetooth connectivity.
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