Fiat Bravo road tests and consumer car reviews

Fiat Bravo dynamic eco 2010

A great used buy. Economical and only 30 quid a year to tax. It’s well screwed together with no squeaks or rattles. The car handles well with ample grip, but for some reason most reviews seem convinced that because the Bravo is Italian it should handle like a Ferrari. It’s a good stylish and economical car that goes as well as it looks. 21k service intervals make it painless to own. Would I buy another One? Yes.

Fiat Bravo Multijet Sport 150t 2008

What a fantastic car! Practical, powerful, looks fantastic, great mpg, cheap to tax. People who put less then 5 stars need their head examining!

Fiat Bravo Sport 165 Diesel 2010

Reading these reviews is confusing as some seem to have the car from hell and others are over the moon for the same car. For the record, of my last 25 cars in 15 years (yep, I do a few miles!) from Fiat, Vauxhall and Seat, I have not had a bad one yet. Orange peel paint? I have never seen it. Also, I have never had a bad dealer, except for the one who were stripped of their dealership by Fiat (allegedly). My current dealer, Thames Fiat in Slough is superb. On to the car: Internal Styling: Excellent. Colouring and materials very clean, although I think Sport interior is the best. All controls accessible. Leg space okay. Boot okay. Only criticism is that 30 mph and 70 mph should be highlighted on the speedo; it’s too easy to stray into speed camera territory. Lots of seat/wheel adjustment, but its true that if you have the drivers seat on maximum height and the steering wheel on minimum height and you are 5 foot 10 inches, then you can’t see the top of the speedo, but the seats are comfortable and a good fit, although could be a bit harder. External Styling: Excellent. Although rear window is marginally smaller than SEAT Leon (for example), the driver’s mirrors give excellent overtaking view. Visibility is generally good. Mine is Maserati blue; very smart! Handling: Quite grippy. No corner roll. Suspension very firm/solid and does not absorb the big bumps. Ride quality therefore suffers if you hit a bump, but it seems okay for normal motorway and well made roads. It would be interesting to see the effect of the Sport boost button on the petrol model. Rides well through deep puddles. It’s very easy to front wheel spin in 2nd/3rd. Excellent charging out from roundabouts. After some experimentation, I found that the CITY mode was best everywhere except on the motorway, because the torque on acceleration off roundabouts in particular needed more power assistance to the steering than the NORMAL mode. Once I had decided that, it was much easier to apply full power out of roundabouts. Engine: Excellent. Fast, powerful, flexible, minimal turbo lag in low revs. 53mpg achievable. Gearbox: clutch a bit heavy, but very fast to bite on change, which I like. Gearbox intermittently rather notchy. However, it gets very notchy in freezing weather on first starting and only becomes good when the g/box is very hot. I got a new gearbox and clutch from Fiat under warranty but with only a slight improvement. The only place it’s really a smooth pleasure is after a dash down the motorway, but as soon as the oil cools down, it looses the smoothness that makes driving a pleasure. 6th gear very comfortable cruising gear. Braking: okay. Noise: No wind noise except above 70 mph. Engine acceptable for a diesel and good at high speed. Average tyre noise. Radio/CD: superb and the options e.g. speed volume are just what you need. General Facilities e.g. heated mirrors: could not think of anything else I need. Price: I would not buy one new for £18K, but 6 months old and low mileage at £12K is hard to turn down. In general, I like this car, but you need to be content with the hard suspension and make sure the gear box/clutch are smooth. PS check the tyre pressures first!

Fiat Bravo 1.9 MultiJet JTD 150 Sport 2007

Biggest load of rubbish I’ve ever owned!! The engine is powerfull but it’s made alot of funny noises which scares me, also a few times I’ve gone to brake quite hard and the pedal was very hard :/ Electrically it’s not fantastic either, the windows have refused to go up on many occasions and whilst driving along the lights automatically cut out on me during the bad snow in Dec 2010. My old Peugeot 307 2.0 HDi 110 Rapier was a nicer car to drive (more comfortable, more refined). Also the Peugeot was a far roomier car inside and in the boot. Once August 2011 comes I will most definately be going and buying a new 308. Wouldn’t buy a Fiat EVER again! Fix It Again Tomorrow!

Fiat Bravo 1.4 T-Jet 2010

I brought the car 3 months ago and although I’m upset with the dealer for reason this has nothing to do with the car. After driving a heavy ASTRA for years I love the Fiat Bravo, can’t believe its only a 1.4 ( even with 150BHP) as it goes so fast and responds well. Only one issue is going over bumps or parking on kerb, the underside of the car is so low it scrapes and bangs. I go sooooo slowly now over bumps and on two wheels where you can..... secondly I was disappointed by the fuel, I town drive and at £60 a tank I expected to get more than 300 miles, which is what i get at a push. I’ve tried to drive it slowly and economically but its still low milage and quite expensive on the fuel consumption. My 1998 Astra used to give me 400! So don’t buy it if you can’t afford the fuel!!!

Fiat Bravo 150 T-Jet 2006

In the first two years I owned the car it had several water leaks in to the vehicle (around the right back door and boot). Also had a problem with the master cylinder where it had to be replaced. Also had problems with view through rear window, massive blind spots and had major problems going over square speed bumps where the bottom of the car would ground out doing damage to the bottom of the car. Needless to say I no longer own the vehicle.

Responses to this review

You say the car bottoms out on speed humps. Take your foot off of the middle pedal before you go over the bump and you will have no problem. You are braking too late and the front of the car is diving under braking. Learn to drive! - Sticky from Cambridgeshire

Fiat Bravo 2009

Superb car with superb power.

Fiat Bravo 1.9 M-Jet sport 150 2007

I was slightly apprehensive about purchasing the Fiat, especially after reading the reviews on What Car, Top Gear etc. Let me tell you now this car is phenomenal, yes the steering does feel slightly light but this is a small issue when you consider the whole car. The build quality is fantastic, I did get caught out in thinking the build quality was questionable when I initially got the car as there was a persistent jingling sound. It turned out to be the keys hanging from the ignition, since then not a creak or groan. The car handles great if you have faith in the suspension it delivers in spades and it pulls like a train on the motorway. I have absolutely no reservations about recommending this car and it’s also nice to drive something out of the ordinary with some Italian flair. Don’t follow the crowd, turn a few heads and buy a Bravo Sport! I did and I love it :]

Fiat Bravo 1.9 Multijet 150bhp 2008

After 3 years driving a Mondeo ST TDCI I moved onto my new Bravo and I could not believe that the little thing has more power, more torque and yet drinks less diesel. I love the ride, the feel, the overall experience. Only drawbacks for me are the following: - No armrest - No footrest - No way of cleaning the windows by lowering them - No heated front screen (Ford only unfortunately) - Blue&me very temperamental - I still wouldn’t go back though!!

Fiat Bravo 1.9 JTD 8V 2008

Main selling point design not price. Fiat made a good job. For my impression it has a good quality level, look to the welding points and battery connections. Petrol consumption OK. Mainly made for adults, safety belts on back-seat uncomfortable for children. Sportive car like Seat Leon, BMW One, Alpha 147 not optimised as a family and luggage car. My family drives a Citroen Berlingo and since 3 months the Fiat Bravo as the second car. Handfree speaking incl. Bluetooth TOP.

Fiat Bravo Active 1.4 16V

Great car. Smooth ride and handling. I had a Stilo before but the Bravo is quite an improvement under all points of view. True about the back window, but that is part of the car style.

Fiat Bravo 2008

I love the Bravo Grande Punto ish style, the only drawback is the small windows for kids in the back, and the rear window which I find ironic, but I have the parking advisers and... lot’s of gadgets, the standard ESP with AS/MSR and hill holder is quit excellent and the ride comfort is medium, on highways is excellent! The 1.6 105 HP is my selection and is so smooth it almost scares me! The interior design is trendy and modern, I love the Piano bits and the smooth fabrics in the dashboard, thought the hard plastics in the lower part of the car should be better, but well, I don’t put my fingers on those parts. The value for money, along with the excellent 1.4 T-Jet and 1.6 Mjet units give this car a 5*****

Fiat Bravo bravo t jet sport 150 2007

Car looked fantastic and immediately drew my attention. Paintwork was terrible had extreme case of orange peel! and was even missed on the front bumper. Pedals were too soft and blind spot was huge, ride was comfortable though. Seeing out the back window was a problem too, side windows were too low. Plenty of gadgets including climate control and cruise control, which was fantastic. Overall, this is quite average car which I wouldn’t fork out 12- 14k for.

Fiat Bravo 1.4 90 Bravo 5dr 2007

The more I drive this car the more I like it. Very neat steering and smooth drive. Not bad looking either. I spend on average half my working day driving so wanted something that was comfortable and enjoyable to drive, whilst being affordable and the Bravo certainly fits the bill. No air con though in the 1.4 so only 4 stars but that really is nitpicking as this really is a good car.

Fiat Bravo 1.6

Sweet ride - classy vehicle and handles like a 18 year old virgin - handle gently at first, but there is a beast waiting to be unleashed.