FIAT BRAVO Hatchback 2007 on

I was extremely pleased and surprised at the deal when I bought my 3 year, 24k Bravo for 5.4k. In the end it was a no brainer really. A stylish, spacious, new looking car with all the gizmos - or the competition? (standard fare hatches with dull interiors, lower spec, higher prices/miles).

So there I was waving goodbye to my Audi TT (much loved/ultimately impractical) and a smile on my face - I never saw that one coming when I got the keys on the TT! As I bid the TT farewell with a silent sigh and trudged wearily up the forecourt I saw the ice-blue smiling face of my recently valeted sensible new diesel friend waiting for me and felt my spirits lifted. You are good looking for a hatch I thought. This isn’t going to be nearly as hard as I imagined. And let’s face it, the missus will be happier now.

So did the Bravo live up to my hopes? After 18 months I’d say yes, almost. I enjoyed the test drive but you don’t push hard with the salesman in the passenger seat do you. When I drove it home for the 1st time a little more eagerly it seemed a lot bouncier around twisty bends than I’d remembered. And that is my major gripe with the car, plain average handling. Not awful, and won’t bother everyone, but I’m a bit fussy. Still it’s a passable motorway cruiser, & cruise control is fine. Third gear decent acceleration. The gears can be sticky occasionally. Good headlights & cornering lights helpful.

I get 51mpg mixed driving, though I have slowed down a lot! But I’m no OAP. Tax £120. Insurance fine so good running costs. Reliable, tho one valve issue in 18mnths, spoiled 1st day in new job :-/ Blue & Me temperamental, plays USB sticks perfectly, decent MP3 sounds - voice commands/calls can drive you insane although great when works. Shame back seats don’t fold perfectly flat, but acres of space.

The tweed seats look plush but give me backache. Missus has been okay, maybe just me, I’m 5’10 & struggle for perfect driving position. The car seems solidly built and has 5* crash rating. People all ages seem to like it.

If you’re considering a Focus etc, think again. This could be your new best friend :-)

I bought my Fiat Bravo after a long stint of being a Citroen hot-hatch owner for many years (AX / Saxo).

I went with the 150 bhp T-Jet Dynamic in black - great styling with quality finishes inside and out. The turbo on-demand engine is amazing - how do Fiat get 150 bhp from a 1.4 engine??? It's so responsive and communicative - granted this does make this particular engine option a bit more expensive to run (and tax) compared with some of the other options - but I was very happy with my choice. This was for all types of driving, from 20-mile each way work commute: part A roads, part motorway, to round town shopping trips, to long hauls (300+ miles) around the country on mainly motorways.

The prompt for me to write this review was that my lovely Fiat has just been written off in a crash (someone very kindly barreled into the back of me causing a concertina crash) but the car was very protective - particularly on the rear impact. Sadly, I'm able to say that the car felt very safe in a crash.

The car always felt spacious for both driver and passengers - plenty of leg room in the back for this class of car, and I was impressed with amount of boot space (bear in mind my previous experiences were with hot hatches though).

Finally, just a quick comment on the Blue & Me that one reviewer had problems with - I'm pleased to say mine always performed perfectly - I always listen to my choice of entertainment on a USB stick with no communication issues at all. The one-touch transition, on the steering wheel, between USB stick, radio, and CD player was faultless.

A great car - will be sadly missed! I would consider replacing like for like (but the draw of the DS3 might be a bit too much for me to resist!).

An excellent car with superb economy.

Really good looking.

Great dealers in the North West.

Fantastic 5 year unlimited mileage manufacturers warranty.

Sweet engine delivers 63.4mpg combined.

FIAT are massively underestimated by the British motoring press.

I have owned my Bravo (1.6 TD Active) for 6 months now.

It is a brilliant car to own. It is my 3rd fiat out of 4 cars, all 3 have been good.

The fuel consumption is excellent, my average is just over 60mpg or 70mpg + on a run.

My daily commute is approx 12 miles with a few sets of traffic lights and queues at the work end of the journey most of the journey is beween 30 - 45 mph (not much opportunity to use 6th gear!). It is also used for leisure use and long journeys (where 6th gear is used) when the extra cubic feet of my wifes Citroen Picasso is not required (due to the fuel consumption being 50% better than the Picasso).

The Bravo is better looking than most cars in it's class (including it's more expensive siblings the Alfa Romeo Guiletta / Chrysler Delta). It is also rare ( I only know one other person who has one), which gives it a bit of exclusivity.

The engine is an absoute cracker, bags of torque from 1500 rpm, most of the time it is not necessary to take the car beyond 2500 rpm. The 6 gears are close enough together to miss out 4th when accelerating to 40 - 50mph, or miss out 5th when accelerating to 50mph plus, without thrashing the engine.

At 70mph in 6th it only does 2000 rpm.

Round town it will accelerate from 1000rpm with ease.

The 2 speed steering in city mode makes manoevering a doddle.

A lot is made by journalists of the poor steering on the car. But I can't tell, it is light but the car goes where it is pointed which is good enough for me.

The interior of the car is nicely done with crome surrounds and good quality plastics. The steering wheel looks a bit cheap, but is ergonomic and is the right size.

The car feels well put together.

The only item which is missing that I feel should be standard on all cars is pockets in the back of the front seats for maps etc.

I bought the Bravo second hand at just under 2 year old with 12500 miles on the clock from a Fiat dealer.When I made the decision to replace my previous car, I was not looking for a Bravo. But this car was priced at least £1000 lower than the alternatives which were either older or had significantly higher mileages (if not both!).

This is the car for the family guy on a budget that still wants to enjoy their driving, typically Italian, it shifts and looks great, handles well but is economical and efficient. It is equally at home as a family car as a sorty hatch...great fun and stylish to boot!

In my opinion this car is good looking, inside and out. It's engine is very economical, when driven sensibly, giving up to 67mpg on a long motorway run.

The big disappointment is it promises so much but delivers so little.

To start the car has very little storage space. The door pockets are extremely thin, with not enough room to store my sunglasses and a packet of mints and any other cubby holes are next to useless.

The car has a system called "Blue & Me" which enables you to make hands free, voice activated calls from your Bluetooth phone (this feature works well) but in addition to this you can play music from a USB stick, This feature is so temperamental it often gets my blood boiling. It some time looses whole albums, it sometimes works then will not, you have to scroll through albums using buttons on the steering wheel (despite the system being voice activated), It tries to integrate with the fitted head unit but fails dismally, with different controls being used for each. very frustrating.

Although the cruise control works perfectly well, it lacks a pause button, for disabling the cruise temporarily. This means you always have to touch the brake to disengage. This is something I have not had to do on my previous cars with cruise.

I do wish i could love this car but unfortunately every day my love for it dies a little more.

We have owned this car for nearly 3 years. We accept that, being the base model, it lacks the frills of the higher spec. models. However, it still has air conditioning, dual-rate power steering, ABS, front fog lights(which also act as steering lights at low speeds), trip computer, etc.

Road tax at £115, 47mpg without trying, low insurance and TOTAL RELIABILITY (yes, faultless) over the last 3 years have made this car a pleasure to own.

My only criticism is the inconvenience when folding the rear seats - the headrests must be removed, but cannot be removed with the backrests upright.

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.

With a kid on the way we went shopping for a new car (we had an X Reg 3-Door Bravo in the old style that was falling to pieces in need of constant repair). We wanted a 5 door with ISOFIX for the baby and generally new feeling for about 7 Grand.

We looked loads of cars: Focus, Leon, Caliber, 1 Series, A3, etc to find a suitable hatch at a reasonable price.

We were surprised to find that they all were either really pricey for low milage cars or really high mileage for a reasonable price. That and for the most part the additional extras you might want, like CD, Air Con, Blue tooth, cruise control etc were masses extra.

So we were blown away to find the new Bravo drove well (a bit sluggish off the line) and as we live in the city the light steering was ideal. What's more, you can get good low mileage Bravo's with great spec for the same price as much older competitors.

We've had the car a couple of years now and it still feels new - with very minimal costs in terms of service or repair. And even brakes and tires come in at a reasonable price.

All in all - we're chuffed with the Bravo and sad that we have to sell it now we are moving to Canada.

Was looking to upgrade an ancient Clio on behalf of my girlfriend earlier this year, looking at Focus/Astra class with baby on way. Have owned 2 Focii(?) previously but was surprised at how relatively expensive the volume sellers were at 3-5 years old. As an Alfa company car driver, the Fiat was definitely worth a look on the value for money, safety & style tickets. Delighted with the purchase: great T-Jet engine, incredible value for money at 3.5 yrs old. Pleasing that's it's not on every street corner too. It's a tough class in which to compete but on the second hand market the Bravo is a great buy