As a long-term Fiat fan, I’m thinking of buying a used Bravo on our next extended visit to the UK, and may bring it back to New Zealand when I return. I’m interested in the 150 Multijet and have been wondering about the differences between the Sport and the Dynamic. As far as I’ve been able to ascertain, the main differences seem to be that the Dynamic has smaller wheels with higher profile tyres and softer springing than the Sport, and has split-zone automatic climate control whereas the Sport seems to have single-zone manually-controlled airconditioning. So, I would appreciate comments on these points:

Does the Dynamic ride noticeably better than the Sport, and is the Sport’s ride excessively harsh?
How well does the Dynamic handle compared with the Sport?
Is the Sport’s more basic airconditioning as effective as the automatic system in the Dynamic? I tend to favour simplicity (less to gowrong) but not at the expense of effectiveness.
How do the seats in the two versions compare for comfort and support?
Any other comments about the relative merits of the two versions?

Many thanks.

Alistair

Hi bud, I currently have the sport so ill attempt to answer some of these as best as I can.

alistairr said:

Does the Dynamic ride noticeably better than the Sport, and is the Sport’s ride excessively harsh?

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I can't say Ive driven the Dynamic but I don't think the Sport rides too harsh, I use it as my car for work have have done approx 5k miles in 5 weeks and can't says its that harsh, I'm finding it more comfortable than my Mk2 Punto with a 35mm drop!

alistairr said:

How well does the Dynamic handle compared with the Sport?

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Cant really answer this one.

alistairr said:

Is the Sport’s more basic airconditioning as effective as the automatic system in the Dynamic? I tend to favour simplicity (less to gowrong) but not at the expense of effectiveness.

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I have to say the air con is effective but to be fair havnt used it yet in hot weather (typical english weather we've had this spring) but I'm sure it will be good.

alistairr said:

How do the seats in the two versions compare for comfort and support?

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The sport's seats I think are comfortable, they are firm but do hug you as they are bucket style seats.

alistairr said:

Any other comments about the relative merits of the two versions?

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I do like my sport but would like to have a go in a dynamic to see how it compares for myself.

The dynamic has the armrest and city button to lighten the steering.

The sport has sideskirts and spoiler and the city button is replaced by a silly "sport" button.

You can get the dynamic with 17" wheels.

I live in a hot country and the dual zone AC is very effective. My advice to you is to get a car with the skydome option, it's a must when you live in a place where the weather is nice.

Tad-bravo said:

the city button is replaced by a silly "sport" button.

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On older ones like mine (2008) it is still a city button.

I have an Active which is a the Dynamics poorer twin brother so I'll try help answer a couple

Air con for Britain at least is very effective, it can go from ice cold to nuclear reactor in seconds. The biggest problem is a lack of middle ground, it seems to be quite poor at being moderately warm or moderately cold.

The ride on all models is firm, if you are looking for absolute comfort you'll want to look elsewhere. Its not bad, just not the most comfortable.

The seats are comfortable for long journeys and support quite well. I've fitted coilovers to mine and even with them, i never have back ache, so they must be alright. One problem with the seats is getting comfortable, if you are tall it can be a little awkward and makes rear seat space vanish, so if you're tall and regularly carry people with legs behind you this may also be a concern.

Tad-bravo said:

and the city button is replaced by a silly "sport" button.

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Not in the MJets its not.

I think I'm right in saying the sportings have esp, the dynamic doesn't (mine didn't anyway).

If you are buying second hand then there will be some Sports around that have climate control (mine does).

Re the sport button, mine has the city button and IIRC its on the 1.4TJet petrol Sport that has a sport button...

colin79666 said:

I think I'm right in saying the sportings have esp, the dynamic doesn't (mine didn't anyway).

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ASR (fiat's esp) is also available on dynamic bravos.

PROV said:

If you are buying second hand then there will be some Sports around that have climate control (mine does).

Re the sport button, mine has the city button and IIRC its on the 1.4TJet petrol Sport that has a sport button...

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Yes, the dual zone climate control was an optional extra on the Sport, and the diesels got a city button rather than a sport button.

Bit of a shame really; a button to change to a +50 bhp map would have made this car a real Q car.

Sport came with the 17" anthracite with diamond cut faces (18" standard silver alloys optional" The Dynamic came as standard with 16" silver alloys.

Dynamic also comes with a chilled 'fridge' in the centre arm rest - cools (or heats) anything in there to the temperature of the passenger side aircon setting. Sport gets a little tray for loose change or something.

Tad-bravo said:

ASR (fiat's esp) is also available on dynamic bravos.

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ASR and ESP are separate, but combined elements.

ASR is anti (wheel) slip regulation which limits the power if the wheels begin to lose traction. This can be switched off with the ASR button for burning through a few hundred miles of tyre in one frantic scramble for traction.

ESP is extra sensory perception and allows the car to indicate before you think you're going to turn. No wait.. They didn't include that in the UK market. It must be the electronic stability programme which activates individual wheel brakes in order to help prevent under-steer and over-steer. This is permanently active and cannot be disabled.

Hellcat said:

This is permanently active and cannot be disabled.

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It gets disabled if the car goes into limp mode.

wegi said:

It gets disabled if the car goes into limp mode.

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I'm sure you could disable it by chopping one of the ABS sensors off - but you'd be going mad after a day of the 3 or 4 error messages about things being disabled.

Been there with the Croma. ESP unavailable, ASR unavailable, ABS unavailable, Hill holder unavailable... all cycled 4 or 5 times every time you start the car.

I like my sport, body coloured door handles, Esp, manual heater ( It cant go wrong Has cables Instead of motors ), Nice alloys, side skirts (recommended fitting mudflaps if want paint to last on side skirts and wing) and a spoiler. Not many real sports about, mostly Active sports

r16pab said:

I like my sport, body coloured door handles, Esp, manual heater ( It cant go wrong Has cables Instead of motors ), Nice alloys, side skirts (recommended fitting mudflaps if want paint to last on side skirts and wing) and a spoiler. Not many real sports about, mostly Active sports

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I personally think that the red brake calipers (bigger brakes too I think), subtle skirting, mini-spoiler, bigger two tone sports wheels and twin chrome tailpipes, when combined with the matching sports interior more than make up for the manual air con and lack of chilled arm rest. That said, sporty looks may not be all that your after, and climate may be a necessity in a hotter country. You can find some Sport models with the climate control as an option. Also note some of the sports come with lenticular paint, which really sets the car off.

As for the ride, it is very crashy in my opinion, but good for driving vigerously.

Hi,
I've had the pleasure of both.
Had a 1.9 150 bhp dynamic for 2.5 years, now have a 2.0 165bhp sport.
If I had to choose for sensible but fast, i.e. easy overtaking, i'd take the 1.9.
The sport is just missing a few luxuries like the arm rest and climate control. Couldn't fault my 1.9 in the 2.5 years i had it apart from the EGR valve which blocked up occassionally but that is VERY easily taken off the car and cleaned, alternatively it can be blanked off. To be honest Fiat were a tad misleading when they called it a "sport". The chassis is a tad tighter but I think it might just be the slightly bigger wheels.

Many thanks to all who replied. It's all helpful stuff. The Bravos that were sold in New Zealand over the two years or so they were available here appear to be all Sport versions (1.4 and 1.9) with dual zone climate control as per the Dynamic. I've been periodically looking at advertisements in various publications and websites and haven't yet seen a Sport for sale in the UK with the Dynamic's dual zone climate control, but I'll start looking seriously in about three weeks time after I arrive in the UK. I'll have a few weeks after that to find something. I'd like to get something to bring back to NZ both because of pricing and because there is a lot more choice in the UK. They weren't sold here in large numbers, and not many come up for sale.

If anyone else has any comments, or has a good 1.9 MJet Bravo for sale (preferably with dual zone climate control) at a reasonable price, I'd still like to hear from them through this forum.

Thanks again.

Alistair

Are there any modifications the car will have to go through to make it road legal in your country? If there is it may bump the price up and not make it as good value. Just a thought.

No modifications needed. The Bravo complies with safety and emissions requirements in NZ.

Can't judge on the Sport MJET but I bought a 2007 Dynamic MJET 150 last week and love it. Most cars i've owned have been the sporting or GTI variants, I was first concerned about the lack of sport seats but the dynamic seats are great even though they lack the bolsters. Mine has 17 inch multispoke wheels not the 16s.

This is coming from someone who was a VAG nut, trim level, handling and drive quality is way better than the SEAT Ibiza 130 TDI Sport I used to have.