General Fiat Bravo 2014 End Of The Line????

[Matthewr1990]

Thought the base 1.4 90 was the base model?

You're thinking of the engines which are different, you pick an engine and then the model. 1.4 90 BHP was the weakest model engine yes but you could have it I'm a dynamic pack and it will have all the toys, including dual climate and cruise control etc.

 

[FiatFleetFamily2]

Yeah but it's a higher priced seemingly limited run, think there is only about 300 uk ones apparently
Prices start close to £29000
£29000 for a Giulietta!
Stepping into Audi S4/S3 kinda money
And no manual option.

Till the Giulietta GTA comes in late 2015, with Q4.. and 320bhp.

 

[FiatFleetFamily2]

What a shame to see the 1.75 tbi no longer in production.

Was the Cloverleaf a limited edition thing then?

I'd like to see another fast affordable Italian car soon

1.75 engine has had numerous turbo failures in the G and the 159. Alfa attempted to modify the intake hose, but that did not work, further the turbo likes clean oil, it does not like the 18,000 service intervals, hence owners have oil changed far more routinely to save a very expensive trip to the stealers if out of warranty. Cloverleaf was quick, but GTA version next year. Only snag is the emissions need to drop.

 

[rossocorsa]

But nearly every manufacture's top model back then had 40+ bhp more than the top spec Bravo . .

Focus ST had 221bhp 0-60 in 6.6 seconds.
Renault Megane sport F1 was 228bhp 0-60 6.4seconds
Fastest Fiat bravo, 165t sport 165bhp 0-60 in 7.9
All from 2007

Not sure that everyone is such a boy racer that it matters and in any case lancia delta which is bravo derived has been equally unsuccessful despite having 1910 twin turbo 190hp and 1800 200hp petrol options

 

[JimbbobW1977]

It might of been a dynamic to be fair.. It had cruise control and the t-jet engine

 

[rossocorsa]

Bit surprised to read of comments regarding poor steering. I've not driven a Bravo, but I believe it has the same steering system as the Stilo and I've owned one of them for nearly 6 years. I find the Stilo steering one of the best electric systems I've used, and I've driven a lot of cars. It's quick, fairly communicative and has reasonable grip.

I think the grip on my MiTo (same steering as Grande Punto) is better & it's a tiny bit quicker to respond in Dynamic mode, but it's slower than the Stilo in Natural mode and always as vague as hell compared to the Stilo.

I think part of the problem on the Active might be the small steel wheels - my Stilo and a lot of the Bravo's owned by people on here have 16/17/18" alloys, which seem to help with steering feel I've noticed.

Overall the Bravo was more of a Renault Megane/Peugeot 308 rival than a Focus/Golf rival, but I wouldn't say it was a bad car. In quality/reliability terms it's far better than the much stronger selling Grande Punto, but unless you had reason to go to a Fiat dealership, ie with another Fiat for servicing etc, chances are you'd think a Fiat Bravo was a 3dr hatch from the 90s. Ultimately it flopped through poor advertising & too steeply increasing prices putting it at direct competition with dynamically better cars.

I find steering on our delta (just an elongated bravo really) has poor feel and would benefit from a faster ratio, however I remember thinking about buying a new stilo and trying one only to find the steering so abysmal that it put me right off so I think bravo is probably much better.

 

[JimbbobW1977]

Not sure that everyone is such a boy racer that it matters and in any case lancia delta which is bravo derived has been equally unsuccessful despite having 1910 twin turbo 190hp and 1800 200hp petrol options

I understood the Delta and Tipo shared similar platforms, and which was modified to underpin the Coupe, Alfa 145's etc 147 and 156. Didn't think it's any relation to the torsion beam suspended Bravo?

 

[rossocorsa]

I understood the Delta and Tipo shared similar platforms, and which was modified to underpin the Coupe, Alfa 145's etc 147 and 156. Didn't think it's any relation to the torsion beam suspended Bravo?

Delta 3

 

[RobW]

Till the Giulietta GTA comes in late 2015, with Q4.. and 320bhp.

 

[RobBravo]

In fairness it makes no difference whether you have an Active or a Dynamic in regards to driving experience.

The 16" steelies on the active have the same sized tyres as the 16" alloys on the dynamic. Now I don't know for sure, but I will put my neck on the line and also say that the dynamic and the active also have the same steering and suspension set-up.

Overall, apart from the extra toys the dynamic brings to the table, the drive should be exactly the same

 

[JTD_Liam]

I find steering on our delta (just an elongated bravo really) has poor feel and would benefit from a faster ratio, however I remember thinking about buying a new stilo and trying one only to find the steering so abysmal that it put me right off so I think bravo is probably much better.

Interesting. I find mine pretty good. Guess it depends what you're used to - in my case Clio's & Punto's previously, so I suppose that didn't set the bar particularly high in the steering department!

My Stilo was a 3dr diesel though, 3dr's tending to be sharper than 5drs, and the heavy diesel engine probably making it feel more planted than a petrol. Suppose that helped, as did decent tyres. Whether the Bravo drives more like a 3 or 5dr Stilo, sadly I can't say.

I understood the Delta and Tipo shared similar platforms, and which was modified to underpin the Coupe, Alfa 145's etc 147 and 156. Didn't think it's any relation to the torsion beam suspended Bravo?

That would've been the old Delta's like the Integrale from the 90's. It's true that the Tipo platform was used for the 145, 146, 147 etc and I think it underpinned the old Bravo/Brava too.

However, the current Bravo and Delta are based on the Stilo platform, which was new for the Stilo and seemed dynamically worse than the old Tipo platform, but better for things like safety (even the Alfa 147 from 2001 performed badly in a crash compared to the year newer Stilo). Then the Giulietta has another new platform, which only has one small part carried over from the Bravo/Delta platform.

 

[rossocorsa]

Interesting. I find mine pretty good. Guess it depends what you're used to - in my case Clio's & Punto's previously, so I suppose that didn't set the bar particularly high in the steering department!

My Stilo was a 3dr diesel though, 3dr's tending to be sharper than 5drs, and the heavy diesel engine probably making it feel more planted than a petrol. Suppose that helped, as did decent tyres. Whether the Bravo drives more like a 3 or 5dr Stilo, sadly I can't say.



That would've been the old Delta's like the Integrale from the 90's. It's true that the Tipo platform was used for the 145, 146, 147 etc and I think it underpinned the old Bravo/Brava too.

However, the current Bravo and Delta are based on the Stilo platform, which was new for the Stilo and seemed dynamically worse than the old Tipo platform, but better for things like safety (even the Alfa 147 from 2001 performed badly in a crash compared to the year newer Stilo). Then the Giulietta has another new platform, which only has one small part carried over from the Bravo/Delta platform.

I had a delta hpe (second generation delta tipo platform) a few years back and the steering was fadt and sharp as a razor, currently we also have an mx5 the steering on that just serves to show how numb the delta steering is. It is not just delta/bravo though I think most modern cars are designed to remove all concept of contact to the road, in the old days betas, alfasuds and so on had much more connection to the road.

 

[JimbbobW1977]

The Guilietta is a good car to drive, had one for a week in Lanzarote 1.4 t-jet.

I understood at one a Bravo replacement was to built on this chassis but so far it's been the Dodge Dart and Jeep Cherokee.

 

[PROV]

There was this ad aswell, though never saw it in the UK




As for the car, I think it was very very underrated. We got one of the first ones (Multijet Sport 150) and I loved it. It looked good, drove well, was economical. Practical, well built and reliable too. We had the EGR issue and a few other niggles but overall it was an excellent car. (it had a hard life and covered 150,000 miles in a little over 5 years).
I agree the steering was a bit overly light and had little feeling, but it wasnt that bad! Also people go on about the basic rear suspension, and unless you are tanking around the Nurburgring in it you wouldnt notice!

 

[Yellow Peril]

Fitting a front, upper strut brace gives the steering more weight and feel. At least it did on my Stilo, which has identical underpinnings...

 

[KHALED25]

The Bravo was not a brilliant car when it was launched, and being based on old underpinnings certainly did not help.

The car looked fantastic, and the interior looked nice. That was until you drove the thing and began to use it. I remember having one for a few days as a courtesy car whilst my fault ridden GP was being repaired as usual.

It was a 1.4 t jet active. It felt quick but was worse to drive than the GP. Terrible steering that was to light, and a sense of vagueness to it. I also remembered it's grip was poor also. That nice looking interior proved to be not so nice in build and quality and the stereo was terrible.

It's not a surprise it did not sell well, it wasn't a good car!

The original Bravo when launched did sell well because that was well perceived at the time.

I've seen many things criticized about the bravo but light steering?? Compared to ANY other new car I've driven, especially those with electric power steering, this car has a really heavy steering. The feedback is also spot-on. There's actually too much feedback for my liking because I drive mainly on poor roads. However, with the bravo you get a very clear idea of what's happening at the wheels. Having the city button also confirmed that the steering might be too heavy for some people for town driving. I have to use it when parallel parking to park faster. It might be that yours was an active model (mine is a dynamic t-jet).

Regarding sales, this is definitely NOT a bad car. At the time it was released it was at least equal to the golf, astra, focus, and any crappy french car. But the fact is that it was by far better looking than ANY of them. What actually surprised with the bravo was that it sold poorly, but that was because of non-existent advertising by fiat themselves.

 

[JimbbobW1977]

I've seen many things criticized about the bravo but light steering?? Compared to ANY other new car I've driven, especially those with electric power steering, this car has a really heavy steering. The feedback is also spot-on. There's actually too much feedback for my liking because I drive mainly on poor roads. However, with the bravo you get a very clear idea of what's happening at the wheels. Having the city button also confirmed that the steering might be too heavy for some people for town driving. I have to use it when parallel parking to park faster. It might be that yours was an active model (mine is a dynamic t-jet).

Regarding sales, this is definitely NOT a bad car. At the time it was released it was at least equal to the golf, astra, focus, and any crappy french car. But the fact is that it was by far better looking than ANY of them. What actually surprised with the bravo was that it sold poorly, but that was because of non-existent advertising by fiat themselves.

Steering is very light on it, as is the case with most Fiats with electric PAS and the same with other car companies. The loss of fluid power steering lost the sense of feel.

The Bravo when launched was not as competitive as the class leaders at the time, someone else on here has said and I agree that it was a middle runner car. Not a bad car, but like the GP I owned looked fantastic, but the oily bits and drive let it down.

 

[RobBravo]

For what it is, the way it makes me feel, and the joy I get from looking at it... it's such a great bang for buck car.

I got mine at 16k miles, 09 plate for £4,500. The equivalent A3 would cost me £7-8000 for example.

I was looking at the Focus purely because they are economical and supposedly have a good drive. But even these were around £6,000 for a decent (less than 40k) car...

As a used car buy, the Bravo is great value.

 

[JimbbobW1977]

They are a good used buy, and better than the GP as a used as you get so much more for your money as opposed to opposition.

I would certainly get one over the 307/308 or Megane equivalent.

The only trouble is, unless you plan on keeping it for a long time, residuals will bite.

 

[RobW]

They are a good used buy, and better than the GP as a used as you get so much more for your money as opposed to opposition.

I would certainly get one over the 307/308 or Megane equivalent.

The only trouble is, unless you plan on keeping it for a long time, residuals will bite.

i bought the Black bravo 4 years ago for £5900 on 37k miles, it's still easily worth half that 60k miles later
im my book a car loses £1k value every 10k miles so it is already fully depreciated

residuals are pretty good, in real terms (guides are misleading always pessimistic)
try finding a good one for less than 4K, you can but you will have to travel

high spec facelifts still fetching £7k any day of the week