Hellcat said:

When it comes down to it.. the 147 is faster because it's lighter, quite a bit lighter. It's also nowhere near as packed with safety equipment. It doesn't have all the toys a Bravo does, and it feels like an older generation car. I could have got a brand new Stilo 150 multijet for about £8,000-9,000 but it would have felt like a Stilo and not a Bravo.

The problem Alfa lovers will have is that Fiat made the Bravo far too Alfa-esk. You could have almost fitted Alfa badges to the Bravo and people would have thought ah... the 147 replacement. I've big plans for my Bravo including a Q2 diff, performance springs and dampners, and a 200bhp remap. That should give it the performance of a 147 and bring the handling close too - but still with the next generation toys and interior.

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Totally agree with the above statement the Bravo is very Alfa-esk

Which is why I bought it! Basically there were only 2 cars I was interested in the Alfa Mito or the Bravo because of looks. Having a family and the need for 5 doors and having a 5* Ncap the Bravo swung it for me. I also have to say as gorgeous as the Mito looks I was far from impressed with the build quality having spent a week in one whilst mine was in the garage. The Bravo may not be as well made as its German counterparts but it is in my opion the best put together Fiat yet. Bits of trim fell of my 2 month old Alfa as I got in and out! Most people don’t know what the Bravo is and ask and I often get asked how I get away with having such a sport car!

kent68 said:

The poster asked to compare a 147Q2 to a Bravo Sport and IMO there is no contest. The Bravo most certainly does not feel like an Alfa Romeo just like a Seat Leon does not feel like a Golf. When I picked up mine - brand new, it could have been nothing other than a Fiat.
Yes the 147 does feel like an older car with less safety features, but I personally could live without "safety features" like hazards coming on when the ABS is activated - as I said before - embarassing for an enthusiastic driver. Foglights that "see" round corners is a gimmick and the seatbelt warning thing used to drive me crazy - I know I'm not wearing a seatbelt, I don’t need to be told. The 147's interior is more dated, but a step up in class and just as well built on the latest ones.

As I also said before, I don’t want to slag the Bravo, sometimes it used to put a real smile on my face as it just begged to be caned - which I did - front tyres at 6000 miles should tell the story! It was also the best built Fiat I've had by far. IMO it could have done with - and taken - at least 30BHP more (like many Fiats and Alfas) and 34mpg when being gentle with it is not good for a 1.4. It was a GREAT little car. Just not in the same class as an Alfa 147 Q2.

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In my opinion... the Leon is better than the Golf! Seatbelt warning only comes on if you don't have your seatbelt on... so put it on. Problem solved. New Alfas do this too so it's not like it's a problem. Mine doesn't flash it's hazards under heavy braking. The cornering lights are great and truly useful - not a gimmick.

Personally I find the facelift 147s quite ugly, so there is a tradeoff between being pretty and tired, or ugly and new.

Hellcat said:

In my opinion... the Leon is better than the Golf! Seatbelt warning only comes on if you don't have your seatbelt on... so put it on. Problem solved. New Alfas do this too so it's not like it's a problem. Mine doesn't flash it's hazards under heavy braking. The cornering lights are great and truly useful - not a gimmick.

Personally I find the facelift 147s quite ugly, so there is a tradeoff between being pretty and tired, or ugly and new.

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:bang::bang::bang:If you think the Leon is better than the Golf, you WILL think the Fiat is better than the Alfa. Its a shame that those bods at VW group and Fiat group came up with product hiararchy as it obviously hasn't worked in your case!

Everyone is, of course entitled to their opinion, but do you honestly think the Bravo is a better looking car than the 147? Come on! The Bravo looks good from the front, but thats it! Go and test drive a 147 Ducati Corse Q2 then drive a Bravo Sport - then tell me the Bravo is even remotely in the same class.

I repeat - I do not wish to be told my seatbelt needs putting on - I know when its not on. The fogs coming on when going round a corner most definitely IS a gimmick. If they were to do it properly, it would be swivelling lights - and they would work at all speeds, not just walking pace!It also confuses other drivers and is therefore more a fault - not a safety feature. If you are not activating your hazards when braking, you do not drive fast! Either that or your Bravo is not a sporty one and doesn't have this "feature". Both my Bravo and Punto Sport had this and I can tell you, I'ts b****y annoying.

I repeat - I loved my Bravo - but lets not pretend it is something its not.

kent68 said:

Everyone is, of course entitled to their opinion, but do you honestly think the Bravo is a better looking car than the 147?

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Yes, of course. And it's not just him...I was considering and Alfa myself, but it wasn't the 147. 147 and Bravo may be in different league as you say, but design wise the 147 looks very outdated compared to the Bravo. Just face it

As for the turning lights - so far they only proved useful for most of us. I never heard of crashes because of them, so let's not be so dramatic about other drivers being confused. In the end, the leading company in car safety (that's Mercedes) also puts them. There must be a reason...

kent68 said:

Everyone is, of course entitled to their opinion, but do you honestly think the Bravo is a better looking car than the 147? Come on! The Bravo looks good from the front, but thats it! Go and test drive a 147 Ducati Corse Q2 then drive a Bravo Sport - then tell me the Bravo is even remotely in the same class.

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Yes, sorry, but the 147 is dated, it was nice when it first comes out, but not today, I know it is wrong to compare it as the bravo is so much newer.
Also, I do think Fiat is better than Alfa, if you look at Alfa's line up today, there are nothing really sepcial, forget the 8C or whatever it called, we will never afford it, if I really have to buy an Alfa today, it going to be a GT, but again, they are too slow compare to what you can get with the same money.

kent68 said:

I repeat - I do not wish to be told my seatbelt needs putting on - I know when its not on. The fogs coming on when going round a corner most definitely IS a gimmick. If they were to do it properly, it would be swivelling lights - and they would work at all speeds, not just walking pace!It also confuses other drivers and is therefore more a fault - not a safety feature. If you are not activating your hazards when braking, you do not drive fast! Either that or your Bravo is not a sporty one and doesn't have this "feature". Both my Bravo and Punto Sport had this and I can tell you, I'ts b****y annoying.

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The seatbealt thing was on most cars, not just the Bravo (fiat), a lot of cars have silly feture like that, how about you have to press your clutch to start the engine with the Audi?
Not sure about the hazards ligth though, never happen to mine 150mjet sport, you sure you didn't press the button when you lock up your wheels?

I love my cornering lights. They work as designed, and light up where you're going.

Bravo over 147 every day. I have my Tipo if I want really good driving, it doesn't have the weight penalty of a 147.

The Bravo although newer is still a Stilo underneath and the rear suspension arrangement is less sofisticated than the 147. Despite the 147 being older they're still nice cars, I prefer the original 147s, when they facelifted and changed the front light arrangement I think it made the car look worse. Personally I'd prefer the Bravo but the 147 really isn't that much different, tiny boot though.

OK,OK -I give up! - When anyone of you actually gets to drive a 147Q2 Ducati,however, the difference will become clear!

A bit concerned that none of you guys seem to activate your hazards when driving hard though. This used to happen to me regularly in both my Bravo and Punto. Look in the manual - it is a "safety feature". Perhaps my driving is worse than I thought. Must calm down.

I have an Alfa (156 GTA) and the Bravo is the GFs. I have also driven a 147 in the past, though was the 8V diesel.

When looking for a new car for the GF I wanted an Alfa or a Fiat, both would have been a diesel.

The Bravo was what we chose in the end. I think it does look better than the Alfa, and with the fact that it is a modern 5* NCAP car also had a bearing. I think the safety features mentioned above would not make a difference to the weight but the actual structure would. There is a thread on here of someone who badly crashed a Bravo and he walked away which is a testament to the strangth of the car. The seatbelt warnings are on nearly all cars now as this feature earns the car points in the NCAP tests.

That said the the Bravo feels a little numb at times and the Alfas rear suspension is far better, so is probably a better drivers car.

To sum up I think the Bravo is better, but I also think the new Milano will be better than the Bravo (at a cost however!)

kent68 said:

A bit concerned that none of you guys seem to activate your hazards when driving hard though. This used to happen to me regularly in both my Bravo and Punto. Look in the manual - it is a "safety feature". Perhaps my driving is worse than I thought. Must calm down.

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Well, driving hard doesn't mean braking hard, if you apply correct brake pressure to stop the car ABS shouldn't kick in therefore no hazards. The ABS is there to help when the driver out brake the car and the wheel lock up.

kent68 said:

OK,OK -I give up! - When anyone of you actually gets to drive a 147Q2 Ducati,however, the difference will become clear!

A bit concerned that none of you guys seem to activate your hazards when driving hard though. This used to happen to me regularly in both my Bravo and Punto. Look in the manual - it is a "safety feature". Perhaps my driving is worse than I thought. Must calm down.

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I owned a 156 GTA a shortwhile ago although I didn't retro fit the Q2, this carries the same suspension arrangement as the 147, a much heavier solid car than the Bravo which feels Extremely light in comparison. The suspension arrangement on the 147 is more sophisticated than the Bravo, and with a nice trick diff it would probably be quicker through the corners but I'm guessing the 147Q2 Ducati is diesel (when did Ducati last sell a diesel bike?) and I would prefer petrol over diesel any day of the week and I imagine there wouldn't actually be a huge difference on a track between the top models.

The Bravo is very competant but for driving fast is let down by it's light controls. A car is more than just being able to drive fast. I think the Bravo looks more modern, it has a much bigger boot than the 147 and the interior is much nicer. As a car driven normally it better than the 147 but that is not taking anything away from the 147 which is still a good car. I'd have to disagree with you and say that the Bravo is in the same league as the 147 which is showing its age; if nothing through familiarity.

I haven't activated my hazards in the Bravo. I don't drive it fast; in fact I hit the red line for the first time a couple of weeks ago, when I pulled out into a short space on a quick road. The bravo is for driving me and my family around at normal speeds and it does that very well. I have a GTV V6 3.0 for driving fast.

Here is a good comparison of how safe/strong they both are



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Thats the difference between a 2000 car and a 2007 car. I know which Id rather be in

PROV said:

Here is a good comparison of how safe/strong they both are...

Thats the difference between a 2000 car and a 2007 car. I know which Id rather be in

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The Alfa is terrible, the 156 video is similarly very very bad.

this is a situation that ive been looking at lately as im looking to buy in early 2012 and at the moment its a toss up between a bravo 165 multi jet sport and a alfa 147 ducati q2......

both can be bought from around 10k for a 2009 low mileage model and both look absolutely gorgeous to my eyes.....

the pro's of the bravo are its more modern platform,better and newer tech,space and great looks and interior whilst the alfa tugs at my heart strings and the q2 diff and exclusivity ad to the appeal........

im sure ill be happy with either as ive already owned a 147(loved it) and a stilo abarth selespeed(again brill) from new and wished i'd kept both....

come on guys,lets have your latest opinions on the matter...

I do like my Bravo, it has never let me down, goes well and is economical even when being pushed very hard.
My only gripe is that I would have preferred a 3 door option.
The Alfa is a 3 door option.

Hope that helps?

Test drive both and go with your heart

RobW said:

Test drive both and go with your heart

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yep,think i will...if you love a car(like loving a woman)then you can put up with its faults!!

I'm not sure if you can get a Q2 fitted to the 2.0 16v. I know the Alfa Q2 could be fitted to the 1.9 16v. Someone with a very up-to-date Eper could advise.

I think the 147 is looking very dated in design and style and I have driven several and would say the dynamics are aged too and not particularly refined.

The Bravo is ok, not a stonking car, FIAT could have ( and should have) done better. Independant rear suspension wouldn't have gone a miss, the ride quality isn't great, however, my diesel has been faultless, reasonably economical, interior has held out with no issues, exterior body panels all fit well and there has been no major issues.

Prior to the Bravo, I had an Alfa GT and although you cannot surpass the styling, Alfa need to move forward in terms of build quality and dynamics.

If I was in the market for a new car now I'd be looking at a Guilietta.............