Hi Fiat members!

I am looking into getting a high spec Bravo (always been keen to get a better performing Fiat having owned a couple of Puntos/Evos) and they seem now to be coming down into my price range. Love the styling and insurance is cheap on these too given their power outage (I'm only 23)! However, I'm torn between the 1.4L 150 petrol or 2.0L 165 diesel... performance stats seem near idential.

I've not actually driven either variety of engine however I know I want one with good drivability (and some oomph behind the wheel). Diesel seems to be a logical choice given the MPG offered and considerably cheaper road tax (think its about 100 quid cheaper?) BUT I wonder if the diesel is potentially a bit sluggish and will make me wish I got the nippy petrol? Especially as the petrol has the sport mode so seems you can choose when you want the oomph and when you don't. Or is this just a novelty? I know the sport mode is meant to firm the steering, but is this just in place of having the city steer function available on the diesel?

Any advice from either owners would be great! Here's hoping I don't start an owners war!

Thanks,
Alf

Hi Alf
I have the 165 sport which i have owned for over 9yrs buying it when it was just less than 3 yrs old in January 2012.
The car is great and one of the best cars I have owned.
The car has been very reliable currently covered just over 103k miles averaging just around 42-44mpg on mixed driving. The car is not sluggish at all and picks up speed very quickly and you can very quickly be exceeding the speed limits.
It hasn't given any trouble and only required tyres, rears last at least twice as long as the fronts and recently an exhaust system which took some finding got the back box from Germany (which was the original system when replaced), new battery and normal service items. I have had the car regularly serviced when its MOT is due so gets done once a year but as I generally only cover on average 8k a year this is fine. The car does not use any oil at all between services.
I haven't driven the petrol version but the bravo sport is just as quick as my wife's Alfa Romeo Giulietta 2ltr sportiva and I also have a Focus ST3 diesel which to be quite honest is not much quicker if at all than the Bravo. I definitely suggest you have a drive of the diesel you might be surprised how well they go, if you can find one locally that is as they are getting quite rare now.
My car was fitted with all the options available at the time and would recommend looking for one with the pan roof and sunroof, makes the brighter inside and also the leather is comfortable and very hard wearing most come with climate control, I have had to re-gas the air con a few times but this doesn't bother me too much as when its hot the sun roof and windows are generally open.
Hope this helps a little, good look in finding a good one Alf

Cheers
Phil

I had a 1.6 diesel version and it was one of the best cars I have owned over many years. The more it drove it the more I liked it. It was indeed quite fast enough to get in trouble. It would romp along at 100mph without hint of strain if opportunity arose. I tried the 165 2.0 and this car back to back and decided the difference in performance was not sufficient, to me, to justify the extra cost at the time. There felt little difference to me on a short test drive. Although the 1.6 is only 105HP you would not guess behind the wheel with 240lb/ft of torque it felt great 90% of the time. The other 10% would only be excessive speed with me so I would recommend you give the 1.6D a try too and see what you think. The 1.6 is an easy 60mpg and considerably more than this of you make effort on a long run. There was plenty of equipment on the standard car and reasonable insurance and of course £30 road tax.

Good luck with your search.

I´ve got mine after a alfa 156 1.9jtdm 140chp and a fiat croma 1.9jtdm 150hp.
have a 1200kg knaus to tow with, well the bravo is better solo and towing exept in m/g but I´ve converted it in lpg.
the croma was the worst car I´ve ever owned, had it 1 1/2 year and most of the time my head was under the bonnet spending €€€€€ :bang:. struggle to tow my old 900kg caravan.

the alfa was one of the best car except for the noisy front arms, change it for the bravo after 350000km without any problem.

the bravo keeps make me smile when it passes smockeys VW without swetting :devil:, even after 6 years with me, and I usually get tired very quickly with cars.
and the sport mode .... doesn´t feel like a 1.4l at all :worship: