Hi, I came to these forums trying to investigate the Bravo; I am soon to be buying a new car and this appealed to me as it was a decent size and compared to similar cars from its competitors from the same age of car, seems to be a lot cheaper. The dilemma has came now though that i have see quiet a few good looking Seicentos...I never thought i'd go for a car it's size but it seems to have character, its even cheaper again and i can afford a relatively new one with low mileage; however im not too sure it will meet my needs. I've never really had experience with supermini's so I'm hopping for some advice on some matters
Firstly 4 or 5 times a year the car will need to do a cross county journey to see my folks (about 800 miles) as this isn't going to be a regular thing refinement for the ride isn't too important but i'd still like it to be semi-comfortable, will the sei manage this? How does it handle on long journey's? I've heard mixed views on this however most of them come from sites like top gear etc and i'd rather hear the views of real drivers.
Secondly on the Bravo, i'd prob be going with the 1.2 version, how is the fuel economy on this?
And lastly I suppose does size matter? Is the driving refinement between the two so different? and more importantly if you could choose what would you get? (makes my decision abit easier )

Thanks a lot for any input you can give, just trying to get clear in my head the pros and cons of each

I cant really make a comparison between the two as I have no first hand experience of the Sei. However, I do drive the 1.2 Bravo and can give it nothing but praise.

I bought mine 4 years ago with only 16k on the clock. The little baby now has 120k on the clock and still going strong. Cross country is not a problem in the Bravo and its very comfortable (even drove mine to Belgium and back in 2 days)

The fuel economy is pretty darn good too and has a suprising amount of zip for a 1.2 engine.

I was that impressed with the car I joined up with the Bravo forum. Within a year I had helped setting up the owners club and now run both the forum, oners club and bravo-guide website.

For full specs (inc economy) of the Bravo range, please see http://www.bravo-guide.co.uk It should have everything you need to know on there. If it doesnt - let me know and I will get it sorted.

welcome to the forum

why not go in the middle of the 2 an get a punto

i think rules on size go if you got a little one you buy a big car, if you have a big one get a little car, but i think some get a little car to pretend they got a big one i think helz knows more about this than me, (jk)

my sei is fine on long journeys more so than my cinq (which was ok on long journeys, but the buckets when they went in, they made my leg go dead on long journeys!)

did consider a bravo but i just couldnt tear myself away from cento land

Edit: and yep, daves right

Having owned a Cento before my Bravo, i'd say you can't really beat the bravo for comfort on long journeys (more so with the HGT's sports upholstry) but i'm still a fan of the wee cento's too as you can't beat the fantastic handling they have on the corners

A cento will manage a cross-country journey no problem, ClubCento did Lands-end to John O'Groats for charity and that's a fair hike in a small car.

GhostWKD said:

more so than my cinq (which was ok on long journeys, but the buckets when they went in, they made my leg go dead on long journeys!)

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That means that they were too low...I raised mine by 40mm to combat that .

But on a serious note, the 1242cc 16v Bravo is quick (I was in a Brava 80 earlier, and that absolutely shifted for a car of its weight / engine). The Sei is great fun but reasonably impractical, but will probably cost less to insure

arseofbox said:

That means that they were too low...I raised mine by 40mm to combat that .

But on a serious note, the 1242cc 16v Bravo is quick (I was in a Brava 80 earlier, and that absolutely shifted for a car of its weight / engine). The Sei is great fun but reasonably impractical, but will probably cost less to insure

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Yep my buckets had mounting plates rather than subframes, so sat on floor practically

If you can sacrifice the space and a bit of ride comfort then go for the sei otherwise bravo is a good call

The Sei and Bravo are two very different cars.

The Bravo is obviously much more comfortable, but it doesn't have the personality of the Sei. Both are reliable cars if you look after them and both would be capable of driving to your folks.

Given the choice I'd go for a newer Sei with low mileage and a full history.

You should consider a Punto though. You can pick up early Mk2 Puntos for very little money now.

If I were you I'd test drive both. Still quite a few kicking around at dealers so you can avoid upsetting private sellers.

Whichever you decide to get you'll get some serious "grin-per-pound" factor as the residuals on both cars are pretty dire now.

If going for the Bravo have you considered a JTD? Great performance (especially once AngelTuned) and economy and not much more to insure than a 1.2.

Thx for all the replies, unfortunately not what I wanted to hear as it seems practically im back to square one, with both cars being perfect for my needs
I was hoping there would be a sensible reason with which to differentiate, but will have to get down to what I can get for my money.
As a side note I’ve ruled out the punto for reasons bellow.
Firstly my budget is £2k max, for this it seems you get the odd bargain with a punto but in general there are very few that meet what I was hoping for in my price range (2001/2 with decent mileage). While I would love to be able to take one of the odd bargains I can’t really depend on them, I am not able to buy atm but in 6 months time. Incase anyone wonders why I am looking now, its because im in training in the merchant navy so in a few weeks have to go back to sea and not going to be back to buy the car till the end of the year, but at that time I’ll need to buy it in a matter of days, a week at most. Thus im trying to be sure on what im aiming and research it to relieve some of the stress when I get back…and it’ll give me something to look forward too
Anyway back to the point I can’t rely on the fact I’ll be able to get a bargain punto in that time.
Anyway in my budget and area there are quite a few 2002 sei sporting with a lot of mods (body-kit, decent ice etc) or a bog standard basic 2001 bravo 1.2. I would prob go for the bravo, but the amount of extras I can get on the sei for the same money are whats tempting me; I wouldn’t have the time or the money to add them to a car I buy atm, but do like moded cars as it adds some individuality to it.

So kinda back to square one with deciding how important mods etc are; just one last question, if it was up to you would you prefer a slightly bigger un-moded car or a modified small car?

Hopefully decide soon so I can look into what to look for etc and thx for the advice about going to test drive each, think il give that a go. Also great bravo site there, I have been noticing when browsing there seems to be a hell of a lot of good fiat sites out there compared to most brands

Owned both, had the sei sporting which was comfy,fun,cheap and got looks.Was a doddle to drive in town with it having power steering and never had a problem with it. Wrote it off in 2003 and bought a Bravo 1.8 HLX which i've just recently just sold, was sturdy, comfy, had a fair bit of poke and was just a bit more refined than my sei. Also doing more motorway miles gave me a sense of security. I think the bravos also quite smart style wise compared to astras etc. Had nice touches too like heated seats etc.

But..being a cento lover, i've now gone back to a Cinq, size isn't everything, and its got a 1.2 anyway, miles better on fuel than me bravo, and cheaper to insure.

I know i ain't helped much, but they are both great cars in different ways theres a pic in my gallery of my cinq and bravo