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Bravo New (old) family runabout: 2009 Bravo 2.0 165 M-Jet

Introduction

Hello,

This is my new (old) second-hand car; we're a 2-Fiat family now. I just bought a lovely looking 2009 Bravo 165T, having formerly had my heart set on a Panda 100HP. The Panda is just too small for a newborn baby + 2 adults + stuff.

It's got 82k on the clock, and none of the extra-extras; I tested 4 Bravos before buying this one, and whilst some had the dual-zone climate, rear electric windows, sat nav - this one was solidly maintained by a Fiat technician and has had clutch, flywheel, belts, tyres and suspension components in the last few years. Feels solid, and no evidence of deferred maintenance or cheap mods.

Not taken many photos, as it's bog standard stock. I'll probably not make any modifications... maybe replace the faded boot badge and add some mudflaps. Will have to spend more time on the Punto, she's looking unloved right now.

What's to like?

  • Well, the power comes in and keeps going. 3rd and 4th give really decent in-gear acceleration.
  • Super comfortable at speed; it's a brilliant motorway cruiser.
  • It's got a boot big enough for a buggy + bassinet + stuff.
  • It looks fantastic. Clearly the best looking C-segment vehicle of its time.
  • MPG is excellent.
  • Low tax.
  • Lower insurance than I was quoted for the 1.9 sport (!!)
  • I like that the foglights do that "follow you home" thing.
What I dislike?

  • It doesn't handle nearly as well as my last sensible car, a '98 Focus. It wallows like a tugboat. Show the thing a corner and it flops around like a Transit.
  • On sharp turn in to left hand bends, the right-front tyre makes a slightly alarming rumble (actually, this really needs attention). I suspect poor alignment.
  • The gearbox is... rubbish. Slow to engage and with poor feel. The previous owner recently changed the gear oil, so I wonder if it's too thick of a grade. Not a patch on the flickability of the M32 box in the Punto, although I'm led to believe this one is rather more reliable...
  • The cruise control is about as counterintuitive as it gets.
It's scary how fast the "you're driving too quickly" beep appears. It really does go like a rocket if you plant your foot in 3rd. I'm enjoying the practicality of 5 doors, too - though I wonder how an adult male is expected to sit in those back seats with all of 6" of legroom.

Question: is "Maserati Blue" the same paint code as "Orleans Blue"? We now have 2 near-identical Fiats on the drive. I kind of wanted the burgundy Bravo; never mind eh?

Anyway, nice to be a member of the Bravo Sport club, as it were. :)
[*]MPG is excellent.
I think I would take issue with you on that. It's not bad for a 2.0 with 165bhp but it's nothing like the official figures.

[*]I like that the foglights do that "follow you home" thing.

The "follow me home is not the fogs". The fogs turn on when you indicate or start to turn below a certain speed (30mph or something). Follow me home is when you take the key out and then pull the full beam lever towards you, one pull per 20seconds or so you want the headlights to stay on for.

Glad you like it. I am thinking of selling my 2009 165 now after many many trouble free miles. The only thing putting me off is that I suspects it not worth much now.
 
I have delta 2.0 which is pretty much a long wheelbase bravo, performance I find just pleasantly adequate, economy good 45 to 50 mpg most of the time driven fairly fast, rear space isn't an issue as the long wheelbase is all invested in rear seat space. Boot size isn't bad but shape and high lip are awkward it's a shame uk cars don't have the dual level boot feature. Handling is OK nothing special and can get untidy if you really push it but in normal driving it's fine if a little bit under steer prone. Tyre choice seems critical I wouldn't want to drive one on chinese tyres I had Goodyear efficient grip performance which were ok but recently changed to eagle asymmetric 3 (I have 18inch wheels incidentally) and found a big improvement really smooth to drive now, I'm guessing that they have stiffer sidewalls but even so the ride is still ok. The gearbox I find ok quite smooth although it doesn't respond well to really rushed changes, I'm at 57k no sign of needing a new clutch just yet I'm hoping it will do over 100k at least on the original.
 
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I think I would take issue with you on that. It's not bad for a 2.0 with 165bhp but it's nothing like the official figures.

Quite - my comments should all be taken "all things considered"... this is after all a pretty, 7-year old car which cost less than 3 grand. 45 to the gallon is fine by me.

The "follow me home is not the fogs". The fogs turn on when you indicate or start to turn below a certain speed (30mph or something). Follow me home is when you take the key out and then pull the full beam lever towards you, one pull per 20seconds or so you want the headlights to stay on for.
Ah! I'm getting my buzz-phrases confused. According to Fiat (via Google) the fun gimmick I meant was "adaptive cornering fog lights"!
Glad you like it. I am thinking of selling my 2009 165 now after many many trouble free miles. The only thing putting me off is that I suspects it not worth much now.
They've certainly depreciated hard. Same with our Grande, we're keeping that until it expires because it's worth more to us than anyone else. Poor thing is near worthless, in fact.

rossocorsa said:
Tyre choice seems critical

Yep, it seems so. I was told same by the seller - it's got Dunlops on the rear and Goodyears on the front 'because the Dunlops were rubbish'. Apparently. I've always favoured Hankook Ventus Prime 2, and will give those a go next.
 
Welcome. At your mileage I'd deffo think about new dampers. They'll be shot by now and are probably the cause of your sloppy handling.
Thanks :)

I've not got any issues with rebound, it's a decent enough ride... it's just the spring rate wasn't quite what I expected - the punto sporting is firm to the point of bone-jarring (but great in the corners). We'll see how we get on anyway.
 
Dampers worn after 85k(miles?) that would be very quick.
I also drive a '09 165hp multijet and with 220k km (~138k miles) it stil drives like a new Bravo.
The only thing really wrong with it is the injectors that need a refurb and the double mass flywheel that is worn. But as long it has drives good and gets decent consumption i wont do anything about that.

I recently changed the tyres (18") from a blend of continental sportcontact and pirelli p-zero to michelin pilot sport 4 and that made a huge different especially in the comfort department.
 
Dampers worn after 85k(miles?) that would be very quick.
I also drive a '09 165hp multijet and with 220k km (~138k miles) it stil drives like a new Bravo.
The only thing really wrong with it is the injectors that need a refurb and the double mass flywheel that is worn. But as long it has drives good and gets decent consumption i wont do anything about that.

I recently changed the tyres (18") from a blend of continental sportcontact and pirelli p-zero to michelin pilot sport 4 and that made a huge different especially in the comfort department.
Well, my T-Jet did about that number of ks (~140k km) amount and all the shocks were shot. I didn't realise it till it took a big dip when going over a hump and the plastic engine protector thingy took a hole to the front. Obviously, i went on to change both the front and rear shocks and replace the broken front strut mount as well.
 
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