Fiat Bravo

Over the past 12 months, one Fiat has been grabbing all the headlines: the new 500. It has generated plenty of showroom traffic – although it’s by no means the only car currently on display in the company’s UK dealers that’s worthy of your attention.

The Panda – on which the 500 is based – remains one of our favourite city models, while the Grande Punto is a top-notch supermini. The most underrated model in the line-up, though, is the Ford Focus-rivalling Bravo.

It was launched last summer, yet its presence was soon overshadowed by the arrival of the Peugeot 308, and the Fiat has also struggled to make an impression since the revised Focus appeared. But it’s not only newer cars from rival makers that have caused the Bravo to be a limited sales success.

Given Fiat’s reputation for poor assembly and reliability, it’s no wonder people have been put off. The Bravo’s predecessor, the Stilo, was a case in point. Although it was well packaged, it fell a long way short of the standards demanded by buyers in the competitive compact family hatch class in terms of dynamics, running costs and finish.

That’s not true of the Bravo. We really believe quality has now turned a corner at Fiat – and that’s not the only reason we would urge you to take a closer look. The five-door is handsome, has a competitive engine line-up and offers excellent value for money.

As a result, it has fared well in our group tests. A 1.5-litre Multijet diesel took on and beat the SEAT Leon, Kia Cee’d and Citroen C4. Then, in Issue a 1.4-litre T-Jet petrol version acquitted itself well; while it couldn’t meet the challenge posed by the class-leading Honda Civic, it outperformed the Peugeot 308 1.6.

The model we recommend most highly is the new 105bhp 1.6-litre Multijet diesel. It’s now available in Eco spec, which puts out less than 120g/km of CO2, and costs less than £14,000 in base Active trim. The turbocharged engine is responsive, and on the road the Bravo is agile and nippy. Yet it also cruises well, going about its business in a refined, fuss free manner.

The cabin has a decent amount of space, we have no complaints about the driving position and the interior feels remarkably robust. Better still, Fiat has recently introduced a five-year unlimited mileage warranty across the range.

No wonder our recent competition to win a Bravo attracted more than 200,000 entries. If you are in the market for a talented family hatch, this Fiat deserves a place on any shortlist.

Details

Price: £13,895
Model tested: 1.6 Multijet Eco Active