Fiat Bravo 2.0 Multijet : SPORTY BUT SENSIBLE

Expert Rating:

Fiat's 2.0-litre MultiJet 165 diesel Bravo model is disarmingly good. Jonathan Crouch reports

What do you want your Family Hatchback to be? Good value? Well equipped? Great looking? Economical? Versatile? Offering punchy performance? Fiat's Bravo 2.0 MultiJet 165 diesel model ticks all these boxes. So why is it so overlooked by buyers and pundits alike? Perhaps it's a badge snobbery thing. Either way, this car remains a well kept secret.

Diesel development continues on apace and this 2.0-litre MultiJet Bravo is a good example. The engine features a diesel particulate filter (DPF) and is type-approved to Euro 5 standards, As you'd expect, it's `greener' but at the same time, this powerplant aims to underscore the liveliness, flexibility and driving pleasure that have always been features of the Bravo. This engine is a logical evolution of the old 1.9 MultiJet 150 unit and the main improvements centre on greater performance, reduced emissions and lower fuel consumption. Though the T-Jet petrol models have their appeal, the Multijet diesels, in 1.6 and 2.0-litre forms, probably make more sense overall, assuming that you're not merely buying the car to amble to the shops and back. Fiat don't claim to be taking on the market leaders in terms of volume with this car but they do want to improve substantially on the poor sales they've traditionally recorded in this sector. To that end, the marque has long needed a far more class-competitive product. The Bravo is that car. This isn't the sharpest handling car in this sector but it's close enough to the highest class standards for most potential buyers not to notice - or indeed to care. They'll probably be more bothered about the fact that the interior feels very well built. Bright finish plastics lift the cabin and the controls are easy to figure out without recourse to the manual. It all looks agreeably Italianate as well. Fiat has really got the hang of the whole soft-touch dashboard moulding in recent years and the new Bravo's supple, textured finish wouldn't look out of place in an Audi. The more powerful 2.0-litre MultiJet 165bhp diesel has some real muscle to it, getting the Bravo from rest to 62mph in 8.2 seconds and topping 134mph. With 360Nm of torque available, it's not going to have any problem putting irksome white van men in their place, that torque output superior to something like a Subaru Impreza WRX. Fiat's Dualdrive electrical steering assistance is fitted, which lightens the steering around town and at parking speeds by pressing a button on the dashboard. A bit more feel at higher driving speeds would be welcome however.

"Diesel development continues on apace and this 2.0-litre MultiJet Bravo is a good example â€¦."

It's easy to forgive the Bravo any minor shortcomings when you walk round the car, taking in its beautifully integrated detailing and elegant proportions. Many five door hatches are about as beguiling as the prospect of an evening spent creosoting your mother-in-law's fence, but the Bravo is different. Just as the Grande Punto added a touch of the exotic to the supermini class, so the new Bravo does the same for cars the next size up. Though this isn't the largest car in the class, there's a decent amount of luggage space in that curved rump. The big draw for family buyers is undoubtedly the amount of safety gear Fiat has packed into the new Bravo. Winner of a coveted five-star Euro NCAP crash safety rating, the Bravo sits squarely at the top of its category with a total of 33 points on the NCAP scorecard. The Bravo is the product of over 60 crash tests, 15,000 hours of computer simulations, 150 simulations with a crash sled and more than 100 crash tests on components and subsystems. The Bravo features two front airbags, two front side bags, two window bags and a knee airbag for the driver. You'll probably end up paying around £17,000 for this car and there's a choice of either Dynamic or Sport trim levels. Only a single five-door hatchback bodystyle is being offered. No other car in the sector is better value - or better equipped. The 2.0-litre Multijet diesel model we've been looking at in Dynamic 165bhp form costs around £2,000 less than an equivalently equipped 130bhp TDCi Focus that offers less performance. Want a cheap South Korean alternative with comparable 165bhp power? Sorry, there isn't one. You don't actually have to have 165bhp in your diesel Bravo though: the 120bhp 1.6-litre version is also a sound choice. ABS anti-lock braking with electronic brakeforce distribution and the latest generation ESP stability control system should prevent the worst coming to the worst. The ESP system includes functions such as anti-slip regulation (ASR) to limit wheelspin in slippery conditions, and engine torque regulation which prevents the driven wheels locking up during rapid downshifts. Hydraulic brake assist boosts pedal pressure in emergency situations and there's even a hill-holder function to take the faff out of hill starts. The low upfront asking prices allied with improving Fiat brand residuals create a car that's very class competitive in terms of that crucial pence per mile figure after a typical three year ownership period. Whether you can justify the £1,000 premium being asked for the Bravo 2.0 Multijet 165 model over its T-Jet petrol 150 stablemate will depend of course on the kind of mileage you rack up. A Multijet 150 model will return around 53mpg on the Combined cycle - around 13mpg better than the petrol T-Jet equivalent. Do the maths by all means, but make sure you've got the petrol to diesel price differential right. Fiat dealers tend to sell more Bravo diesels than petrol models, so will keep more in stock. As a result, better deals may be available that will drive the price differential down. While you're asking on this, also investigate the guaranteed residual programme that Fiat dealers offer on this car with regard to some of their financing schemes. This is intended to soften the blow of residuals that remain slightly behind obvious mainstream competitors. Insurance costs (group 10 for the variant we're looking at here) are however, comparable. I have a suspicion that the Fiat Bravo 2.0 Multijet we're looking at here is the best family car you can buy. The problem I have is in getting anyone to believe me. Experts talk of cars like Ford's Focus or Honda's Civic as being leaders in the Family Hatchback sector. But a Fiat? Surely not. I can see their point, yet when I go back to my notes having driven various versions of this car, it's hard to escape the facts of the case. It's affordable, it goes well and it looks great. The Italians have done their sums with this one. You can pay an awful lot more in this sector and get less. A great deal less.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Fiat Bravo 2.0 Multijet
PRICES: £16,500-£16,794 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 10
CO2 EMISSIONS: 139g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 8.2s/ Max Speed 134mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 53mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: twin front/side/window airbags, driver's knee airbag, ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height 4336/1792/1498mm