New Bravo is a diesel delight; Eco-friendly Fiat with lot of class BILL McCARTHY drove the Fiat Bravo and found it to be one of the best looking cars in its class with swooping lies and eye-catching headlight clusters

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Oct 17, 2008

Byline: BILL McCARTHY

THE latest Fiat Bravo is a classy looking car and it is now available with eco-friendly engines.

All comply to the latest Euro-5 standards and comprise two 1.6 MultiJet versions and an Eco option as Fiat aims to be a world leader in green engine technolog y.

There's no doubt that the Bravo is one of the best looking cars in its class with swooping lines, muscular haunches and eye-catching front headlight clusters.

The interior is the same with decent build quality and comprehensive equipment.

The cabin is dominated by the stylish, height and rake-adjustable steering wheel and the dark carbon-look facia.

The downside is that this can make the car seem dark inside and vision is restricted through the rear window.

The binnacle features, smart, deepset dials and the switchgear is both good quality and logically placed and the central multi-display unit offers a wide range of menu options.

The seats are both supportive and comfortable and the interior has ample head and legroom. The 60/40 split rear seats offer room for three, but realistically only two adults can be seated in comfort.

The folding capacity increases the already generous boot space of 365 litres to a maximum of 1,175 litres.

Extra storage space comes via storage pockets, drawers and bins, plus a refrigerated compartment for cooling drinks.

The Bravo offers five levels of trim, including Active, Active Sport, Dynamic and Sport. The all have plenty of standard kit, with ABS anti-lock braking, remote central locking, driver and passenger front and side airbags, electric front windows, a CD player, Dualdrive electric power steering and 'Follow Me Home' headlamps fitted even to the entry level models.

Dynamic trim adds climate control, rain, parking and tyre pressure sensors, a panoramic glass sunroof, an impressive CD system that can play MP3 files, and Blue & Me mobile phone and MP3 player connectivity with steering wheel controls.

The Bravo has a comprehensive list of engines, and none better than the 150bhp turbodiese. Providing 25 per cent more power than its predecessor, it delivers rapid acceleration and excellent fuel economy, with a 50mpg claim.

Driving the car the fuel gauge seemed unwilling to move, so it is pretty cheap motoring for such a big engine .

Carbon emissions are below 150g/km, making a decent company car option. The engine is also very refined with little evidence of diesel clatter

and the six-speed gearbox proved slick.

The ride can be a bit jittery under hard acceleration, but is a smooth motorway cruiser.

The Bravo has 17 versions in its UK range, priced from pounds 10,995 to pounds 16,355.

Facts and figures

Make: Fiat

Model: Bravo 1.9

MultiJet 150

Dynamic 5 door

Price: pounds 16,105

Mechanical: 150bhp,

1,910cc, 4cyl diesel

engine driving front

wheels via 6 speed

manual gearbox

Max speed: 130mph

0-62mph: 9 seconds

Combined mpg: 50.4

Insurance group: 10

CO2 emissions:

149g/km

BiK rating: 19% Warranty: 3 years/

60,000 miles, 3 years paint, 8 years antirust

CAPTION(S):

LOOKS SMART - the Bravo is one of the best looking cars in its class; LOAD LUGGER - boot space in the Bravo is very generous