1996 Fiat Bravo HLX 1.8 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Cheap, high performance, low insurance hot hatch

Faults:

Nothing but annoying fascia rattles and slow electric windows.

General Comments:

A superb car!!!

Performance is good, would be nice to have a turbo for low revs, but other than that, excellent.

Gorgeous looks (black with 205/15 Fiat alloys from the HGT).

Rattles are annoying, but if you put your foot down you can just hear the gorgeous engine sound, and exhaust note (modded Janspeed exhaust, not Fiat's own).

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 23rd November, 2000

1996 Fiat Bravo SX 1.4 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Timing belt had to changed at 34,000 miles. Also rear shocks were gone.

Seat height adjuster is broken on both driver and passenger seats.

General Comments:

Nice car that's fun to drive. The engine is revvy enough hence the not spectacular fuel consumption.

Lovely shape especially when compared with Japanese rivals.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th April, 1999

1996 Fiat Bravo SX 1.4 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Bought car privately 2nd hand with 25,000 K on the clock.

Replaced all 4 Shocks, clutch then shattered after about 2000km, replaced this, car now at 32,000Kms, having problems starting, put some STP injector cleaner through the Fuel & presto, sorted.

General Comments:

Coolest looking car in its class, roadholding is superb (especially when combined with a set of Bridgestone Potenza so2 tyres - 195/50 ZR15).

Fuel consumption is higher that I expected, I generally get about 27 - 32 MPG, but then I spend a lot of time above 4000 rpm, where the fun starts.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th April, 1999

1996 Fiat Bravo S 1.4 12v petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Purchased the car second hand from main dealer. Clutch release bearing began to produce droning noise after a bit less than a year of ownership, but the dealer replaced free of charge. Apart from that nothing has gone wrong with the car in the last 2 years of ownership. Car's reliability can't be faulted.

General Comments:

Dashboard and interior can be rattley on harsh road surfaces, possibly due to firm suspension setup.

Good handling and road holding, the car does not mind being flung around twisty back roads, and is up to taking a bit of abuse. Engine is torquey and revy and quite responsive, gearbox is quite smooth, clutch a little heavy, which is the same on other Bravos I have driven, brakes are brilliant, which is a good thing :).

Fuel consumption is not bad, but nothing to write home about, though I have a heavy right foot which does not help.

The car looks good and is comfortable on long trips.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th February, 1999

1996 Fiat Bravo HLX 1.8 petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

The petrol filler cap had to be replaced straight away. The stereo had to be replaced after about eighteen months.

General Comments:

Generally I've been very surprised at the reliability of this Italian car. It's stylish, fast enough and you can't ask for more on the comfort stakes!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 11th October, 1998