Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £13,255 to £17,650
Over 60mpg; Band B tax; quick off the mark; Bravo's attractive styling and five-star NCAP score.
Dead-feeling steering; poor low-speed ride; uninspiring handling.
Not sporty, but a nice-looking car that's cheap to run.
The new 1.6 engine is substantially more compact, and lighter than the 1.9 JTD unit, and thus the Fiat Bravo Eco feels less nose-heavy. It's rather noisy, however, and while the handling is much-improved from that of the stodgy Stilo, the Bravo lacks the sharpness of the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, or Vauxhall Astra. The steering is dead-feeling - whether in normal or lightened-up City mode - and the brakes over-abrupt, and it's hard to get the car flowing round a series of tight bends.
The engine is strong, though: its modest 103bhp is supplemented by a hefty 214lb ft of torque, peaking at a low-down 2000rpm - just right for quick progress off the mark, though you need to work it through the gears. Top speed is 116mph and official acceleration figure 0-62mph is 11.3 seconds, pretty quick for an economy-biased car.
Fiat has worked to improve the driving position in its current line-up, and the Bravo's cabin is well laid out with room for detailed adjustment of the driver's seat and steering wheel. Vision to the rear is good.
