Fiat Bravo 1.4 T-Jet 150 (2007) CAR review

A Fiat family hatchback...that actually looks good. What's going on?

Yes, Fiat is in the midst of a resurgence, what with the very pleasant Grande Punto, the cheery Panda and the soon-to-be-a-legend 500 winning fans all over, so we were looking forward to seeing if the new Bravo would follow suit. And when we drove a couple of the diesels - the 118 and 148bhp 1.9 multijet versions - back in January we were pleasantly surprised by their solidity and ride quality; not characteristics associated with the inept Stilo they replace. This car is a real test for Fiat; get it wrong and it could all start to unravel again, but do it properly and it's got one heck of an enviable product lineup to entice people with. Getting an influx of Golf, Focus and Megane buyers into their sparse showrooms was pure fantasy for Fiat even last year, but the Bravo could change all that.

Well, don't keep me in suspense - will Fiat be fighting them off at the forecourts?

We'd love to say yes, but... It's just not quite there, which is a real shame because there's a lot to like about the Bravo. Walk around this car and you'll find no angle stricken by the ugly stick, and what's especially impressive is that it was designed and developed in under two years - albeit using the old Stilo chassis - mostly from a desk in front of a screen. And because aesthetics are usually the thing that tugs hardest on the heart strings come new car time, Fiat will probably have little trouble accomplishing its tentative target of 4000 UK sales by the end of the year.