The new Bravo is not a clean-sheet design but a development from the outgoing Stilo platform. Stilo was born in late 2001 with high expectation. Fiat originally planned to produce it for 7 years, that means replacement would not have arrived until late 2008. Unfortunately, the market reception was poor and sales continued to slide. Fiat had no alternative but to replace it earlier. However, to claw back the investment it made in Stilo, Fiat utilized its platform and developed it into new Bravo. Suspensions continues to be strut up front and torsion beam at the rear. The wheelbase remains unchanged at 2600mm, a little short by today's standard. Length and width have grown a little from Stilo. While the 1498 mm height is tall, it is not as tall as the 5-door Stilo.
Fiat sets the sales target at a conservative 120,000 units a year. This is made possible by the lower development costs, as the development took only 18 months from specification freeze to market launch. The low target is set also because there is no 3-door version will be offered. Unless Fiat can reach a deal to produce it in China, the Bravo is likely to be limited to 5-door hatchback form.
However, this 5-door looks handsome, thanks to a sleek nose and soft wedge profile. At the back, its tailgate and lights remind you the original Bravo (1995-2001). Inside, the dashboard and console design looks quite sporty. Materials and build quality has taken a step forward but don't expect it to match the pricier Volkswagen Golf. The driving position has full range of adjustment to accommodate drivers from 1.5 to 2 meters tall. Fiat also claims it is the only car in the class that can accommodate 184 cm tall passengers at the back behind front passengers of the same height, believe or not. Better still, the boot can swallow 400 liters of luggage.
According to Fiat, the chassis of Bravo has a class-leading torsional rigidity of 21,300 Nm/degree. The suspension geometry, springs and dampers have been retuned. Stiffer anti-roll bars have been employed. The wishbones are now made of stamped steel instead of cast iron to reduce unsprung weight. Dual-path strut blocks and new hydraulic bushings improve NVH suppression. Accompany with a 20 mm wider track, the Bravo should cure the poor handling and ride of its predecessor.
At launch, there are 3 engines available. The entry level is a 90hp 1.4-liter 16V petrol detuned from Grande Punto. Then there are a couple of 1.9-liter Multijet turbo diesel, rated at 120hp for 8V and 150hp for 16V. All three are existing engines from Fiat's parts pool. Later this year will come a new T-JET 1.4-liter turbo petrol, which will produce 120hp and 150hp in different state of tune. To deliver higher mpg and lower CO2 emission, Fiat is not going to offer bigger capacity petrol engines to the Bravo
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