Owned a 1997 Brava 1600, in grey. An absolute sweetie. And the best, and most reliable car I've owned. Rev it to about 3500rpm, and it was just like having a turbo kick in.
A few years back I bought a Fiat Bravo 1.2 for the Mrs to learn to drive in for £450. It had 122,000 miles on the clock. We ran it for two years taking it up to 140,000 miles, she passed her test and it needed nothing other than tyres and oil. It did 40mpg plus however it was driven, and afterwards we managed to sell it for £600. They were very underrated cars.
Around that period ,mid 90s to 2000 fiat produced some great looking cars way ahead of there time, the one that really stands out and is still ahead of its time now is the fiat coupe, the thing is stunning looking!
Still have a 2001 Bravo 155 HGT, 275,000km on the odometer. Semi-retired from daily use now but just finished a 6,000km summer road trip around New Zealand in it with no problems. Still a fun drive and that 5cyl warble is so good
Pretty futuristic looking for a mid 1990s car, easily 10 years ahead of its time in terms of appearance. My parents had a Fiat Brava and it was always a very reliable car, they really liked the car. Drove it up to 110K miles. Very rarely see them on the roads these days though. However that is true for most 1990s cars. The earliest cars I see on a frequent basis (in the UK) tend to date to around 2002.
Had a '99 Bravo 80 SX. Good car, better quality than previous Fiats and about average reliability. It did rattle a bit though after 10k miles or so. Was very comfortable for a small car. Wasn't as much fun as my '91 Uno 45 Fire. But in 1995 the Bravo was striking and futuristic. Just compare it to a '95 Astra or Escort which by comparison look extremely boring.
Same here! I sold my Fiat Bravo in January 2019. It was a 1.6 16v 1998 version. Had 250000 km on the clock but the engine still ran smoothly !! Sold it for 500 EUR.
These have all been scrapped in the UK, used to see these as a kid all the time as I remember thinking "when I'm older I want that car" LOL. But I go to turkey every summer and these are everywhere over there!
You definitely don't see these on the road anymore. My parents had a Fiat Brava, got it up to over 110K miles, it was a great car. We loved it, really good family car. Remember seeing the Bravo and Maria on the roads at the time.
My parents still have fiat brava from 1998 1.8 petrol engine.It is in our yard drom 2010 and it is still daily driven 40-50 km on average.Great car only oil changing and it will be fine for a long time,i also have almost year and a half fiat bravo from 2011 which for now is also really realible,the cost to buy was very cheap and is such a beauty.That is why i love Fiat models bravo/brava.Cheap,beautifull,economical,realible ,all i one package.
Tallandcharming i bought one second hand, it was 6 yrs old. Had no abnormal issues at all. Everything actually worked, and it was a bargain when i bought it. Base range model without the unneccesary electronics but WiITH aircondition . I loved it
Ohh thanks! I've bought one 2 weeks ago, same with 1.4 12V engine: Was it good for you? How many MPG did you get? And what type of motor oil did you use for this motor? It's known for small oil channels in the cylinder head.
@@user-ym5mw8ft6d i think i used 5-40 W Mobil Oil ( Exxon) , but my memory might slip. With A/C on , 2 adults , 2 kids and full bagae it took around 7 L / Km on the road...so it wasn't THAT fuel efficient. In town a little more, depending on the weather. I live in Finland and we get down to 25 - 30 C minus degrees in the winter 😀 Without A/C i think it would been around 5,5 - 6 L / 100 km. From what i've heard the newer 1.2 16 Valve engine with the same 80 hp takes less gas.
Fcuck. I knew Clarkson had bad taste but it's just now been confirmed. I hated this pile of crap when it came out and seeing that he liked it in it's time just goes to show.
@@sharonec5419 yes the stilo was crap,but the bravo II it is up to date with the beauty and it is realible,only reagular oil changes are needed,i have bravo from 2011 and so far so good,my parents have brava from 1998 bought in 2010 and it is daily driven since then,also great car.
I have a 1.9 GT (TD) version with a sunroof. I love it for being nimble and having that low sporty profile. But it is practical. I used it to help my brother move stuff to the new apartment, I even managed to fit 55 inch TV in with ease.
I have the 1.2 l Trofeo Sport package, that blue one, and it just eats BMW's like nothing. I'm shocked. Also, it DOES 40mpg. It's very stable and corners amazingly well. I've also driven Honda Prelude 5th gen, Golf 4 GT and I've also raced them against the Fiat. I've also raced Series 5 BMW, all types of VW's and an M3. The only one that was faster than my Fiat was the M3 (tuned). If you know how to drive it, it just goes.
Ca avait de la gueule à sa sortie, un style incroyable ! la voiture de mes parents a qui je vidais vite le réservoir à mes 18 ans ... le probleme de cette voiture c est la conso. j etais vite grillé
Apart from being the potato that did indeed fall to bits like the interesting potato, one of the main reasons why massively overpriced Fiats fail to sell in England is that the dealers are abysmal. An American Werewolf would get a warmer welcome walking into a Yorkshire pub than a customer gets in an interesting-potato bistro.
I had one. Great to look at, cracking to drive. Fell apart bit by bit after a few years and crapped before it got to seven. It didn’t rattle but it still wasn’t well made. Shame really. Probably the last interesting car Fiat made.
The 1.4 was very bad on fuel economy and had a cam belt tensioner problem (that they knew about), the 1.2 was a much better engine, it had a little more power on paper and it did do 40mpg...
@@PaulMappud well, not right... I have a 97 1.4 12v bravo with 240k kmh on the odo and not a single problem with the engine exept a alternator problem with i fixed
@@jovlaz5032 : Well, yes, in my experience right, I owned a 1.4 then after a 1.2, the 1.4 12v engine (nicknamed the 'Turin Nail' I believe) had a "chocolate" cam belt tensioner that went at 7k miles and bent all the valves which the service manager informed me Fiat knew was a problem (I paid a nominal sum towards the parts), it was noisy as hell, like a bag of loose spanners knocking around under the bonnet and the fuel consumption was worse than a 2.0 with the power of a 1.1, the 1.2 16v that replaced it very quickly was a cracking little engine and transformed the car, if you find yourself one I guarantee you will halve your fuel bill. Don't get me wrong I loved my 80's-90's Fiats (four in total), I only sold the 1.2 as I wanted an auto and then switched to Honda and never saw a stealership again except for regular servicing.
@@PaulMappud maybe thats on some examples, but i had a great experience on mine. I imported it from italy back in 2000 soo mayb thats the reason. My friend has a brava 1.2 16v its pretty good but it has no difference in acceleration long story short we drag raced and won exacly the same time. Also im wondering where did you find that nickname for the engine? Cheers mate from Serbia
Авто/Мото
The design of the car was way ahead of its time.
Owned a 1997 Brava 1600, in grey. An absolute sweetie. And the best, and most reliable car I've owned. Rev it to about 3500rpm, and it was just like having a turbo kick in.
I also have a '97 Brava with the 1.6. Surprisingly fast for a 5-door "family" car!
My first car: Fiat Bravo 2001, yellow, 1.6 16v. Really fun to drive and quite spacious :-)
A few years back I bought a Fiat Bravo 1.2 for the Mrs to learn to drive in for £450. It had 122,000 miles on the clock. We ran it for two years taking it up to 140,000 miles, she passed her test and it needed nothing other than tyres and oil. It did 40mpg plus however it was driven, and afterwards we managed to sell it for £600. They were very underrated cars.
Fiat still very underrated...
@@Deathfg unfortunately Fiat have lost there way. No new Punto, no new Panda, No new Bravo. All they basically sell now is the 500 which is sad.
@@Deathfg Also the new fiat bravo II is very attractive and realible car,but it is like any other fiat underrated.
Around that period ,mid 90s to 2000 fiat produced some great looking cars way ahead of there time, the one that really stands out and is still ahead of its time now is the fiat coupe, the thing is stunning looking!
Started driving in one of these with the 1.4L engine, great car. Very reliable and good handling little car. Fared pretty well on the snow too!
Still have a 2001 Bravo 155 HGT, 275,000km on the odometer. Semi-retired from daily use now but just finished a 6,000km summer road trip around New Zealand in it with no problems. Still a fun drive and that 5cyl warble is so good
Mine needs some interior parts however it’s easier to find unicorn sh*t than oarts for these cars in the UK
@@John--cu2yu I think there are now more in NZ than the U.K.! Quite amazing since maybe 100 were ever sold here!
Pretty futuristic looking for a mid 1990s car, easily 10 years ahead of its time in terms of appearance. My parents had a Fiat Brava and it was always a very reliable car, they really liked the car. Drove it up to 110K miles. Very rarely see them on the roads these days though. However that is true for most 1990s cars. The earliest cars I see on a frequent basis (in the UK) tend to date to around 2002.
Had a '99 Bravo 80 SX. Good car, better quality than previous Fiats and about average reliability. It did rattle a bit though after 10k miles or so. Was very comfortable for a small car. Wasn't as much fun as my '91 Uno 45 Fire. But in 1995 the Bravo was striking and futuristic. Just compare it to a '95 Astra or Escort which by comparison look extremely boring.
My first car, 2001 blue bravo, 1,2 haha. It was beautiful
I am the only one watching it in 2019 ?????
Yo, im watching this in 2020 xD
Same here! I sold my Fiat Bravo in January 2019. It was a 1.6 16v 1998 version. Had 250000 km on the clock but the engine still ran smoothly !! Sold it for 500 EUR.
Nope
@@webwizard79 amazing! They are so rare in the uk now, such a shame
@@Deathfg Even worst: daily driving a '99 1.9JTD GT in 2021 it refuses to give up, let's see if it last until it's 25th bitrhday xD
These have all been scrapped in the UK, used to see these as a kid all the time as I remember thinking "when I'm older I want that car" LOL. But I go to turkey every summer and these are everywhere over there!
Owned a Brava 16 cc. Great car, comfort and nippy and reliable
My parents had a Fiat Marea Weekend that was a really nice car, like Clarkson said!
Had a 99 marea, the most powerful version, best car i had
You definitely don't see these on the road anymore. My parents had a Fiat Brava, got it up to over 110K miles, it was a great car. We loved it, really good family car. Remember seeing the Bravo and Maria on the roads at the time.
My parents still have fiat brava from 1998 1.8 petrol engine.It is in our yard drom 2010 and it is still daily driven 40-50 km on average.Great car only oil changing and it will be fine for a long time,i also have almost year and a half fiat bravo from 2011 which for now is also really realible,the cost to buy was very cheap and is such a beauty.That is why i love Fiat models bravo/brava.Cheap,beautifull,economical,realible ,all i one package.
@@petar2319 that's amazing. They are a very rare sight on the roads in the UK now.
Io ho ancora la Fiat Bravo 1600 16 v del 1999...ho fatto 420.000 km proprio oggi...grande Torque ! per ora tutto ok!
Vorrei sapere il consumo medio,grazie.
I can’t stress how incredibly, unbelievably rare these are nowadays, I haven’t seen one in about 10/12 years now
I have a Nero 601 HGT (facelift)
Bloody good looking little car when you compare it to anything that was offered in its class in 1995. Not the most reliable but they looked fantastic.
Tallandcharming i bought one second hand, it was 6 yrs old. Had no abnormal issues at all. Everything actually worked, and it was a bargain when i bought it. Base range model without the unneccesary electronics but WiITH aircondition . I loved it
Which motor option was in your car?
@@user-ym5mw8ft6d it actualy was the basic with a 1.4 L 12 valve.
Ohh thanks! I've bought one 2 weeks ago, same with 1.4 12V engine: Was it good for you?
How many MPG did you get? And what type of motor oil did you use for this motor?
It's known for small oil channels in the cylinder head.
@@user-ym5mw8ft6d i think i used 5-40 W Mobil Oil ( Exxon) , but my memory might slip. With A/C on , 2 adults , 2 kids and full bagae it took around 7 L / Km on the road...so it wasn't THAT fuel efficient. In town a little more, depending on the weather. I live in Finland and we get down to 25 - 30 C minus degrees in the winter 😀 Without A/C i think it would been around 5,5 - 6 L / 100 km. From what i've heard the newer 1.2 16 Valve engine with the same 80 hp takes less gas.
HGT forever :3
drove one this summer, pretty fun car to drive all things considered
Fcuck. I knew Clarkson had bad taste but it's just now been confirmed. I hated this pile of crap when it came out and seeing that he liked it in it's time just goes to show.
Thank you for uploading this.
They were good cars with very distinctive appeal. Such a pity the Stilo and next bravo were so crap
Awe the next Bravo after the Stilo was a very good underrated stylish car.
@@sharonec5419 yes the stilo was crap,but the bravo II it is up to date with the beauty and it is realible,only reagular oil changes are needed,i have bravo from 2011 and so far so good,my parents have brava from 1998 bought in 2010 and it is daily driven since then,also great car.
4:00 Pete Davis, you did it one of the best looking cars of all times! Thanks!
It gets better as it ages
Had a 2000 bravo 105 jtd had it 13 years and never had any trouble with it great little car
I have a 1.9 GT (TD) version with a sunroof. I love it for being nimble and having that low sporty profile.
But it is practical. I used it to help my brother move stuff to the new apartment, I even managed to fit 55 inch TV in with ease.
98 marea today i have that car and i loved that car
Love the intro
My dad owned a fiat bravo.. metallic light green with racing fox rims... was a nice looking car back then n still is today
So cool!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have the 1.2 l Trofeo Sport package, that blue one, and it just eats BMW's like nothing. I'm shocked. Also, it DOES 40mpg. It's very stable and corners amazingly well. I've also driven Honda Prelude 5th gen, Golf 4 GT and I've also raced them against the Fiat. I've also raced Series 5 BMW, all types of VW's and an M3. The only one that was faster than my Fiat was the M3 (tuned). If you know how to drive it, it just goes.
I would really like to own a Brava 1.6 one day...
One of the very few fiats I liked
I used to have Fiat Brava elx 1.6 16v 2001. Nice car
Clarkson would look at that now and say "what a heap of shite"
The Smiths soundtrack can lift the review of any old piece of junk.
Did Top Gear ever tested the Fiat Tipo?
I search everywhere and didn't find anything.
They have tested the Tempra, you can find it on YT.
Very hard to find videos from the 1980’s and I don’t think they had reviewed the facelift model from 1993.
Escort looks ancient next to it.
The car that ruled the hard shoulder.
Ca avait de la gueule à sa sortie, un style incroyable ! la voiture de mes parents a qui je vidais vite le réservoir à mes 18 ans ... le probleme de cette voiture c est la conso. j etais vite grillé
This was my first car in rat
2121... Jeremy farms a shed load of small family hatchbacks....
so where is it now?
Parked in the driveway
Apart from being the potato that did indeed fall to bits like the interesting potato, one of the main reasons why massively overpriced Fiats fail to sell in England is that the dealers are abysmal. An American Werewolf would get a warmer welcome walking into a Yorkshire pub than a customer gets in an interesting-potato bistro.
Has anyone realised that most bravos a're silver and most bravas are grey?
And marea
I had one. Great to look at, cracking to drive. Fell apart bit by bit after a few years and crapped before it got to seven. It didn’t rattle but it still wasn’t well made. Shame really. Probably the last interesting car Fiat made.
Can anybody write subs for this video? Because i don't know English very well and i don't understand everything from this video
40 mpg? yeah right... More like 14 mpg.
Yes of course if you disconnect your oxygen sensor and MAF sensor at the same time XD
The 1.4 was very bad on fuel economy and had a cam belt tensioner problem (that they knew about), the 1.2 was a much better engine, it had a little more power on paper and it did do 40mpg...
@@PaulMappud well, not right...
I have a 97 1.4 12v bravo with 240k kmh on the odo and not a single problem with the engine exept a alternator problem with i fixed
@@jovlaz5032 : Well, yes, in my experience right, I owned a 1.4 then after a 1.2, the 1.4 12v engine (nicknamed the 'Turin Nail' I believe) had a "chocolate" cam belt tensioner that went at 7k miles and bent all the valves which the service manager informed me Fiat knew was a problem (I paid a nominal sum towards the parts), it was noisy as hell, like a bag of loose spanners knocking around under the bonnet and the fuel consumption was worse than a 2.0 with the power of a 1.1, the 1.2 16v that replaced it very quickly was a cracking little engine and transformed the car, if you find yourself one I guarantee you will halve your fuel bill.
Don't get me wrong I loved my 80's-90's Fiats (four in total), I only sold the 1.2 as I wanted an auto and then switched to Honda and never saw a stealership again except for regular servicing.
@@PaulMappud maybe thats on some examples, but i had a great experience on mine. I imported it from italy back in 2000 soo mayb thats the reason. My friend has a brava 1.2 16v its pretty good but it has no difference in acceleration long story short we drag raced and won exacly the same time. Also im wondering where did you find that nickname for the engine? Cheers mate from Serbia
I had a 1.4 sx. Slow, unreliable, uneconomical. Looked great though
I feel sick looking at it
Then find a doctor and try to cure the disease, oh wait you can't because it's not curable 😂😂