I love how matt,when he messes up a word or sentance starts again to make the edited piece look flawless.... Then doesnt edit it. Never change matt, never change👍
He did edit it, but then put the unedited section in too - which did have a little more info, as well as the blooper reel. The edited bit is at 8:26, but the unedited bit is 13:20 - thought I was having dejavu!I reviewed my own car a few yrs back, and being a perfectioinst it took me months to film and edit it (I'd realise during editing I hadnt mentioned something and then have to go and film more footage!), so I have huge respect for youtubers who churn out such good content at such a rate. AS the likes of Matt and Ian (HubNut) demonstrate, it's what you say, rather than how flashy you edit it, that makes good content!
My dad bought a 1.4L manual Brava back in 1997, and it’s still accumulating mileage till this day. it’s only later in life that I discovered how convenient everything is about this car, it has been designed with care, I giggled when I saw u pull out that manual because 26 years later, that manual is still intactly preserved in its spot
Loved all Fiats from this era. I think their styling of generally everyday cars really made other manufacturers wake up. The Cinquecento, Punto, Brava/Bravo/Marea models and not forgetting the Coupe , all individual models incorporating fantastic designs. Deservingly winners of European Car of the Year with Punto , Bravo/Brava and the 156 ( which was Fiat based ) . If I had the space I’d buy this one off you, Matt.
@@alanrobinson7866Sometimes simplicity is best, and a car is more enjoyable for that. It’s all very well having all “ the bells and whistles” but when these go wrong it may not be a DIY fix. There’s no fun with a car with big bills of maintenance. Loved the Cento cars of Fiat , how small cars should be . Everything has become too large and overweight now.
Brings back memories of the several Brava's and Mareas that I had as company cars. They did suffer from dodgy electrics when new, the radio, central locking and windows would fail. Also to open the cassette there is a button on the top marked OPEN. The lid should then open on a spring like an old cassette recorder, these are fragile too. Great to see one again Matt.
I remember renting one of these for a trip down to Galway from Belfast. It was a blast on the road between Enniskillen and Sligo. We also happened upon an excellent radio station that played just the right tunes.
That’s a great example of a ‘Mk1’ with those wheeltrims, grille and dashboard… I’ve got a late Mk2 1.2 16v Formula special edition with the foglights, boot spoiler, electric mirrors, velour interior and 15” alloys. Very rattly now but the engine is fantastic and it’s still great fun to drive.
I've reluctantly sold my Alfa 159, but I have managed to bag an immaculate 10 plate Honda CR-Z with less than 59k miles, full service history and 6 months warranty for a very reasonable price just yesterday. It was a 120 mile journey back home which just bought a smile to my face. £25 a year road tax, reasonable mpg given that it is a hybrid and group 17 insurance floats my boat! A fairly rare car given that I think only around 4,300 of these were sold in the UK. Loads of toys and a dashboard that looks as though it came straight out of a Star Trek movie!
Seems like excellent value at £1000 but, with the VED on that car now standing at £325pa, you'd be paying at least twice that over the next three years. It's such a shame that VED rates are so nonsensical, especially for cars of this era, which are doomed because of it.😪
A really nicely styled small family car and I always loved the stereo and the rear lights. My friend had a Bravo and we took it down from Scotland to the south of France and back. Very comfortable and a good sized boot for wine
The 1.9 diesel I owned was great to drive. Comfortable and neat handling. The interior plastics were a bit scratchy. But that was quite typical of late 90's cars. I loved the design though
If it had some more soundproofing it would be great ! Even by today's standards it still looks fresh and smart. Fiat Tipos rusting ?... I thought they were all made from galvanized steel ?
Matt try pushing the tape deck cover in. It should be spring loaded to fold up and out revealing the tape slot. DON'T try to pull it. Mine had a similar one with no CD changer yet it did have the plug and connector for one. From what I remember if it did have a changer it would have been in the boot. I put a DIN adapter plate in mine and used a standard CD player. Oh the centre brake light is just lots of tiny bulbs and they tend to rust like a sod and fail one by one when the rubber seal goes.
Mate's dad had an S reg 1.4 12v Brava from brand new from Richard Cort, Bury. He got that after having an N reg Punto. It was good in its day, however the Focus of the era was especially good. Fiat used to make some nicely styled cars. Aside from the 500, they've pretty much given up these days.
I had a 98 1.4 in royal metallic blue with tasteful after market alloys. It was a lovely looking thing. I bought it when it was a year out of warranty and had problems pretty much straight away and on a regular basis. It used to develop a violent misfire that would be cured for a few months by a new coil pack before starting again. It also had a few electrical gremlins. I finally threw my hat at it when the head gasket went, all this within 2 years ownership. It was such an unusual and good looking car that, like an Alfa, I kind of forgave it, but after the head gasket was sorted I sold it.
Matt, 1.2 in the Brava/Bravo was a completely different engine then the 1.2 fitted in the Punto. The Punto had the F.I.R.E engine the first used back in the very late 70's, and when in 16valve used an 8 valve bottom end and a twin cam 16 valve head, the Bravo/Brava was new design from the ground up, nothing was shared with the older unit and was a 12 valve single cam unit. My sister in law had a Bravo from new in 1997, with the 1.2, it was a pretty nice little car, the engine was a peach, very free revving and spirited, but then the Italians are good at building low capacity, highish output engines, that just love to be thrashed.
Friend, you confused some things a bit.... Bravo/Brava started sales with a 1.4 12v engine, which was replaced by a 1.2 16v engine in 1998 with a redesign.
I can remember the fuel cut off valve was under the passenger seat and when you slammed the seat back it cut the fuel off and you had to reset it to start the car again greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Yes, remember this well - my 145 was always suffering from this - most embarrassing episode was when I was demonstrating my new purchase to some car obsessed work colleagues, and I was stranded on the office car park.
I think the cd multi changer is located in the lower rear seats bizarrely. My father in law had a Bravo and didn’t realise he had a cd player for over a year 😂
This would be the perfect car for me but I can't bear to part with any of the 90s rarities I've already got 🤣 Those are a Daewoo Lanos SX, Citroen ZX Estate and Tigra A in case anyone is curious...
Excellent review Matt, my dad nearly bought one when these launched but ended up with the old failsafe the Escort.... Rumours of Golf Clubs would not fit in the boot spring to mind. I was 12 when I first saw them at the Scottish Motor Show in Glasgow, so much better looking than the Escort, Golf and Astra of the time. I briefly had a Stilo Abarth and that did not end well!!
Used to love the Bravo Sporty one HGT i think. I have a 3door Stilo and you can see the styling progress from curvy to more Angular . German Designer which didn't go down to well. Stilo was a total flop. But i love mine😂 But as you mentioned .spares are a bloody nightmare to find.
My father has 5 door 1.2 Stilo and I have a 3 door 1.6 Stilo. Awesome car to drive with only minor modifications to the suspension. And the 3 door is a very, very good looking car. Well looked examples of the 3 door could be mistaken for new cars, especially with the use of LED lights. You cannot really say the same for the same generation of Golf, the Mk4 and Mk5 which they look totally dated.
With a Golf it's all intuitive, of course with a FIAT less so, but that's why we love them! I used to drive my Dad's brava back in England when I was youthful, wonderful car, it had spirit a Golf could never even dream of, however nowadays, a Golf works
That’s in very good condition for a 90s Fiat, when they started to conquer the rust problem, they still couldn’t conquer the reliability, I had a Fiat cinquecento The repair man had more than me. But typical Italian cars they always look beautiful
The rubber bits on the door handles on these always go. A lot of people would swap them out for the body coloured Marea ones though you do have to mod them slightly. Same for the centre console and dash, they will fit but do need slight modding. The Marea has different front wings, kind of like a maestro vs montego situation though a lot of bits are compatible.
Back in 2006 I made a back flip in a turnip field with a Brava. It took an entrance speed of 120 kmh to do so. I must say I owe my life to the car's safety structure 😀
My grandad had one of these before he passed in 2003. He had the 1.4 S manual in blue. My lasting memory is his Pavarotti cassette getting stuck behind the flap, and him absolutely revving the nuts off of it in 2nd (he never really changed gear in town!). Sold to a cousin and the big end went in 2005! 😂
Way back when I used to have a 2ltr Marea and although I wouldn't call it the best looking of cars the 5 cyl 2ltr engine was pretty good, the lacquer peel and rather odd stereo not so much but it never let me down. I traded it in for an Alfa 156 2.4 JTD, now that was a nice looking car.
Going back a bit, remember the Mirafiori and Super Mirafiori. They were nice looking, if boxy, sedans. Now extinct I would think. Not seen one since a few years after their release.
I used to have a 1.8 Bravo - quirky little thing, that had a distinctive smell to it - which I could smell whilst watching this 😁 It wasn't the finest of cars I have ever had - and the brakes were bordering on non-existent if driven a little hard - which on the 1.8 16v was the only way to drive it to make it not a chore. Suffice to say, it was the one and only Fiat I will ever own.
CD changer in these was below the rear seat bench, in the middle on high spec models. Tea shelf on passenger side was where the passenger airbag went on the ELX
My friend had a td75 Brava and I had a Golf 1.9 td. The Golf was indeed very dull by comparison but far and away better constructed. The switches were falling apart in the Fiat and it felt rather cheap but a much more interesting car than the VW.
I had one from new 1.6 16v 5 speed good car better looking then the golf punchy engine with a good noise when you got it of 3500k and would pull all the way to 6500k and love it and it was quite fun to throw down a back road .
My girlfriend (later wife) had a blue Brava back in 2001-3. I remember what a good-looking car they were. You can detect the Alfa 156 which emerged from Centro Stilo during the Brava production run, and as you say, shares some underpinnings. What grabs you, looking at a 1990s car and comparing it to today's designs, is just how much glass there is. Look how low the window line of the Brava is. ECAP requirements have made cars very slab-sided.
Oh I don’t know, I used to enjoy a 2.0 Golf estate from this era immensely - a mk4, so basically a detuned GTi - it was a lovely thing. Used to drive it regularly from Wolverhampton to South Wales. Fantastic gear change and interior quality.
@@slippinjimmy2149 indeed a fact, but you know? In that time people choose for a kind of reliability. So they choose VW, Opel/Vauxhall, Ford because they knew it kept its worthiness, reliability so eventually they skipped Fiat, Alfa Romeo etc. Looking to myself in that time when I really liked the Citroën BX, I eventually choose (again) for VW. Nowadays it's a totally different story in terms of reliability, value for money etc.
Great video. We actually had a Stilo Multiwagon before the Signum. It was fully kitted with the glass roof, split tailgate, and sliding rear seats. Fantastic thing it was.
I believe you have to slide the eject button on the top left to the right to open the cassette door. By the way, you can easily add an aux in by plugging a jack to mini iso lead (mini iso is a blue connector) and insert it in the changer input at the rear of the radio. If my memory services me right, 2 of the pins need to be shorted so the radio knows a device is connected and you are able to select aux.
I had a Bravo SX in 90’s. It was only 1 year old & everything went wrong with it - sunroof leaked & mould on roof, clutch went with less than 30k are the 2 that spring to mind. Sold it back to garage I got it from at big loss after 18 months
It's funny how much better that colour looks in the sun. I had metallic violet one and in the sun it popped, when it was a grey weather it looked awful😅
My first car was a used 1.4 Fiat Bravo, I love this car so much. To this day, it still holds aesthetically with it's timeless design, it's prettier than most new cars. The interior is really lovely, too and the thing that had quite an impression on me was that when I first sat inside and took it from the dealer it seemed so familiar and easy to drive. But unfortunately, most times this car gave me hell, especially with it's electronics, everything seemed to be ready to blow up! This car still leaves in our garage, sadly just rusting away, since the problems cost more than another car 😢
It occurred to me that the styling somewhat resembles the Multipla from the ground up to the belt line (albeit with different front and rear light treatments). The styling somewhat diverges above the window belt line though... 🤔
It looks like you're not that familiar with driving autos. The reason why all that happened when you pressed the Sport button was for the revs to go up, the engine to make more noise but you didn't go faster was because car speed is controlled by the throttle, not by the gearbox. Vehicle engineers design the powertrain this way on purpose so that there is no change in speed when all you have done is change gear. Imagine how dangerous it would be if a car were to suddenly lurch forward just because a gearbox control button was pressed. So, the correct way to use this button is to engage it to get the revs up and the engine ready to make more power, and then press the accelerator to accelerate, which you will do faster than if you had not pressed the Sport button.
If your brava has the cd changer it's in cradle rear left of luggage compartment behind a cover ...with the cable accessed by a flap in the rear of glovebox ,while access to cassette opening is via round button left side of stereo marked with an up arrow ...hope that helps,nice car and looking forward to next video 👍
Well done Matt a great review of the brava always remember sitting in one launch day we were invited in by the fiat dealer as my dad had a Tipo non turbo 1.7 diesel at the time and it was a massive leap forward in many ways That’s in amazing original condition and I hope it finds a good home
Clean the contacts on the boot and lip, WD40 the hinges and you might get the wiper to work, if you have to remove the boot panel due to a faulty motor, there's a risk of breakage as this tends to get stuck to any excess glass bonding glue when assembled at the factory !
I leanred to drive in a Marea (115 ELX saloon), it was a great car to drive, fairly light, handled pretty well and a revvy engine. The build quality of the interior wasnt great but the design was pretty good (I remember getting into my in-laws Vauxhall Zafira and thinking how boring it looked).
I had a light blue Brava SX AD51BCE bought from an old man who was giving up driving think I paid 800 quid. It had low mileage and service history. It was a good car but eventually the front subframe rotted out but managed to find a NOS one so that kept it going for a while but it was the electrics and the key that wouldn’t be read so the thing wouldn’t start, the mot ran out so I scrapped it and got £150 for it. There are none left up here as the road salt corroded them at an alarming rate.
Always liked the styling of these Fiats! The low nose with the mean looking headlights, and the cool looking backside. They where fairly popular here, but disappeared quickly from the streets halfway through the 00s. Great review Matt, the editing was a bit weird on this video...
Great video! When I was a young boy my mum had a silver Brava then went to a silver/blue Bravo. The Brava was weirdly a better ownership experience than the Bravo.
Quite bold design for a mid nineties family hatchback, very unique. I have always wondered and still don’t know if it has a passenger airbag, since it has that giant hole on the dash where it’s supposed to be. I’ve saw a video of a Marea earlier and it definitely has a passenger airbag since there’s no hole at all, and I left wondering why they did this.
I had one of these on hire in 1999 - a 1.4 Manual. I had high hopes for it after borrowing a friend's Punto but the engine hunted at motorway speeds. I just couldn't get on with it.
What's gone on here with the editing Matt? It's like deja vu. You say "thanks for watching" at 20.47 and then continue, and we have the segment about the indicator stalks twice. Thought my dog had sat on the remote control again. 😂
I loved the Brava. I would have one tomorrow. But sadly here in Aotearoa New Zealand they have always been rarer than hehs teeth. My last Fiat was a Regatta. Great cars. It is high up on my list of cars i should never have sold.
Funny you say that about a Vauxhall chair, drove a 2007 astra and the seats in that were solid, but in my 2006 (56 plate) the sri seats are really comfy in comparison (but no where near as good as the 75 leather heated seats)
I've owned 3 bravas back in 2008 the best model I owned was the 1.6 16v ELX. I regret trading it in at the time & since then I have not seen a ELX for sale. I love everything about the fiat brava originality and the nostalgia of the late 90's & early 2000. If anyone is reading this and has a fiat brava ELX for sale on or off the road please do drop me a message thanks 👍🏻
During the 90's there were quite a few models where the 3 door cars look different to the 5 door cars, some of across multiple generations, the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Mazda 323 aswell as the Fiat and Alfa models, interesting it seemed to be Japanese and Italian that took to this design strategy
I do remember the dual design thing. It’s a credit to the Italians all that design in what is a standard family car. When did this get released? I was wondering if the early Ford edge designers took inspiration from this especially with regard to the original Focus.
CD chhanger is probablynot installed in the lowly spev but might meant you caninstall a USB stick/ sd card cd changer emulator. Had one of those in in a volvo V40 was the quickest way to get music in that car 6x100 songs.
Owned a cinquecento sporting and punto sporting 16 valve. Both were reliable and a lot of fun. Little twin cam in the punto loved to rev and sounded like a much bigger engine. Shame fiat has really died as a family car brand, they just seem to sell the 500 these days !!
Loved the Brava, especially the 5 cylinder HGT, front headlights are fantastic looking things. I was never sure on the rear end of the Brava though; the rear lights which are wacky and very atandoutish, they also reminded me of giant blisters that needed to be popped. Very nteresting car that I feel has aged really well.
Love these. But have to say, the 1.6 was probably my least favourite, in fact it was borderline pointless, it didn't really bridge the gap between the 1.4 and the 1.8 in a good way, it actually gave the worst attributes of both instead, you basically got the performance of the 1.4 mixed with the MPG of the 1.8, in fact the 1.8 was probably marginally more economical given the less thrashing it needed, the 1.6 does rev nicely though!. They've aged really nicely too, so much nice 90's touches. Not owning a Bravo HGT or Marea 20v are regrets of mine, came mega close to both. 1 got sold from under me when i thought i had it, the other i stupidly turned down (Marea) because the interior was hearing aid beige 😂
Makes you realise that cars today are pretty boring in styling, all they seem interested in is how many useless graphics they can get the dash to do..... I must be getting old Lol
Yes and no. On the one hand, I can't tell the difference between a MG HS and a Kia Stonic and a Mercedes GLA and so on in side profile without looking at the badge. *On the other hand,* do you like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 & Ioniq 6? I like how Hyundai have styled too radically different looking cars on the same platform to cater to all tastes -- one a boxy retro hatchback shape, albeit a little bulbous and crossover-ish and one a sleek, ultra-aerodynamic teardrop shape -- .
I love how matt,when he messes up a word or sentance starts again to make the edited piece look flawless....
Then doesnt edit it.
Never change matt, never change👍
made me chuckle when he was describing (or trying to describe) the wiper stork 😃
He did edit it, but then put the unedited section in too - which did have a little more info, as well as the blooper reel. The edited bit is at 8:26, but the unedited bit is 13:20 - thought I was having dejavu!I reviewed my own car a few yrs back, and being a perfectioinst it took me months to film and edit it (I'd realise during editing I hadnt mentioned something and then have to go and film more footage!), so I have huge respect for youtubers who churn out such good content at such a rate. AS the likes of Matt and Ian (HubNut) demonstrate, it's what you say, rather than how flashy you edit it, that makes good content!
My dad bought a 1.4L manual Brava back in 1997, and it’s still accumulating mileage till this day.
it’s only later in life that I discovered how convenient everything is about this car, it has been designed with care, I giggled when I saw u pull out that manual because 26 years later, that manual is still intactly preserved in its spot
Loved all Fiats from this era. I think their styling of generally everyday cars really made other manufacturers wake up. The Cinquecento, Punto, Brava/Bravo/Marea models and not forgetting the Coupe , all individual models incorporating fantastic designs. Deservingly winners of European Car of the Year with Punto , Bravo/Brava and the 156 ( which was Fiat based ) . If I had the space I’d buy this one off you, Matt.
Yep, FIAT group was definitely on a roll at this time!
Yep, FIAT group was definitely on a roll at this time!
I owned both Cinquecento and Seicento models and had no problems with either. Although admittedly there wasn't much to go wrong...
@@alanrobinson7866Sometimes simplicity is best, and a car is more enjoyable for that. It’s all very well having all “ the bells and whistles” but when these go wrong it may not be a DIY fix. There’s no fun with a car with big bills of maintenance. Loved the Cento cars of Fiat , how small cars should be . Everything has become too large and overweight now.
@@martinclapton2724 Absolutely.
Brings back memories of the several Brava's and Mareas that I had as company cars. They did suffer from dodgy electrics when new, the radio, central locking and windows would fail. Also to open the cassette there is a button on the top marked OPEN. The lid should then open on a spring like an old cassette recorder, these are fragile too. Great to see one again Matt.
I remember renting one of these for a trip down to Galway from Belfast. It was a blast on the road between Enniskillen and Sligo. We also happened upon an excellent radio station that played just the right tunes.
What a bliss to have such a radio station!
That’s a great example of a ‘Mk1’ with those wheeltrims, grille and dashboard… I’ve got a late Mk2 1.2 16v Formula special edition with the foglights, boot spoiler, electric mirrors, velour interior and 15” alloys. Very rattly now but the engine is fantastic and it’s still great fun to drive.
Top video. Sorry, the section featuring steering wheel 8:27 repeats at 13:21
Proof that you can build a compact hatch that’s truly distinctive to look at!
Typically Italians. They know how to design products even the tiniest ones.
I've reluctantly sold my Alfa 159, but I have managed to bag an immaculate 10 plate Honda CR-Z with less than 59k miles, full service history and 6 months warranty for a very reasonable price just yesterday. It was a 120 mile journey back home which just bought a smile to my face. £25 a year road tax, reasonable mpg given that it is a hybrid and group 17 insurance floats my boat! A fairly rare car given that I think only around 4,300 of these were sold in the UK. Loads of toys and a dashboard that looks as though it came straight out of a Star Trek movie!
CR-Z's are cool little cars, I'd have one.
Seems like excellent value at £1000 but, with the VED on that car now standing at £325pa, you'd be paying at least twice that over the next three years. It's such a shame that VED rates are so nonsensical, especially for cars of this era, which are doomed because of it.😪
You got the bit with the Horn, Steering wheel etc. in twice.^^
1st time around 8:30
2nd time around 13:20
I thought I was loosing it!
A really nicely styled small family car and I always loved the stereo and the rear lights. My friend had a Bravo and we took it down from Scotland to the south of France and back. Very comfortable and a good sized boot for wine
The 1.9 diesel I owned was great to drive. Comfortable and neat handling. The interior plastics were a bit scratchy. But that was quite typical of late 90's cars. I loved the design though
I had a green 1.6 ELX. It was a fantastic car. It was 2 years old when I bought it. Lovely blue velour upholstery.
I broke my collar bone playing hurling (Irish sport) when I was younger. That was more fun than a Golf.
If it had some more soundproofing it would be great !
Even by today's standards it still looks fresh and smart.
Fiat Tipos rusting ?... I thought they were all made from galvanized steel ?
Matt try pushing the tape deck cover in. It should be spring loaded to fold up and out revealing the tape slot. DON'T try to pull it.
Mine had a similar one with no CD changer yet it did have the plug and connector for one. From what I remember if it did have a changer it would have been in the boot. I put a DIN adapter plate in mine and used a standard CD player.
Oh the centre brake light is just lots of tiny bulbs and they tend to rust like a sod and fail one by one when the rubber seal goes.
Mate's dad had an S reg 1.4 12v Brava from brand new from Richard Cort, Bury. He got that after having an N reg Punto. It was good in its day, however the Focus of the era was especially good. Fiat used to make some nicely styled cars. Aside from the 500, they've pretty much given up these days.
Maybe Fiat designers took inspiration from the Nissan Be-1 when designing the Fiat Brava taillights
I had a 98 1.4 in royal metallic blue with tasteful after market alloys. It was a lovely looking thing. I bought it when it was a year out of warranty and had problems pretty much straight away and on a regular basis. It used to develop a violent misfire that would be cured for a few months by a new coil pack before starting again. It also had a few electrical gremlins. I finally threw my hat at it when the head gasket went, all this within 2 years ownership. It was such an unusual and good looking car that, like an Alfa, I kind of forgave it, but after the head gasket was sorted I sold it.
Matt, 1.2 in the Brava/Bravo was a completely different engine then the 1.2 fitted in the Punto. The Punto had the F.I.R.E engine the first used back in the very late 70's, and when in 16valve used an 8 valve bottom end and a twin cam 16 valve head, the Bravo/Brava was new design from the ground up, nothing was shared with the older unit and was a 12 valve single cam unit. My sister in law had a Bravo from new in 1997, with the 1.2, it was a pretty nice little car, the engine was a peach, very free revving and spirited, but then the Italians are good at building low capacity, highish output engines, that just love to be thrashed.
Friend, you confused some things a bit.... Bravo/Brava started sales with a 1.4 12v engine, which was replaced by a 1.2 16v engine in 1998 with a redesign.
I can remember the fuel cut off valve was under the passenger seat and when you slammed the seat back it cut the fuel off and you had to reset it to start the car again greetings from Scotland 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧
Yes, remember this well - my 145 was always suffering from this - most embarrassing episode was when I was demonstrating my new purchase to some car obsessed work colleagues, and I was stranded on the office car park.
I think the cd multi changer is located in the lower rear seats bizarrely. My father in law had a Bravo and didn’t realise he had a cd player for over a year 😂
This would be the perfect car for me but I can't bear to part with any of the 90s rarities I've already got 🤣
Those are a Daewoo Lanos SX, Citroen ZX Estate and Tigra A in case anyone is curious...
Very eclectic collection mate.. cool 😊
Excellent review Matt, my dad nearly bought one when these launched but ended up with the old failsafe the Escort.... Rumours of Golf Clubs would not fit in the boot spring to mind. I was 12 when I first saw them at the Scottish Motor Show in Glasgow, so much better looking than the Escort, Golf and Astra of the time. I briefly had a Stilo Abarth and that did not end well!!
Used to love the Bravo Sporty one HGT i think. I have a 3door Stilo and you can see the styling progress from curvy to more Angular . German Designer which didn't go down to well. Stilo was a total flop. But i love mine😂 But as you mentioned .spares are a bloody nightmare to find.
HGT it was, 5 cylinder.
My father has 5 door 1.2 Stilo and I have a 3 door 1.6 Stilo. Awesome car to drive with only minor modifications to the suspension. And the 3 door is a very, very good looking car. Well looked examples of the 3 door could be mistaken for new cars, especially with the use of LED lights. You cannot really say the same for the same generation of Golf, the Mk4 and Mk5 which they look totally dated.
@@xynostasos9022 . Cool.. I have a Schumacher GP.. I love it but it can be a bit of a crashy ride on our crappy roads..
Loved the stilo and my dad and brother had the Tipo the 5 door stilo had a similar profile such lovely if underrated cars
Next buy, got to be a three-door Fiat Stilo. My guilty pleasure.
With a Golf it's all intuitive, of course with a FIAT less so, but that's why we love them!
I used to drive my Dad's brava back in England when I was youthful, wonderful car, it had spirit a Golf could never even dream of, however nowadays, a Golf works
That’s in very good condition for a 90s Fiat, when they started to conquer the rust problem, they still couldn’t conquer the reliability, I had a Fiat cinquecento The repair man had more than me. But typical Italian cars they always look beautiful
My dad and brothers Tipo were amazing and built much better than the Vauxhalls we had prior
My Cinq and Seicento were faultless. I must have been lucky.
The rubber bits on the door handles on these always go.
A lot of people would swap them out for the body coloured Marea ones though you do have to mod them slightly.
Same for the centre console and dash, they will fit but do need slight modding.
The Marea has different front wings, kind of like a maestro vs montego situation though a lot of bits are compatible.
Back in 2006 I made a back flip in a turnip field with a Brava. It took an entrance speed of 120 kmh to do so. I must say I owe my life to the car's safety structure 😀
I do remember early 20s racing down a hill at 95 mph with the driveshaft on its last legs. My guardian angels have grey hair.
My grandad had one of these before he passed in 2003. He had the 1.4 S manual in blue. My lasting memory is his Pavarotti cassette getting stuck behind the flap, and him absolutely revving the nuts off of it in 2nd (he never really changed gear in town!).
Sold to a cousin and the big end went in 2005! 😂
Way back when I used to have a 2ltr Marea and although I wouldn't call it the best looking of cars the 5 cyl 2ltr engine was pretty good, the lacquer peel and rather odd stereo not so much but it never let me down. I traded it in for an Alfa 156 2.4 JTD, now that was a nice looking car.
Going back a bit, remember the Mirafiori and Super Mirafiori. They were nice looking, if boxy, sedans. Now extinct I would think. Not seen one since a few years after their release.
Lovely car! Anything is more exciting than the drab Golf.
I used to have a 1.8 Bravo - quirky little thing, that had a distinctive smell to it - which I could smell whilst watching this 😁 It wasn't the finest of cars I have ever had - and the brakes were bordering on non-existent if driven a little hard - which on the 1.8 16v was the only way to drive it to make it not a chore. Suffice to say, it was the one and only Fiat I will ever own.
CD changer in these was below the rear seat bench, in the middle on high spec models. Tea shelf on passenger side was where the passenger airbag went on the ELX
My friend had a td75 Brava and I had a Golf 1.9 td. The Golf was indeed very dull by comparison but far and away better constructed. The switches were falling apart in the Fiat and it felt rather cheap but a much more interesting car than the VW.
Top video. Sorry, the section featuring steering wheel 8:27 repeats at 13:20
I had one from new 1.6 16v 5 speed good car better looking then the golf punchy engine with a good noise when you got it of 3500k and would pull all the way to 6500k and love it and it was quite fun to throw down a back road .
My girlfriend (later wife) had a blue Brava back in 2001-3. I remember what a good-looking car they were. You can detect the Alfa 156 which emerged from Centro Stilo during the Brava production run, and as you say, shares some underpinnings. What grabs you, looking at a 1990s car and comparing it to today's designs, is just how much glass there is. Look how low the window line of the Brava is. ECAP requirements have made cars very slab-sided.
Isn't everything more fun than a Golf of that era??!
Everything is more fun than a Golf of that era.
Yes exactly.
Oh I don’t know, I used to enjoy a 2.0 Golf estate from this era immensely - a mk4, so basically a detuned GTi - it was a lovely thing. Used to drive it regularly from Wolverhampton to South Wales. Fantastic gear change and interior quality.
@@simonhodgetts6530 remember those lovely motors and also had the blue dials
@@slippinjimmy2149 indeed a fact, but you know? In that time people choose for a kind of reliability. So they choose VW, Opel/Vauxhall, Ford because they knew it kept its worthiness, reliability so eventually they skipped Fiat, Alfa Romeo etc. Looking to myself in that time when I really liked the Citroën BX, I eventually choose (again) for VW. Nowadays it's a totally different story in terms of reliability, value for money etc.
Great video. We actually had a Stilo Multiwagon before the Signum. It was fully kitted with the glass roof, split tailgate, and sliding rear seats. Fantastic thing it was.
That’s so strange, I haven’t seen one for years, and I found one sitting next to a knackered S-type, in a country i didn’t expect to see one. Lol
I believe you have to slide the eject button on the top left to the right to open the cassette door.
By the way, you can easily add an aux in by plugging a jack to mini iso lead (mini iso is a blue connector) and insert it in the changer input at the rear of the radio. If my memory services me right, 2 of the pins need to be shorted so the radio knows a device is connected and you are able to select aux.
I had a Bravo SX in 90’s. It was only 1 year old & everything went wrong with it - sunroof leaked & mould on roof, clutch went with less than 30k are the 2 that spring to mind. Sold it back to garage I got it from at big loss after 18 months
Love it ❤ No screens, what a joy to see.
It's funny how much better that colour looks in the sun. I had metallic violet one and in the sun it popped, when it was a grey weather it looked awful😅
Matt you should try and find a Bravo 2.0 20V HGT turbo.
My first car was a used 1.4 Fiat Bravo, I love this car so much. To this day, it still holds aesthetically with it's timeless design, it's prettier than most new cars. The interior is really lovely, too and the thing that had quite an impression on me was that when I first sat inside and took it from the dealer it seemed so familiar and easy to drive. But unfortunately, most times this car gave me hell, especially with it's electronics, everything seemed to be ready to blow up! This car still leaves in our garage, sadly just rusting away, since the problems cost more than another car 😢
It occurred to me that the styling somewhat resembles the Multipla from the ground up to the belt line (albeit with different front and rear light treatments). The styling somewhat diverges above the window belt line though... 🤔
To są naprawde fajne samochody. Czuje się, że się jedzie. Kupilem ostatnio takiego 1999 rok i naprawde fajny samochód
It looks like you're not that familiar with driving autos. The reason why all that happened when you pressed the Sport button was for the revs to go up, the engine to make more noise but you didn't go faster was because car speed is controlled by the throttle, not by the gearbox. Vehicle engineers design the powertrain this way on purpose so that there is no change in speed when all you have done is change gear. Imagine how dangerous it would be if a car were to suddenly lurch forward just because a gearbox control button was pressed. So, the correct way to use this button is to engage it to get the revs up and the engine ready to make more power, and then press the accelerator to accelerate, which you will do faster than if you had not pressed the Sport button.
If your brava has the cd changer it's in cradle rear left of luggage compartment behind a cover ...with the cable accessed by a flap in the rear of glovebox ,while access to cassette opening is via round button left side of stereo marked with an up arrow ...hope that helps,nice car and looking forward to next video 👍
Well done Matt a great review of the brava always remember sitting in one launch day we were invited in by the fiat dealer as my dad had a Tipo non turbo 1.7 diesel at the time and it was a massive leap forward in many ways
That’s in amazing original condition and I hope it finds a good home
Clean the contacts on the boot and lip, WD40 the hinges and you might get the wiper to work, if you have to remove the boot panel due to a faulty motor, there's a risk of breakage as this tends to get stuck to any excess glass bonding glue when assembled at the factory !
I leanred to drive in a Marea (115 ELX saloon), it was a great car to drive, fairly light, handled pretty well and a revvy engine. The build quality of the interior wasnt great but the design was pretty good (I remember getting into my in-laws Vauxhall Zafira and thinking how boring it looked).
I had a light blue Brava SX AD51BCE bought from an old man who was giving up driving think I paid 800 quid. It had low mileage and service history. It was a good car but eventually the front subframe rotted out but managed to find a NOS one so that kept it going for a while but it was the electrics and the key that wouldn’t be read so the thing wouldn’t start, the mot ran out so I scrapped it and got £150 for it. There are none left up here as the road salt corroded them at an alarming rate.
Hi Matt please get some pictures of the 145 next to the brava
Always liked the styling of these Fiats! The low nose with the mean looking headlights, and the cool looking backside. They where fairly popular here, but disappeared quickly from the streets halfway through the 00s. Great review Matt, the editing was a bit weird on this video...
Great video! When I was a young boy my mum had a silver Brava then went to a silver/blue Bravo. The Brava was weirdly a better ownership experience than the Bravo.
CD changer could be located under the rear seat, if available of course.
Why does it feel like blasphemy having an auto Fiat from the 90's, you got me at 1:15 the mud flap made it look lie the tyre was a space saver haha
That’s a neat little car other than the auto box. Seems like it would be a perfect obscure addition to Hub Nut’s channel
Quite bold design for a mid nineties family hatchback, very unique.
I have always wondered and still don’t know if it has a passenger airbag, since it has that giant hole on the dash where it’s supposed to be. I’ve saw a video of a Marea earlier and it definitely has a passenger airbag since there’s no hole at all, and I left wondering why they did this.
Dad had a 51 plate ELX. Luxury!
I had one of these on hire in 1999 - a 1.4 Manual. I had high hopes for it after borrowing a friend's Punto but the engine hunted at motorway speeds. I just couldn't get on with it.
What's gone on here with the editing Matt? It's like deja vu. You say "thanks for watching" at 20.47 and then continue, and we have the segment about the indicator stalks twice. Thought my dog had sat on the remote control again. 😂
Great video. Lots very familiar as last saw a Bravo (155 HGT) in my garage. You're welcome to take it for a drive if ever come to New Zealand :)
Brilliant! Looks like a Punto that grown up. I remember seeing these in Car Magazines back in the day.
I loved the Brava. I would have one tomorrow. But sadly here in Aotearoa New Zealand they have always been rarer than hehs teeth.
My last Fiat was a Regatta. Great cars. It is high up on my list of cars i should never have sold.
Funny you say that about a Vauxhall chair, drove a 2007 astra and the seats in that were solid, but in my 2006 (56 plate) the sri seats are really comfy in comparison (but no where near as good as the 75 leather heated seats)
I've owned 3 bravas back in 2008 the best model I owned was the 1.6 16v ELX. I regret trading it in at the time & since then I have not seen a ELX for sale. I love everything about the fiat brava originality and the nostalgia of the late 90's & early 2000.
If anyone is reading this and has a fiat brava ELX for sale on or off the road please do drop me a message thanks 👍🏻
During the 90's there were quite a few models where the 3 door cars look different to the 5 door cars, some of across multiple generations, the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Mazda 323 aswell as the Fiat and Alfa models, interesting it seemed to be Japanese and Italian that took to this design strategy
I had a bravo hgt 155 the engine sound was one of the best I’ve experienced
I do remember the dual design thing.
It’s a credit to the Italians all that design in what is a standard family car.
When did this get released? I was wondering if the early Ford edge designers took inspiration from this especially with regard to the original Focus.
Looked epic at launch
I hope it don’t breakdown. Not many left as most got scrapped.
CD chhanger is probablynot installed in the lowly spev but might meant you caninstall a USB stick/ sd card cd changer emulator. Had one of those in in a volvo V40 was the quickest way to get music in that car 6x100 songs.
Had a bravo hgt 20 years ago, loved it, wish still had it
Great cars.....Had a new bravo 2.0 hgt in burnt orange V67GPO . It did 70,000 miles trouble free in 3 years!
I recently bought Fiat Seicento 1.1 Sporting. Fun little car with nice engine sound
Owned a cinquecento sporting and punto sporting 16 valve. Both were reliable and a lot of fun. Little twin cam in the punto loved to rev and sounded like a much bigger engine. Shame fiat has really died as a family car brand, they just seem to sell the 500 these days !!
My partner had a mint green auto sx about 15 years ago. Reliable but not that great to drive from memory. What I really wanted was the Brava HGT.
Sounds better than a Golf 🤗👍🇮🇪
I remember so many street rods and custom cars in the late 90s with Brava rear lights!
The mark two croma,here in Poland they are popular,one of the best car's I've owned, Opal 1.8 petrol engine
Loved the Brava, especially the 5 cylinder HGT, front headlights are fantastic looking things. I was never sure on the rear end of the Brava though; the rear lights which are wacky and very atandoutish, they also reminded me of giant blisters that needed to be popped.
Very nteresting car that I feel has aged really well.
I can't find anywhere what does H in HGT stand for. Do you happen to know?
@@DashCamSerbia High or Hilux Gran Tourismo I believe.
@@aston-martin-internationalist Thanks. But I would think it would mean something in Italian, not English.
@@DashCamSerbia it came from an Italian Fiat website. Hilux is not language specific.
I test drove one in 97 when lookng for a new car, I think it was a 1.2,felt quite nippy but it was brand new lol
Definitely more fun than a boring old Golf!
Love these. But have to say, the 1.6 was probably my least favourite, in fact it was borderline pointless, it didn't really bridge the gap between the 1.4 and the 1.8 in a good way, it actually gave the worst attributes of both instead, you basically got the performance of the 1.4 mixed with the MPG of the 1.8, in fact the 1.8 was probably marginally more economical given the less thrashing it needed, the 1.6 does rev nicely though!. They've aged really nicely too, so much nice 90's touches. Not owning a Bravo HGT or Marea 20v are regrets of mine, came mega close to both. 1 got sold from under me when i thought i had it, the other i stupidly turned down (Marea) because the interior was hearing aid beige 😂
Shameless marketing video for the sale of the unwanted automatic Brava 😂 Great job my friend
Thats aged really well. Still looks a fresh design!
Fiat nailed their designs in this era. Every single one of them have aged beautifully
I was so tempted to buy and import this but then I remembered I already have a weird older car that's basically made of unobtanium at this point.
Love Fiat automatics. This car looks amazing.
This car reminds me bit of the original Citroen Xsara. The hatchback version had a very simiral shape. You should review that.
My mate had a Brava , he never found out whether it was more fun than a Golf as it was permanently getting fixed in the garage
Makes you realise that cars today are pretty boring in styling, all they seem interested in is how many useless graphics they can get the dash to do..... I must be getting old Lol
Yes and no. On the one hand, I can't tell the difference between a MG HS and a Kia Stonic and a Mercedes GLA and so on in side profile without looking at the badge. *On the other hand,* do you like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 & Ioniq 6? I like how Hyundai have styled too radically different looking cars on the same platform to cater to all tastes -- one a boxy retro hatchback shape, albeit a little bulbous and crossover-ish and one a sleek, ultra-aerodynamic teardrop shape -- .
Shame you’re not keeping it, looks like it could be the most reliable and best bodied car out the bunch on your driveway….but that would never do…lol
EuroNcap hated the Bravo, but it's fun.
Aqui no Brasil todos os carros tem volante no lado esquerdo e seria horrível dirigir com volante do lado direito.