Frugal Fiat
11/11/08 17:58 Filed in: Road tests
I remember a few years ago driving a Volkswagen Polo which refused to do anything less than 48 mpg on a regular commute. I remember how remarkable that seemed. Now, however, more and more cars are producing surprising results.
One such is the latest Fiat Bravo diesel. In its Multijet Eco guise, this is a good-sized family hatchback, yet it returned a one-off 52 mpg on my daily commute and regularly posted figures of around 47 or 48 mpg, despite driving it quite hard. The 62.7 combined fuel consumption figure shows that there is the potential to get well into the 50s on touring consumption, given a bit of restraint. The good news continues when it comes to car tax. Carbon dioxide emissions amount to just 119 g/km.
However, like a number of these super-duper economy cars, there are some downsides that you have to accept if you want to stretch the gaps between filling-station visits.
The engine on the Fiat is a little agricultural by comparison with the best of the recent crop of diesel engines. The drone from under the bonnet never completely falls silent and there is noticeable vibration transmitted from into the interior. I have to accept, however, that I seem to be a little more sensitive than most people about diesel harshness.
Although the performance up the rev range is quite good, the response is a bit wooden at low revs. So much so, in fact, that I managed to have a few embarrassing stalls in traffic when the engine did not respond quickly enough to the command “go”! That is perhaps reflected in the 0-62 time of 11.3 seconds.
The driving position is good, apart from the lack of parking space for your left foot when it is not needed for clutch duty. Space inside is good for a car in this class and there is a good deep boot.
Out on the open road, as I said, it responds quite well at overtaking speeds where speed of getting out, passing and moving back to your own side of the road is important to safety.
Prices for the Fiat Bravo Multijet Eco start at £14,200. It Is disappointing that Fiat charge you an extra £350 to have the added safety of ESP, something that others fit as standard. I would allow for that extra in your budget to give you extra reassurance and safety.
The verdict? Although it really is not that intrusive, I would find it too frustrating to live with the diesel harshness and drone of this model. If you are focussed on economy you might feel that is a price worth paying.
One such is the latest Fiat Bravo diesel. In its Multijet Eco guise, this is a good-sized family hatchback, yet it returned a one-off 52 mpg on my daily commute and regularly posted figures of around 47 or 48 mpg, despite driving it quite hard. The 62.7 combined fuel consumption figure shows that there is the potential to get well into the 50s on touring consumption, given a bit of restraint. The good news continues when it comes to car tax. Carbon dioxide emissions amount to just 119 g/km.
However, like a number of these super-duper economy cars, there are some downsides that you have to accept if you want to stretch the gaps between filling-station visits.
The engine on the Fiat is a little agricultural by comparison with the best of the recent crop of diesel engines. The drone from under the bonnet never completely falls silent and there is noticeable vibration transmitted from into the interior. I have to accept, however, that I seem to be a little more sensitive than most people about diesel harshness.
Although the performance up the rev range is quite good, the response is a bit wooden at low revs. So much so, in fact, that I managed to have a few embarrassing stalls in traffic when the engine did not respond quickly enough to the command “go”! That is perhaps reflected in the 0-62 time of 11.3 seconds.
The driving position is good, apart from the lack of parking space for your left foot when it is not needed for clutch duty. Space inside is good for a car in this class and there is a good deep boot.
Out on the open road, as I said, it responds quite well at overtaking speeds where speed of getting out, passing and moving back to your own side of the road is important to safety.
Prices for the Fiat Bravo Multijet Eco start at £14,200. It Is disappointing that Fiat charge you an extra £350 to have the added safety of ESP, something that others fit as standard. I would allow for that extra in your budget to give you extra reassurance and safety.
The verdict? Although it really is not that intrusive, I would find it too frustrating to live with the diesel harshness and drone of this model. If you are focussed on economy you might feel that is a price worth paying.
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