KEY POINTS:
For a carmaker that holds the title deeds to Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari, Fiat has produced some pretty ordinary cars in the past decade. The previous-shape Punto and Stilo were cheerful and practical machines, but styling and image-wise they fell a little short of the pizzazz you might expect from an Italian carmaker.
Granted, Fiat is a determinedly mainstream maker of relatively cheap and cheerful models, so we're not going to see a mid-engined two-seater from the marque any time soon. But the latest generation of new Fiat models does seem to be finding inspiration from the more exotic members of the family.
The replacement for the Stilo, the Bravo, picks up an old name, somewhat confusingly from the predecessor to the Stilo.
But it represents a whole new attitude from Fiat. The Bravo picks up the "mini-Maserati" frontal styling of the smaller Grande Punto and runs with it.
The arched roof and rising waistline look quite coupe-like and there's a lot of Alfa Romeo at the rear.
It's all deliberate. After all, when you have got some of the coolest car brands in the world on the books, why not play up the associations with your most humble models?
Consider two new Fiat colours that have been launched with Bravo - Maranello Red and Maserati Blue, which is nicely done.
Beyond the sexy styling, the Bravo is quite a promising effort. It has been launched exclusively in dressed-up Sport specification for New Zealand, with two superb powerplants.
The 1.9-litre JTD turbo diesel is the familiar-but-still-fine engine that is used through the Fiat/Alfa ranges.
But the star of the range is the new 1.4-litre T-Jet petrol, a small-capacity turbo motor that comes with claims of big-car performance.
First impressions suggest the T-Jet more than lives up to Fiat's claims that it provides at least as much oomph as a conventional 2.0-litre engine, and the figures certainly stack up. It makes 150kW/230Nm and can sprint to 100km/h in 8.2 seconds (the JTD diesel 110kW/305Nm makes it in 9.0 seconds).
With a small-capacity motor the turbocharger can be small too, minimising lag and providing a smoother power delivery. It's a sprightly little number, no question.
There's no "1.4" badge on the back of the T-Jet and no wonder: the connotations would be all wrong for such a quick and engaging little car.
But a further advantage of a small engine is economy. Stay away from the "Sport" button (which liberates maximum power/torque from the turbocharger) and the T-Jet manages 7.1 litres in the European Combined cycle.
The JTD is still tops for thrift, of course, with just 5.6 l/100km in the same independent testing.
At $36,990, the T-Jet is $3000 cheaper than the JTD. In all respects, other than what's under the bonnet and a tiny badge on the grille, the pair are identical.
The Sport package brings stability control, body kit, alloy wheels and lowered suspension, special seats and dual-zone air conditioning. You also get an integrated Telematics system, which will be an early adopter's delight. It's called Blue&Me and is a joint venture between Fiat and Microsoft.
Blue&Me unites the Bluetooth cellphone and digital media player functions within a single control system which is operated solely from the wheel with information displayed on the dashboard. The system also has voice recognition, which works without any "learning" between the software and individual users. Sounds unlikely, but it's all incredibly user-friendly.
The media player will be a particular selling point. There's a USB port on the centre console - simply slot a storage device into it and Blue&Me will play MP3, WMA and WAV files, picking up the song and album title tags and displaying them on the dashboard.
The Bravo seems like a lot of car for the money compared with the likes of the Toyota Corolla and the VW Golf. But will it sell? Sexy new product or not, Fiat remains one of the smallest players in the Kiwi market, with a minuscule 132 sales year- to-date this September.
Strangely, that's actually less than the Alfa Romeo (208), which should be a more upmarket and exclusive brand.
On the plus side, Fiat still outpaces Maserati (17) and Ferrari at 20.
- HERALD ON SUNDAY
