Against The Taxman
by David Finlay (01 Jul 08)

As mentioned in our launch report the Bravo Eco is Fiat's attempt to do what other manufacturers - most notably the Volkswagen Group - have done in the past, namely to offer a tax-busting version of an existing car.

Actually, the Eco is by no means the only example of this within the Bravo range, since Fiat has used the same petrol engine in three different states of tune (standard, lightly turbocharged and more robustly turbocharged) to produce quite different levels of performance for the same official rate of fuel consumption and CO2 emission.

The Eco is, however, the only taxation special Bravo diesel. It uses the new 1.6-litre MultiJet engine - unquestionably a fine piece of work - which, in 105bhp form, usually gives the Bravo 57.6mpg combined and 129g/km of CO2. Various pieces of trickery, including low gearing and slightly reduced aerodynamic drag, enhance the Eco's figures to 62.7mpg and 119g/km respectively.

Two Ecos are available: the £14,150 Active and, as tested here, the Dynamic, which is supplied with front and rear electric windows, 16" alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control air-conditioning, cruise control, lumbar adjustment for the driver's seat, a front armrest, a leather steering wheel, Blue&Me phone connectivity and an MP3 link into the audio system, all of which adds £1000 to the price.

The Eco Active costs £295 more than the regular MultiJet in the same trim level, and because it dips under the crucial 120g/km CO2 threshold it will probably pay for itself quite quickly (I won't go into detail about why that should be because it's all in the launch report). There is no direct non-Eco equivalent to the Evo Dynamic in the Bravo range, but it is far and away the cheapest Dynamic to run, not least because it's the only one with the 1.6 diesel engine, though it's more expensive to buy than any of the petrol models with the same trim.

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