Conference terri::cars_uk

    
    	I'd be interested as well, I'm thinking of one to replace
    	my Tipo.
    
    	Both cars have been praised - but I'd prefer to hear from 
    	"one of us" who has driven one.
    
    		Tony B.

    My wife curently has an Uno due for replacement soon, so I'd be
    interested as well. In fact she has an invite for a test drive from the
    agent (Cloverleaf in Basingstoke) from which we got the Uno. I'll try
    and get her to take it up, but if anyone else is in the Basingstoke
    area it might be worth calling in cos they've definitely got a couple
    of demos.
    
    Derek

    Well, I have now driven a 1.4 SX Bravo and a 1.8 HLX Bravo. I have been
    to the dealership over the weekend. 
    
    Heres a mini review :-
    
    1.4 Bravo,
    
    	Although I wanted to drive a 1.8, the first dealership only had a
    1.4 as a demonstrator so they suggested I drive that and to get a feel
    for the car and they would try some of their other dealerships to see
    if they could get one for a test.
    
    The 1.4 is a bit sluggish - not as quick as my 1.2 Punto, but it pulls
    well throughout the rev range and never sounds strained. The ride is
    fairly good - no crashes or thumps over rough roads, very very quiet at
    motorway speeds, its also fun to drive quickly. 
    
    Build quality - from the outside - panel gaps are excellent, the door
    handles are like the Volkswagon pull type and really add to the feeling
    of quality - the doors slam with an Germanesque thunk, so far so good.
    Unfortunately, this one has 400 miles on the clock and there where
    rattles from the dashboard so minus big points there. 
    
    When I got back to the dealership I was presented with the 1.8HLX to
    drive ( dont know where they found it ) This model is really very good
    looking - what with the 15inch alloy wheels and coloured keyed
    everything. It also had a specification far better than its competition
    (i.e. Ford Escort 1.8SI), this included the following :-
    
    Alloy Wheels, Fog Lights, third breaklight, rear head rests, heated
    front seats, ABS, Electric Windows+mirrors+sunroof, sports interior, 6
    speaker RDS stereo, headlight washers, height adjustable seats and
    steering wheel.
    
    The engine was very torquey, pulling very well throughout the range,
    this was not as quiet as the 1.4, because the engine has a sporty
    note which you can hear as the revs rise, although it never becomes
    intrusive. The seats are comfortable and the seating position is good,
    but again there was a slight buzzing from the dashboard.
    
    overall both cars I would recommend - even more so since at the end of
    my drive of the 1.8 HLX I pointed out the rattles and was told that the
    demonstrators they had where pre-production and quality should be much
    better on the finished vehicles.
    
    I have ordered the 1.8HLX, I should have it in the first batch from
    Italy - so shouldn't be more than a fortnight allegedly.
    
    Prices - 13,200 on the road with metallic paint for the 1.8HLX Although
    I managed to spend 13,600 and got an alarm with remote central locking,
    mats metallic paint and Air conditioning on mine.
    
    Still worried about the rattles though.
    
    Rick
     

    I am now the owner of a Fiat Bravo 1.8 HLX - its currently in K2 car
    park at OLO if anybody is interested.
    
    First impressions - well amazingly no rattles whatsoever, the whole
    thing seems very solid - especially the thunk made by the doors. Ride
    is average ( but this is the sporty version ), interior noise is
    excellent, at least as good as the Vectra. The standard sound system
    really is incredibly good - better than Escort, Mondeo etc systems.
    Although the controls are hard to use in the dark - since they light up
    very poorly. It has a space saver spare wheel, which seems a bit of a
    con since it only has 15" wheels, Im sure they could have fitted a full
    size spare.
    
    The dashboard is very clear and easy to read and the seating position
    is very un-fiat like ( since its actually very comfortable, especially
    this morning with the heated seats on ) 
    
    Fuel consumption is poor - but the car has only done 120 miles so it 
    is safe to say it needs running in.
    
    The best thing about the car though is its looks,especially the Polo mint 
    rear lights, with the indicators in the middle. Price, well I paid a total 
    of �13,500 on the road, including metallic paint, air conditioning, CD
    autochanger etc. with a generous trade in for my Fiat Punto ( �500.00
    above book )
    
    Anyway - despite whats been said about Fiats in the past, this really
    is in a different league build wise to previous efforts ( including the
    Punto ).
    
    So, excellent all round so far - if this changes I will let you know.
    
    Rick 'quite happy at the moment actually' Barrett
     

    Hello,
    
    Does anyone know of any good Fiat dealerships, or indeed anywhere that
    has Bravos?
    
    My sister's boyfriend is trying to get hold of a Bravo 1.8HLX.
    He has tried the auctions, but when the HLX's come up (not very often),
    they seem to be going for much more than the others, i.e. 11,000 as
    opposed to 8,500.
    
    Ideally he is looking for dealers that offer any discounts/extras/0%
    finance, but knowing any is a start!
    
    
    I would be very grateful if anyone could drop some pearls of wisdom
    into this note.
    
    
    Jamie
              

While I was looking for a Fiat Punto I phoned FIAT U.K and was told that all fiat 
garages had access to a computerised car-search system showing them which garages
had which cars. I used FIAT places in Reading, Newbury, Oxford, Wantage, Evesham,
Windsor. Unfortunately, I've binned all the numbers, but Yellow Pages and 
Directory Enquiries got me started.

To be honest I didn't find FIAT in general to be much good, the Customer Department
didn't have access to the car-search thing because all the car dealerships did,
and when I phoned their fleet department my call was never returned.

Good Luck,
Phil.

    MARN on Richfield Avenue, (opposite Rivermead LC) had some in a while 
    back (about 3 weeks ago when I called in for a part).
    DaveT

    Jamie,
    
    They will go for about 11,000 as opposed to 8000ish for the others -
    the 1.8 HLX is over 13,000 new - has only been available for 4 - 5
    months really so there aren't very many of them.
    
    In case your interested - you could try Caledonia Fiat in Warrington
    they should have one in Metallic Ink Black, with air con at a
    reasonable price ( reg N650 YVR ) - I know its my old car !! 
    
    try them on - 01925 416516 - they always treated me quite well.