The Fiat Bravo.
http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/257432/
So, for those who don't know much about EU Focus competitors, here's Bravo in short!

http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv284/Z_interactive/FiatBravo1.jpg

Engines:
Petrol 1.4-90 hp to 1.4 152
Diesel 1.6 90 hp to 2.0 165

Gearbox:
5/6 speed manual
5 speed Dualogic, name for Electrohydraulic manual transmission

It's same size as focus and comes only as 5 door hatchback

it doesn't have good chassis or suspension so it's nowhere near as focus, but it's safe 5 stars crash test.

So would you buy one of these over Focus???

All I can say is, I wouldn't!! But I think Fiat people will make new Bravo much better if they want to make USA market theirs, right?[scratch]

If it can't even get out of it's own way, it better be safe when you have to brace for impact [hihi]

I would take a 500 Abarth over a new focus. Maybe i would take the Bravo with a diesel. But, would drive anything with a diesel.

It actually looks like it's trying to be a Focus, but falling short.

The Punto Abarth is a wicked little beast though...

http://www.egmcartech.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/fiat_grand_punto_abarth_official_off_image_1.jpg
http://www.egmcartech.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/fiat_grand_punto_abarth_official_off_image_7.jpg
http://www.egmcartech.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/fiat_grand_punto_abarth_official_off_image_16.jpg
http://www.egmcartech.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/fiat_grand_punto_abarth_official_off_image_20.jpg

They make neat little rally cars too...

http://rallye-info.com/images/photos/general/IRC/2007Sanremo/740/Travaglia1.jpg

Focus/Fiesta knockoff or not, I honestly don't care. I wouldn't mind owning one of these babies.

The Abarth would be cool. The regular Bravo looks like a Daewoo from 5 years ago.

Not terribly exciting in any way. Some may prefer the front end, but it looks more like a "me too" car, but without the style of the 2012 Focus. The interior shots show many flaws in the design while the Focus has fairly little wasted space.

More Fiat junk!!

Not terribly exciting in any way. Some may prefer the front end, but it looks more like a "me too" car, but without the style of the 2012 Focus. The interior shots show many flaws in the design while the Focus has fairly little wasted space.

I'm curious what the many flaws are? My first reaction when looking (at the Abarth interior, in particular) was that it seems simple and functional, well laid-out.

Also, the linked-to article from the OP clearly states the replacement for the Bravo is what Fiat plans to sell in the U.S., not the current Bravo.

I'm curious what the many flaws are? My first reaction when looking (at the Abarth interior, in particular) was that it seems simple and functional, well laid-out.

Also, the linked-to article from the OP clearly states the replacement for the Bravo is what Fiat plans to sell in the U.S., not the current Bravo.


Here is just one, that left air conditioning vent is placed decently, but is smaller than the available space, so all that dashboard space is WASTED. The 2012 Focus with the vertical layout for the A/C vents is a more efficient use of the available room, and it doesn't scream "look at how much room there is around me" the way those pictures did.

The cup holders are right under the dashboard, the way they were in my old 2001 Focus ZX3....meaning you can't fit ANYTHING taller than a can of soda in there. Bad placement. On the flip side, the cup holders on the 2012 Focus are in a good location, but they either should have been deeper, or shaped better since they don't hold tall coffee cups that are not terribly wide.

The radio and A/C controls look like a legacy item from a car 8 years old or older, they look dated in their design. The same goes for the A/C vents as well, they would have fit in back in the 1980s.

In general, nothing BETTER about what I have seen there than the 2012 Focus, but there are obviously elements that are not as good, and that's the point, if it's not any better, both from a cosmetic and technical/feature perspective, then it's NOT great. The Focus is far from being overpriced for what you get, and it is only the people who compare the fully loaded Focus to other cars that even feel that the Focus is overpriced. This comes from the perspective of prices here in the USA, so if you are talking about prices in Canada or Europe, then I don't know how the Focus is priced compared to other vehicles.

Here is just one, that left air conditioning vent is placed decently, but is smaller than the available space, so all that dashboard space is WASTED. The 2012 Focus with the vertical layout for the A/C vents is a more efficient use of the available room, and it doesn't scream "look at how much room there is around me" the way those pictures did.

That's because Ford crammed stuff into every possible space they could, instead of screaming about too much 'wasted' space the Focus screams "look how much stuff we crammed onto the available space!" Not every surface needs to have a thing occupying that space.

The cup holders are right under the dashboard, the way they were in my old 2001 Focus ZX3....meaning you can't fit ANYTHING taller than a can of soda in there. Bad placement...

In the pictures of the standard Bravo it appears the cupholders are between the seats.

The radio and A/C controls look like a legacy item from a car 8 years old or older, they look dated in their design. The same goes for the A/C vents as well, they would have fit in back in the 1980s.

Were you alive in the 1980s because that does not remind me of the 1980s at all. 2008? Yes. 1998? Maybe. 1988? Not really. [dunno]

In general, nothing BETTER about what I have seen there than the 2012 Focus, but there are obviously elements that are not as good, and that's the point, if it's not any better, both from a cosmetic and technical/feature perspective, then it's NOT great. The Focus is far from being overpriced for what you get, and it is only the people who compare the fully loaded Focus to other cars that even feel that the Focus is overpriced. This comes from the perspective of prices here in the USA, so if you are talking about prices in Canada or Europe, then I don't know how the Focus is priced compared to other vehicles.

Who said the Bravo was great? I believe his point was that for the naysayers, they need only look at the competition to get some perspective on how much better the Focus is.

Not terribly exciting in any way. Some may prefer the front end, but it looks more like a "me too" car, but without the style of the 2012 Focus. The interior shots show many flaws in the design while the Focus has fairly little wasted space.

with the very little wasted space comes the fact that there is very little user serviceable items. Think about how busy it is up front, then imagine the rats nest behind that feeds all that non wasted space...
just more crap to distract drivers.

I personally like the minimalist approach too. Even if it ends up looking like a sea of black or dark gray, I don't care. The quality of the material and ergonomics takes priority over everything else.

Manufacturers are trying too hard to cram shiny surfaces and excessive buttons into the center stack and dashboard areas of newer cars. They also tend to go overboard on stylizing them and sculpting them in a way where it limits interior room.

I'm not saying all dashboards should be a flat slab plastic that spans all the way across the width of the car. But sometimes it's okay (and preferable) to leave some empty space so you have easier and quicker access to the controls you need while you're in motion.

I could go on listing other things manufacturers continue to make mistakes with on a regular basis (i.e. making the radio and HVAC dials the same size/texture), but I think most of you probably get the point by now...

EDIT: I believe the psychology behind cramming as many buttons into a tiny space is to make cheaper cars look like they're packed with more features than what they really have (which helps them justify price increases). I think Honda is definitely guilty of this.

Wow that thing is ugly, and looks similar to other car companies idea's.