Fiat's new Bravo range has undoubted style. The car has been given a power boost with the arrival of the turbo-charged petrol engine, the T-Jet model. Michael Moroney took the T-Jet on test recently and reports on his power trip.

On the face of it the Fiat Bravo T-Jet looks like any other car in the range. You would be forgiven for thinking that nothing had changed in the new model that is until you take it to the road. Fiat's turbo-charged treatment of the 1.4 litre petrol engine changes the entire driving style of the car.

The basic 1.4 litre Bravo was a little lethargic in terms of pace, which took away from its fast car looks.

That's no longer an issue when you have the T-Jet option under the bonnet. I took the car on test recently to fully experience the difference that the turbo-charging makes. And I can assure you that it does make a difference.

By adding the neat turbo-charger to the engine, which means very little extra weight, the Bravo 1.4 T-Jet gets 30% more power.

That power is instantly noticeable when you hit the accelerator pedal, giving the car impressive road performance.

The T-Jet Fiat Bravo delivers 120bhp, which is a lot more than many 1.6 litre petrol engines on the market. The torque output jumps from 128Nm to 206Nm, a massive increase. This extra torque boost is what delivers the improved acceleration pace.

Moving from the basic 1.4 litre model to the T-Jet means a drop in acceleration time in a 0 to 100km/hr race from over 12 seconds to just over 9. That's a 25% improvement and it's almost directly in proportional to the increase in engine power. That type of road performance puts the Bravo T-Jet well ahead of the 1.4 litre competition in terms of performance.

Looking at the competition, you can see that the nearest rival is the 1.4 litre Honda Civic although the Bravo is well of all comers in terms of acceleration pace. The fuel economy figures for the Bravo T-Jet are rated at 6.7 litres/100km (42.2mpg), which almost a match for the Ford Focus and better than that for the 1.4 litre Toyota Auris. The Kia c'eed tops the sector in terms of economy while the powerful Bravo T-Jet is close behind.

Pushing that extra power normally does impact on fuel economy and emissions levels. Not so with the Bravo T-Jet. The increase over the standard 1.4 litre Bravo means better performance coupled with equal economy figures and no change in emission levels.