General Bravo Dualogic

[frich107]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum, and I'm hoping this is the right place to post this.

I'm seriously thinking about a Bravo 1.6 MJet Dualogic (as much as anything because of the fact that its an auto, does 60mpg or so combined, and is only £35 a year road tax). Does anyone have any experience of what the dualogic is like in the Bravo?

I have very limited experience of Citroen's EGS 'box, and also Vauxhall's Easytronic 'box. How does it compare with these? Are there any reliability issues that I should be aware of, and are the official fuel economy figures achievable?

I currently drive a standard slush 'box Astra, and apart from the dire fuel economy I really like it. Have booked myself a test drive in a manual Bravo for early in the new year, but would like some owner feedback, especially on Dualogic models, although any feedback on the 1.6MJet would also be much appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[614cooker]

honistly if you want the car that handles and drives fun get a manual they respond more quickly and no need to wait for the car to go into gear the manuals are excellent peaces of enginering. Dual well ive tryed it at my fiat dealership and i cant stand it takes to long for the computer to decided that you have changed gear but thats what i think. maybe in a year or so as they get better enginered it will be a much better gear system in place but for the time being keep away from it.

but at the end of the day it is entirely up to you.

 

[luvduvs]

i cant stand it takes to long for the computer to decided that you have changed gear

 

[T14086]

honistly if you want the car that handles and drives fun get a manual they respond more quickly and no need to wait for the car to go into gear the manuals are excellent peaces of enginering. Dual well ive tryed it at my fiat dealership and i cant stand it takes to long for the computer to decided that you have changed gear but thats what i think. maybe in a year or so as they get better enginered it will be a much better gear system in place but for the time being keep away from it.

Gearboxes are the same for dualogic & manual

Try the new dualogic when it comes out bet you change your mind

 

[frich107]

Thanks for the initial thoughts. That's helpful. Manual gearboxes are all well and good, as long as you don't have occasional hamstring problems in your left leg, as I do. Having had to do a round trip from Leeds to Birmingham and back in a day in 2005 in a manual car when my hamstring was playing up, I made a decision never to go back to a manual for my main everyday car.

Nonetheless, I don't like hesitant gearboxes, and what has been said suggests that it has similar issues to Vauxhall's Easytronic system, which can be rather slow in changing gear. I shall have to see how I get on with a manual Bravo, and if I do like it, track down some kind of dualogic car to see how I find the gearbox.

Thanks again.

 

[614cooker]

Ok well im not sure if you have drove a new manual bravo but the clutch in them are electronic and very easy to push infact they are so good that you only have to push the cluch a quarter and will still be enough to change the gear. Mind you even though i dont link the duel logic gear box when i tested it out my dealer did say never buy a new car when they first come out as not all the problems are sorted. He did say that fiat are already testing a new duel logic gear box which is supposed to change gear with in 1/10th of a second. where as currently it is 1 - 2 seconds. cant wait to try the new one out. anyway i hope it all works out for you as most things do at the end of the day. All i can suggest is to try the car out and see if you like it.

 

[614cooker]

Gearboxes are the same for dualogic & manual

Try the new dualogic when it comes out bet you change your mind

actually the dual logic is slightly different to the manual gear box.

 

[Tad-bravo]

how can a manual gear box be the same as an automatic?

 

[T14086]

dualogic aint a true automatic, has a hydraullic control unit mounted on top of gearbox of change gear.

 

[CptBill]

Ok well im not sure if you have drove a new manual bravo but the clutch in them are electronic and very easy to push infact they are so good that you only have to push the cluch a quarter and will still be enough to change the gear. Mind you even though i dont link the duel logic gear box when i tested it out my dealer did say never buy a new car when they first come out as not all the problems are sorted. He did say that fiat are already testing a new duel logic gear box which is supposed to change gear with in 1/10th of a second. where as currently it is 1 - 2 seconds. cant wait to try the new one out. anyway i hope it all works out for you as most things do at the end of the day. All i can suggest is to try the car out and see if you like it.

True, but unfortunately the c635 gearbox you are mentioning will appear in September.

 

[Big Black Stilo]

try driving a range rover auto with low and knackered autobox fluid. That takes some time to change up and down.

or a micra auto- it changes down when its to fast for the lower gear!

 

[frich107]

Hi,

Thought I'd update you now that I have driven a Bravo. The garage even let me take it out unaccompanied, and suggested I have a decent run out in it, which I did. The model I tried was a 1.6 M-Jet 105 Eco (not sure about trim level) with less than 100 miles on the clock.

I have to say that I am very impressed with the car. The steering, handling and ride are all impressive, being sporty, yet comfortable. The engine pulls nicely, and doesn't seem to suffer from turbo lag at all - in fact it pulls more like a petrol engine, which suits me! I was also particularly impressed by the lack of road noise, even at motorway speeds. Try comparing that with a Honda Civic!

Much less impressive is passenger knee room in the front, and the driver's seat. One or two people on here have mentioned the driver's seat, and I would tend to agree that it does lack some under knee/thigh support. However, I think I could live with that, and after some messing with the backrest angle I was able to get nice and comfortable. The seat does adjust nice and low too, which I like.

At this stage I am still a little undecided though. I like my Astra a lot, and some of the things I've heard about the dualogic box give me some cause for concern. Not an obvious competitor I know, but I'm going to try out a new Vauxhall Insignia next Friday, and I suspect it will between a Bravo and one of them for me.

Just out of interest do different trims get different front seats, and if so, do some of them have better under thigh/knee support, and if so, which?

Thanks.

 

[cidereye]

Just out of interest do different trims get different front seats, and if so, do some of them have better under thigh/knee support, and if so, which?

Thanks.

Yes they do, AFAIK the normal seats in both the Active & Dynamic are the same but with different cloth/trim etc. When I test drove a Bravo it was a Dynamic and like you I found the drivers seat lacking good support to say the least .... for me they were a no go.

If you go for a Sport though you then get either the blue/red sail cloth sports seats which I found much better. I only had to sit in one for a few seconds to feel the difference and knew it was by far the better bet for me as I suffer from spinal problems, arthritis etc and it had so much more support. The only true test though of course is living with the car and driving it each day for a while so I just hope my expectations are lived up to when I get my Active Sport in March. Worth going back to the dealers I'd say and trying it out for yourself to see what you think - one man's meat is another man's poison after all and trying it yourself is vital.

 

[frich107]

First of all in response to the last post. Thanks for that, but of course I have realized that the Sport or Active Sport trim is not available with the dualogic 'box. Oh well, it was worth a try.

Secondly, the main update. I have made my mind up and have decided against the Bravo. It was pretty good, and the local dealer in Wakefield was very helpful, but ultimately it wasn't the best car I tried, and I'd always regret that. Ultimately I went for something that is hardly a direct rival to the Bravo I know, but I got a very good deal on it and loved the car.

I have ordered a new Vauxhall Insignia diesel auto (I think its basically the same engine as in the new top of the range Bravo isn't it?) Thanks everyone for your comments and opinions above.

 

[Hellcat]

Insignia... Think there is a 120 1.9 and 150 1.9 option, very similar car to the Croma. The engine is almost the same as the Bravo but it's tuned or geared differently for more torque (heavier car). Much easier to get in and out of though - especially if you have a dodgey leg.

Good luck with the Insignia and thanks for popping back. Hopefully Fiat and the forum will still be around when you come to your next change of car, and you never know what will be available then!

 

[frich107]

Insignia... Think there is a 120 1.9 and 150 1.9 option, very similar car to the Croma. The engine is almost the same as the Bravo but it's tuned or geared differently for more torque (heavier car).

Thanks for your comment, and I shall keep looking back in here. It seems like a very friendly and well-informed forum.

Re: Insignia engines. There are currently two diesel engines, but they have moved on from the old 1.9s that the Vectra (and Astra for that matter) used. You can now get a 130 2.0 and a 160 2.0, and I have gone for the latter as fuel economy and emissions are identical and it hardly costs any more for the more powerful engine. I was assuming that this was a development of the new Fiat 2.0 engine, but I may be entirely wrong, as I know GM have been developing their own diesel engines at the top end (the V6 likely to go in the Cadillac CTS this year). Perhaps the 2.0 is a one of their own too?

Anyway, thanks again.

 

[Ulpian]

The 2.0 is the latest Fiat engine.

 

[Hellcat]

Ah yes, but the Insignia has been available with the Gen1 multijets also. The 2.0 (1956cc?) I guess you could call gen2. The 130 2.0 must be a GM adaption of the 1.9 120 as Fiat have abandoned the low power 1.9 in favor of the 115bhp 1.6 multi.