Our Brava is getting on four fifteen years old now, and we haven't put many miles on it considering (nearly 90k) but it's done us pretty well. I think the fuel injection has caused us the most problems, requiring a reconditioned engine three years ago) but that's by far the biggest fix we've had on it apart from things like tyres, exhaust, brake pads - and a wing mirror motor last year. It's had the odd advisory on the MOT about the bodywork but nothing major. It has chipped quite easily sometimes which has been frustrating, but I've always been pretty careful at filling in little dents here and there so it hasn't been too much of a problem.
It's hardly a racer but it's a good solid car for what you're buying. It does the school run and the shopping happy enough, and just doesn't flake out, always there when we need it. The only thing I'd say is that it's pretty sluggish when you're trying to overtake up hills, but I suppose it is a 1.4 and with four or five people inside then it's going to struggle. The fuel economy isn't fantastic compared to more modern cars but that hasn't been much of an issue for us as we don't do that much driving. The insurance is okay though, group 13.
It's good and comfy inside, lots of leg room for taller drivers. The clutch is a little bit too high for my liking but otherwise hard to fault for comfort. The seats are height adjustable too, which we always appreciated because we're such different heights the two of us. It can be pretty noisy at speed but we don't do much motorway driving.
Whatever you do, don't lose the red key, the transponder key!
I always liked the look of this car. It seemed ahead of its time when I first got it, and to be honest I still think it's pretty modern looking. My kids disagree of course, but it's about that time that I invite them to buy whatever car they would prefer, then they shut up a bit.
I've always been a bit concerned that the back seats don't have head rests. I saw a tv show about whiplash once and it's always freaked me out a bit, especially now as the kids are big enough for that to be a problem. This is perhaps the main reason I'll be selling up soon.
Also, the dealers for services are pretty expensive and I've never had much good service there, but then that'll always vary between branches I suppose.