Two cars are in for the fight of there lives when they join the second largest segment of the UK market.

In the red corner is the absolutely stunning all new Fiat Bravo. A car that is key to Fiat's master plan of regaining some of that market share it so cheaply gave away with disasters like the Marea, Brava and the aptly named 3dr Bravo. And despite sharing the same name as Fiat's newcomer, the old Bravo was hardly worth applauding.

So far the signs are looking good for Fiat, especially in Europe, were its smaller, but equally stunning Fiat Grande Punto, is showing its competitors a clean pair of heels.

And Fiat sales are also showing healthy signs of recovery here in the UK, being one of a handful of car makers that have increased new car sales to-date and wheresome are showing downward trends of up to 30% over the same period last year. In fact Fiat sales have doubled since the same month two years ago.

The new 5-door Fiat Bravo goes on sale in the UK on 30 June having been created in just 18 months from design ‘freeze’ to production. A remarkable feat achievable through groundbreaking, state-of-the-art Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) systems which allowed the development of this new hatchback to be undertaken almost entirely through virtual analysis and engineering.

Priced from £10,995 to £15,495 on-the-road, the new Fiat Bravo will be available from launch, in five trim levels – Bravo, Active, Active Sport, Dynamic and Sport and feature such goodies as ABS anti-lock braking, remote central locking, driver and passenger front and side airbags, electric front windows, a CD player, Dualdrive electric power steering and Follow Me Home headlamps all as standard.

Powered by a choice of five powerplants, one of which is an all-new 1.4 litre T-Jet 150 bhp turbocharged petrol engine, making its debut in the Bravo. Through cubic capacity downsizing allied to the adoption of the smallest possible turbocharger, Fiat’s responsive new 150 bhp 1.4 litre T-Jet engine combines performance equal to or better than a conventionally aspirated 1.8/2.0 litre petrol engine, but with a reduction of between 10% and 20% in fuel consumption and emissions. These advantages are especially useful, given the importance of the fleet market, where taxation plays a major role.

The future addition to the range of a 120 bhp version of this outstanding new unit, with performance equal to or better than a conventionally aspirated 1.6 litre petrol engine, together with significant fuel consumption reductions, will increase the new Bravo UK model range to 15 versions later this year.

In addition, Bravo may be equipped with a 90 bhp version of Fiat’s lively 1.4 litre 16-valve Fire petrol engine, as well as 120 bhp 8-valve and 150 bhp 16-valve versions of the company’s widely acclaimed 1.9 litre common-rail direct injection MultiJet turbodiesel.

The 1.9 litre 8-valve 120 bhp MultiJet unit is mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox, while all other engines are mated to 6-speed manual transmissions.

Knockout blow to the competition? Not just yet!!

Entering the ring in the blue corner is another contender, albeit with a rather strange name, a car designed with Europe in mind and one with aspirations of knocking the stuffing out of all who try to challenge it, the all new Hyundai i30!!

Well when we say new, its actually the same engineering as the Kia Ceed, we'll come back to this car later, with a few cosmetic tweaks here and there, but fundamentally the same car without the 7 year warranty.

Although not as pleasing to look at as the Bravo, it's a big improvement on the Hyundai hatchback designs of past. And unlike a crop of failure's by Fiat, Hyundai have had solid success with the likes of the Getz and Accent, although god only knows why they went and brought back the Amica, and are steadily building up a nice portfolio of motor cars as well as loyal customers.

The i30 is the first Hyundai to carry the ‘i’ in its name, a move that could establishing a link between technology and the Hyundai brand’s core values. With the ‘i’, Hyundai chose the letter that could carry both messages. The letter ‘i’ has a long tradition as an icon for technology products. Furthermore, as a frequently used icon, the ‘i’ is already established across Europe, hence iPod, iTunes etc.. Also the number 30 is the numerical equivalent of the letter assigned to the i30’s segment, the European C segment.

Like the Bravo, Hyundai have pitched the i30 with a starting price of £10,995 on the road. For that you'll get a high level of standard equipment: including Electronic Stability Program (ESP) coupled with Traction Control, a first for Hyundai on its passenger cars, 15” Alloys, 6 airbags, electric windows, remote central locking and air conditioning. There's also USB/iPod & Aux connections with a 6 speaker CD that plays MP3's and is iPod compatible and all controlled via steering wheel controls.

Powering the i30 will be two petrol as well as two diesel engines, all newly developed for the Kia Ceed, both of which fit nicely into the Hyundai. At the entry-level, a new 109 PS 1.4 litre petrol engine offers a combination of strong fuel economy and spirited performance with 1.6 litre petrol engine providing a punchy 122 PS and 154 Nm torque and more than 45 mpg (Combined Cycle).

But it's diesel where this segment is strongest and Hyundai don't disappoint with a new 1.6 litre diesel engine producing 115 PS and 255 Nm of torque, and a new 2.0 litre diesel unit combined with a six speed manual transmission offering a 140 PS and a torrent of torque (304 Nm) making possible 0-62 mph in just 10.3 seconds and a top speed of 127.3 mph.

All the diesel units feature Hyundai’s Variable Geometry Turbo-charging (VGT), low friction balance shaft technology and high-pressure common rail diesel injection for minimised engine originated NVH (noise, vibration and harshness).

So there you have it, a brief overview of the latest pretenders to enter the ring. But who's going to come out on top?

Well if it was on looks alone it would be a first round knockout to the Bravo. We've seen both cars in the flesh and the Fiat just takes your breath away, it's really that stunning to look at. The Hyundai however gave us the feeling that Kia, a company bought by Hyundai several years ago, have stitched up their Korean cousins by letting them use the technology of the Ceed, but in trying to make it different from the Kia and aesthetically pleasing to the eye, have totally drawn a blank. It's just so boring to look at and the Ceed is just going to make the i30's job that much harder as it looks equally as good as the Bravo, has a £500 price advantage, already has the sales in the bag and that 7 year warranty is a killer.

Having said that it's not all about looks. Although the Bravo felt more dynamic on the road and got more 'admiring glances' than the i30, the Hyundai had a real quality feel about it. Given the choice of doing a year long trip around Europe, we'd take the i30 any day.

You just somehow can't help feeling this new Bravo, despite its new technology and skin, is after all a Fiat and their reliability record has been in question in the past. In contrast, you just know the Hyundai is going to be there for you, week in, week out. The 5 yr unlimited mileage warranty of the i30 tells you something straight away when comparing Fiat's miserly 2 yr manufacturer and 1 yr dealer offering.

But only time will tell whether Fiat's reliability and build quality issue's are well behind them and were afraid by the time the i30 hits the showrooms in September, it'll be all over bar the shouting. Customers will just go for the Bravo on looks alone and it'll give the Focus, Golf and Astra a bloody nose. Ironically for the i30, the killer punch won't come from Fiat. No, it'll be a sucker punch from behind in the form of the Ceed.

And it's the punch you don't see that hurts the most.