06 Mar 07
On paper it's near-perfect. Clever design, roomy enough for family stuff at weekends, economical and sufficiently comfortable for a long, dull commute, sharp enough to be fun to drive when a decent road presents itself, and unassuming enough to leave in a slightly scary car park.
We've chosen our Roomster with some care. Having driven most of the six-engine line-up I knew the 1.9 turbodiesel was the engine best matched to the varied life the Roomster would be living. Inside, I chose a grey and black combo for the upholstery that's unlikely to get a thumbs-up from Sarah Beeny but which won't look like a Marmite explosion in a bridalwear shop after the first weekend spent carrying kids around.
The choice of drab green paint may have been a mistake. Not only does it show road dirt very clearly, it looks very much like a colour Fiat offers for the Doblo, and I like to think that in the world of funny-looking compact MPV-type things the Roomster is a much more highly evolved species than the Doblo.
The Roomster's specification levels are called 1, 2 and 3, and it seemed appropriate to go for level 1 for this functional, hard-working car... until I actually studied the brochure. I could happily live without the cruise control, front armrest and rear parking sensors that feature in level 3, but there were some features of level 2 that I knew I'd regret not having, chiefly air con (nothing flash - an old-school three-knob set-up) and height adjustment for the front passenger seat. The extra speakers won't go amiss, either.
