18 Dec 07
Back in the day, if you had a loose grasp on the concept of contraception, the only automotive solutions available to a rapidly expanding family were a hearse-like estate or doubling the number of cars you owned.
Today we look back in horror at how families transported their loved ones in years gone by - usually in a large saloon with an unfeasible number of unbelted little cherubs warring on the rear seat.
How things have changed: there's now a mind-numbing variety of choices for the 2.4-busting family. Almost every brand has wheeled out an MPV and, for some time, even 4x4s have been playing the family car role.
So why on earth has 4Car chosen a Caravelle for its latest long-term test car? Isn't it the automotive equivalent of back-pedalling? After all, isn't it just a van with windows?
The truth is, we had something of a dilemma. We needed something to replace the much-loved S-Max that carried seven, moved houses (well the contents anyway), entertained on B-roads and even drew the occasional second glance. We had an MPV-sized hole in our lives that needed filling.
But after 12 smug-filled months telling everyone who'd listen we were driving the very best people carrier, we had somewhat limited our choices to less capable MPVs.
