Category: Compact MPV 
Price Range: £14,555 to £18,335
Innovative six-seat layout, value, good 1.9-litre diesel, fun and easy to drive.
Small boot, relatively weak 1.6-litre petrol unit, not quite as smooth as the best.
You don't have to be daring anymore to buy one of these pleasing, good-value compact MPVs.
The Fiat's high-set driving position and extensive glazing make it an easy car to see out of and, unlike in most MPVs, the rake of the screen pillars doesn't block your view through corners. You don't sit so far from the base of the windscreen as usual, either, which aids manoeuvring. But the Multipla is wide - as wide as a Rolls-Royce - which makes for a different driving experience, though it has to be said, the flat sides soon mean you often feel more confident than when in a narrower but less 'well-defined' model, and parking is surprisingly stress-free. The controls are light, and the unusually positioned gearlever (it's dash-mounted, close to the steering wheel) soon feels entirely natural to use.
It's not fun like a sports car, but driving the Multipla is nevertheless enjoyable. It corners surprisingly well for a car of its type, but the main pleasure comes from the seating arrangements, which are very sociable, and the unusual cabin architecture, including those centrally mounted instruments.
A 100bhp 1.6-litre 16-valve petrol engine may seem undersized for a car this big, and sure enough, on the motorway, the Multipla can struggle. But the engine's a sweet-revving thing, so working it hard is no pain - to the ears if not the wallet.
The 115bhp diesel is the better bet, though. It has a little more power and a lot more torque, making the Multipla a more effortless car in most conditions. If you're not delicate, however, the responsiveness of the accelerator can make for jerky progress in heavy traffic; there's a lot of low-down torque, eager to be transferred to the wheels.
