Fiat Multipla 1.6 ELX Review

Overall Rating

Versatile, comfortable, innovative.

Looks.

Fiat Multipla 1.6 ELX
Exterior

It is quite distinctive. I've seen it described as 'bug-eyed', 'ugly', 'weird' 'striking', 'unworldly' and 'aesthetically challenged'. The animals it is likened to include hippos, dolphins and frogs, but by my own personal favourite is 'a psychotic cartoon duck'.

A month into ownership, we still laugh at how ridiculous it looks. Amazingly, my teenage sons seem to have forgiven me for getting it (my eight year-old was enthusiastic from the start, but as he would point out, he is always right).

FIAT offer a number of body colours, some of them quite nice - however others verge on 'vile' - and these seem to be the ones you see most often on the road.

Passenger compartment

It was when they sat inside that my family were won over to the Multipla; it is comfortable, spacious and airy, plus, as one of the boys said 'You can't see the outside from in here!'

The Multipla has a very flat and reasonably high floor, seats are all separate units, each with a proper three-point seatbelt. The front seats and the middle back seat all slide for position. All the rear seats (including the sliding one) can be locked into either a forward, or rear position on the flat floor. All seats recline and fold. Rear seats can be removed entirely or rolled onto their front edge to increase the size of the boot. The driver's seat has electric adjustment for height. I understand there was a problem with flock seat material on some 02ish cars which wore badly, but this was often replaced under warrantee.

The curved interior door handles rise above the (very low) window line. Front windows wind down to about of the way to the top of the door, rear windows only go down to just below half way. Front windows are electric rear windows can be electric or manual.

Much of the dashboard is a mixture of fabric and rubberised plastic - the rubber coating is vulnerable to damage and peeling; at least one example I saw had had the rubber covering completely stripped off. Two lidded bins are provided at each end of the dashboard and the outermost front passenger has a small plastic drawer unit under their seat. Other pockets and spaces are open, with the exception of the small storage spaces above the sun-visors in cars that do not have a sunroof. The speedometer binnacle and heating/ventilation controls are slightly offset from the centre of the dashboard next to a protruding main vent unit. There are airbags for everyone at the front, the large (two person) passenger airbag being capable of being disabled if carrying a child in a rearward -facing seat. Switches control front fog lights, rear fog lights, hazard warning lights, heated rear window and rear electric window lock. Steering wheel height is adjustable via a lever on the steering column.

The roof has controls for the double sunroofs (which tilt up and then slide back on the outside of the roof), the interior lights (x4) and the folding door mirrors (a real Thunderbirds moment).

The stereo supplied has an integrated shaped front and works well - a surround to fill in the gaps around a standard unit is available from FIAT for under £15. Controls for the wipers are on the right stalk, while those for the indicators and lights are on the left. Wipers can be set on intermittent, slow or fast, with a single wipe option by lifting the stalk. Headlamp washers work with the windscreen washers if the exterior lights are on. External lights are turned off with the ignition unless the key is removed at the 'park' position when sidelights are left on automatically.

A trip computer makes lots of checks on startup and can tell you distance, range and fuel consumption amongst other items The Gear stick is mounted on the dashboard just in front and to one side of the ventilation controls. Other items on the dashboard include a headlamp adjuster, ashtray, lighter, cup holder and extra power outlet.

The handbrake is between the driver's seat and the door, a remote boot release is tucked down by it. Having the handbrake here seems odd at first, but you do get used to it.

Boot

The boot is a reasonable size in comparison to most hatchbacks. The Jack and tools sit in a compartment on the left-hand side, the boot floor is very flat with eyelets for securing a load. An inset nut releases the spare wheel from the underside of the car, which comes down on a cable. The spare wheel is 'emergency only' - not being the same dimensions as the rest of the wheels; alloy wheels require an extra supplied bracket to attach to the cable after a puncture.

The rear parcel shelf is robust, but tends to restrict the tilt/movement of the rear seats when in place despite having a 'tilt-up' section. Unfortunately the parcel shelf does not have a lanyard to make it rise when the boot is opened, so it can get in the way while loading shopping.

Engine compartment

The bonnet release is not the most positive around, but does its job. The engine is tucked up transversely mounted under the tiny lid. Everything seems nicely laid out and close to hand.

Visibility

The vast amount of glass all round aids visibility, but the headrests tend to get in the way a bit (more recent headrests seem to sit flatter against the seat tops than mine). You cannot see the end of the bonnet, but this is not too much of a problem as there is not much bonnet there anyhow. The extra sections on the door mirrors make parking up to the curb quite easy.

Driving

This car seems very wide when you look around from the driver's seat - with just two people in the front you can find yourself sitting a long way away from your passenger - however looking at the dimensions it turns out to be narrower than some other MPVs (such as the Espace and Galaxy). Width is not a problem out on the road.

Driving position is high, but handling around corners is good, with very little body roll. Ride is good, although the CD unit I put in at first tended to jump when the car hit a pothole - this may be due to the angle at which the CD/radio sits (about 40 degrees), or to the age of the CD unit I was using. The 1.6 petrol engine pulls the car along nicely, I'm told that the 1.9 JTD is even better. Six people are very comfortable over a distance and noise levels are quite reasonable. Reversing is also easy as the car is ridiculously short.

Other costs

Insurance starts at Group 7 for a petrol SX. The Diesel engine boosts the insurance group by one, while going up to an ELX knocks it up two (strange as the ELX trim adds an alarm). Insurance groups are low for an MPV, but when you consider that the car has a very effective immobilizer and think of the likelihood of joy-riders wanting to steal one, you find yourself wondering why they aren't lower. UK road tax for post 2001 cars is £160 for the Petrol or £165 for the diesel. Fuel economy is good for the petrol and excellent for the diesel.

Conclusion

Pretty it ain't, but it does grow on you. Certainly, don't knock it until you have tried it, and remember: 'none but the brave deserve the fair' (or, in this case, 'the fairly eccentric').

Members' Comments onrbj1962's Review

• rbj1962 on 1st Apr 2005

  Ten months further in and I'm still impressed (and I still smile when I see how ricuculous it looks). This is the best car I have ever driven; it has also been very reliable; the only problem getting it through the MOT was the need for a new back box on the exhaust (£92 with fitting). I had tried to replace the standard radio with an old CD unit I had to hand, but found that the angle of the radio mount meant that CDs skipped over bumps - so an after-market CD will need to be able to work at a 45 degree angle. In the end I bought a MiniDisc player which has an anti-shock buffer and never skips under any circumstances. A forum for the owners club is available at:
  
  http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/multiplaowners/
  
  which is where everyone documents any problems they have had - but I stress that, on the whole, it is a very good car to own and drive...

• microchippie on 4th Mar 2007

  Thank you for your informative review. We've just bought a 2000 model and think it's great! Your review even told us what the "lock" button does, something the manual omitted! We think it's rather funky and were "chuffed" to be flashed by another Multipla owner just yesterday. What a friendly community!