Bright Idea

BETTER late than never, might well be the motto adopted by Fiat as it stages a dramatic fightback to recapture the ground lost in the world of car manufacturing.

Following many months of forecourt uncertainty, Fiat dealers have recently taken delivery of the new Panda, voted European Car Of The Year, are getting a much-needed revised Stilo, and now have to find room for the company's first compact people carrier, the Idea.

Some might not think it a bright idea, entering at this late hour a market which has been targeted by others for some time.

But Fiat, well-known in the past for its small car expertise, feels it has a class-leading, up-to-the-minute vehicle with the Idea.

Actually, it is a good move because, overall, the march of the midi-MPV seems unstoppable, and there's more such models looming on the horizon.

There's a handful of newcomers to look out for from late spring to mid-summer, including the Seat Altea, the Mazda4, and the Mitsubishi Grandis.

The latter is the biggest of the four, with six or seven seats, and should be priced around £17,000. The Idea is a direct rival for Vauxhall's Meriva, with prices around the £9,000 mark. The Seat and the Mazda are both five-seaters, and you're looking at their prices starting around £12,000.

But back to the grand Idea. Although its exterior dimensions are only marginally bigger than the average supermini, its interior space is enormous, while its seating arrangements and storage facilities should answer all those problems that seem to go with family life on the move.

There are five versions, priced from £9,995 to £12,495 on-the-road, and a choice of three trim levels - Active, Dynamic and Eleganza - as well as a choice of engines from the lively 1.4-litre 16-valve 95bhp petrol unit, or Fiat's own acclaimed 1.3-litre 16-valve 70bhp MultiJet diesel engine - the smallest and most advanced second generation common rail direct injection turbodiesel in the world. Based on Fiat figures, the 1.3-litre is pretty frugal while fitted to the Idea, with fuel consumption figures of 45.6mph around town, and a combined figure of 55.4mpg.

Both engines are available with a choice of either a five-speed manual gearbox or, later in the year, the Dualogic transmission, a clutchless five-speed sequential manual shift with a selectable, fully automatic system.

Back seat permutations include a 40:20:40 split/folding and 60-degree reclining backrest with a 60:40 split/folding and sliding seat base. Sounds complicated but it offers an interesting lounging solution. In conjunction with front and centre rear seats which fold forward to form table tops, this new system offers no less than 32 different seating configurations, including (and this is the interesting bit) the opportunity to fold front and rear seats into a couchette lounger, ideal for those who suddenly feel the need to pull over and stretch out full length for a snooze. And there's room for two.

On the other hand, folding all three sections of the seat back fully forwards provides a total of 1,420-litres of luggage space - ten litres more than the Vauxhall Meriva, one of Idea's main competitors. By sliding both sections of the rear seat base fully forwards, the luggage area leaps by 92-litres from 320 to 412-litres - 62 litres more than the Meriva.

The Fiat Idea's equipment specification includes anti-lock brakes, remote central locking, driver and passenger front airbags, electric front windows, Dualdrive power steering and security headlamps, those that remain on for a while after the car has been locked up, illuminating the house drive area.

As well as this standard equipment, there are several options, too, including a glass sunroof covering nearly 70 per cent of the Idea's roof area, rear parking sensors, side and window airbags and a CD sound system that can play MP3 music files.

Safety features also figure highly. The chassis has been designed to provide exceptional torsional stiffness, up to six airbags are available, while height adjustable front seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters, three-point rear seatbelts, anti-submarining front and rear seats, and Fiat's own accident fire prevention system are all fitted as standard.

There is also a full range of braking, traction control and stability systems on-board: that is anti-lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution, wheel slip limiters during acceleration, and a sophisticated stability system offering extra control through bends. Vehicles fitted with the stability control system also have hydraulic brake assistance and a unique hill holder function to help with smooth hill starts. Styled by Italdesign, and with an interior by Fiat Centro Stile, the Idea is built around a one-box design, provides aerodynamic lines and has wheel arches to give it a purposeful stance.

At the front there are powerful headlamps with a chrome highlighted grille and a deep front airdam complete with rubbing strips.

Side on, a steeply raked windscreen pillar and bold waistline support a full 3.6 square metres of glazing, a figure rising to an exceptional 4.9 square metres when adding the SkyDome sunroof. There are optional integral, roof rails available, together with tinted glass and door pillars finished in black.

At the back, tall, upright tail-lights flank a top hinged tailgate which provides full width access to the loadspace. Despite compact exterior dimensions - 1.70m wide, 1.66m high and 3.93m long, with a wheelbase of only 2.51m - the Idea is roomy. The combination of a raised driving position, height-adjustable seat, rake and reach adjustable steering wheel and windows means the driver has comfortable, all-round visibility.

The instrument binnacle sits in the fascia centre with the gear lever positioned at the base of the centre console. Handily, the audio system is positioned at the highest level making it easier for the lone driver to operate.

The rear seats on Dynamic and Eleganza versions include Isofix mountings for two child seats.

The storage facilities, totting up to 27, include several fascia trays and a spacious glove box, a central cubby box incorporating CD, cup and business card holders, door pockets, optional, front to back ceiling-mounted compartments, a removable ashtray, and even a pull-out cup holder built into the headrest of the central, folding rear seat.

A comprehensive range of accessories includes a choice of 16in alloy wheels, aluminium pedals with rubber inserts, a leather steering wheel rim and gear knob, assorted loadspace nets including a dog containment screen, a demountable, load compartment tray, transverse roof bars rated to a 50 kg loading, and a wide selection of child seats, including a bespoke, Kiddy Isofix seat for children weighing up to

40 lb.

Idea prices are 1.4-litre 16v Active £9,995; 1.4-litre16v Dynamic £11,245; 1.4-litre 16v Eleganza £12,495; 1.3-litre 16v MultiJet Active £10,895; 1.3-litre 16v MultiJet Dynamic £12,145.

Updated: 09:17 Friday, February 27, 2004