MANUFACTURERS, you should have noticed by now, are doing their level best to liberate cars from conventional thinking.

It is the compact people carrier, or midi-MPV as makers prefer to call it, that has sparked this new approach, and the bonnet-cabin-boot formula is fast metamorphosing into a single, flowing shape.

Even the early compact MPVs are now losing their highly individual look, succumbing to the need for more room, and greater load versatility.

Look at the latest Renault Scenic, for example, the car that created the five-seater midi-MPV class six years ago. Gone are those nicely rounded lines, in their place a beefier, bulkier body that, admittedly, has bags more flexibility.

But these five-seaters are flying off the shelves, and the secret of their popularity is simple: folk want a big car, but they do not want a BIG car.

Mum wants an easy-to-handle, easy-to-live-with runaround that is no trouble to park, requires no unnecessary bending and stretching to settle in the little ones, will swallow the shopping, and that definitely will not eat into the housekeeping.

Dad, on the other hand, might want something that is as smart as the work suit, yet will take the mates, plus sports kit or golf clubs, to the Sunday morning sporting outing. Yet he has a mortgage, a young family, and does not want to pay the earth for it.

Both Mum and Dad and the kids will want the space to store their own personal items, without each having to turf the other's out every trip.

So it is a sign of the times, and highly understandable, then, that of all the motoring exotica that turns up on the doorstep for testing, it is the five-seater MPVs that attract the most interest.

One car in particular this year is the Vauxhall Meriva.

The smaller Meriva certainly makes the most of the cabin space, and is by far the most family-friendly compact people carrier on the market.

To emphasise just how much you get for your money, Vauxhall sent along the 1.6-litre Life, which costs £10,995. The starter Meriva uses the eight-valve, 86bhp 1.6-litre unit, but the same 1598cc pack can be specified, at £500 extra, with 16 valves, 98bhp, and a livelier performance.

You also pay to step up in insurance groups from a very low three, to four.

You can get even better value, Meriva-wise, by going for the basic 1.6-litre Expression model, which sells for £9,995.

Top speed of the Meriva 1.6-litre Life is over the legal limit, although not as fast as some of similar build and power, while the 0-60mph takes 13.5-seconds, but it does feel much quicker than that, and you can certainly whip up a fair mid-range pace moving through the five manual gears. Economy on long drives is pleasing, at 45.6mpg on the country cycle, but you will certainly suffer at the pumps if you do a lot of short-hop school run journeys because around the city expect a mean 26.9mpg.

If fuel economy is your priority, then the latest addition to the Meriva line-up, the 1.7-litre turbo diesel, might be more your thing. Prices for the oil-burner start from £13,470 for the Life, moving up through Enjoy (£13,970) to top-spec Design (£14,470).

Given that the Meriva is based on the Corsa supermini's floorpan, the drive and handling is good, with nothing lost on corners due to the extra height.

But even Paul Daniels would be impressed with the sleight-of-hand interior, which employs the FlexSpace folding seats system first seen in the popular Zafira.

Those chairs slide, shuffle, or stow flat to banish any loading blues, and you can even whizz the rear seats into the five-door hatch's boot space, should longer legs require it.

Basic safety and security is well managed, and Life fitments include powered front windows, a decent sound system, and cloth upholstery.

It is fair to say, though, that what you get with the Meriva is not particularly important: it's what you'll get out of it that is.

Updated: 09:50 Friday, December 05, 2003