Fiat Qubo Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Fiat Qubo range
Prices: £9,755-£12,650 – on the road
Insurance Group: 2
Emissions: 119-165g/km
Performance: [1.3 Multijet] 0-60mph 16.5s / Top Speed 96mph
Fuel Consumption: [1.3 Multijet] (urban) 49.6mpg, (extra urban) 74.3mpg, (combined) 62.8mpg.
Safety: ABS, EBD, Driver, passenger and side airbags.
Dimensions: length/width/heightmm 3959/1716/1735

HIP TO BE SQUARE?

Our Rating: 6.9 / 10

Thinking trendy but practical small car? Consider Fiat’s Qubo, says Jonathan Crouch

No doubt about it: functional budget-minded family motoring is best served by one of those van-based mini-MPVs. For many though, something like this is too square and boring to run as an only car. So what if someone made it smaller and cheaper so you could run one as a second or third car alongside something nicer. And what if they made it trendier too? That’s what Fiat’s Qubo sets out to deliver.

Is the van-based mini-MPV ready to become cool? It sounds unlikely but if any vehicle can pull such a thing off, perhaps it’s this one, Fiat’s Qubo. Not only does it look trendier than a car of this kind has any right to but it’s also smaller than you might expect. Compact but versatile little cars based on vans have been around for some time but haven’t previously been delivered to us this small. Whereas familiar names in this sector like Citroen’s Berlingo Multispace and Renault’s Kangoo are family hatchback-Focus or Astra-sized, this one is no bigger than a Fiesta supermini yet still offers nearly as much space.

It may even be slightly unfair to call it ‘van-based’. Yes, you could see it as a Fiat Fiorino van with windows and seats but that vehicle in turn is based in Fiat’s Grande Punto supermini. So let’s stop trying to label this car and instead see it for what it is. A very compact four-to-five-seater family car that’s small and nippy enough to twirl you round the tightest underground supermarket carpark, yet large enough to use on the average family holiday – a pretty tough brief to fulfil if you think about it. Fiat has also created larger Doblo and Multipla compact MPVs for busy families but if you don’t need the six or seven-seat options they provide, then you’re probably better off with this one.

You don’t tend to approach a drive in any MPV, let alone one related to a van, with much enthusiasm and on paper, such pessimism seems justified here. Hopes of even moderately nippy performance from the Qubo will be immediately dashed as soon as you learn that neither the 75bhp 1.3-litre diesel or the other option, a 73bhp 1.4-litre petrol, can break the 16-second barrier for the ‘sprint’ from 0-60mph. Get out on the road however, and the story is a little different – at least if you opt for the diesel we tried. With 190Nm of torque, there’s plenty of pulling power to waft you about without having to row the car along with the gearlever on the kind of urban t

True, there’s a distinctly van-like driving position – but that also means you sit quite high and get a good view of the road. You feel comfortable too thanks to a wheel that adjusts in and out as well as up and down, plus a height-adjustable seat on this plush version. On the move, the unyielding van suspension has been softened for passenger use, though not enough to exacerbate the kind of bodyroll that all high-ish sided cars suffer from to some extent. This one compensates with mild, relaxing road manners, plenty of grip and reasonable refinement. All round visibility is brilliant, so it’s easy to park with a tight turning circle and accurate steering.

The Qubo has all the key design elements of a roomy small car nailed down. The wheels are pushed right out to each corner of the vehicle, the bonnet is stubby and the roof is tall. Practical then, but not a recipe for something you’d be proud to be seen in – or is it? The oversized bumpers and wheelarches, the dramatic rear side windows, the bottom edges of which slope steeply upwards towards the rear of the car: with the roofrails and alloys on this plusher version, it makes it all almost SUV-like. You wouldn’t be embarrassed to drop the kids off in one of these, though your offspring might be irritated to find that they can’t fully open the rear windows.

At under four meters from nose to tail, this Fiat may be no bigger than a Fiesta supermini but there’s lots of space inside. More headroom, for example, than you could possibly find a use for, plus legroom is ample for four adult-sized passengers. There are a reasonable number of internal storage areas, including a large glovebox, and the hose-clean flooring is sensible on a car like this. Access to the rear is helped by the wide-opening sliding doors on each side of the car and in contrast to many of today’s compact supermini-based MPV offerings, the large, square boot is very generous at 650 litres with all the seats in place – or 330-litres under the sturdy