| First Drive | Dublin, Ireland | Fiat Fiorino Qubo |

For years, small commercial vehicles were created by blanking out the rear windows and removing the rear seats from regular cars. Recently, small vans have become big business and now it's not uncommon for family cars to be born from small commercial vehicles. Although these cars are often seen as a little unrefined and unfinished, they generally offer excellent value for money and a practical family choice. Fiat is no stranger to the genre, and its latest offering, the Fiorino Qubo, is built in partnership with Peugeot Citroen.

In the Metal

The vivid green paintwork of our test car does the Qubo no favours. It's certainly a funky colour, but in cohorts with the protruding front bumper and high-set headlights gives the car the face of a frog. More than one person pointed and laughed... Reptile face aside, the Qubo is a neat shape, with a pert rear end, short overhangs and several design flourishes you might not notice at first glance.

Inside, it's more practical than stylish, though it all seems well screwed together. The upright seats are comfortable enough and there are oodles of headroom, while access to the rear seats couldn't be easier thanks to a sliding door on each side. A contoured steering wheel, gearknob and handbrake lever give the Qubo the feel of more expensive Fiats, though that impression is eroded once you notice the messy headlining join that will remind you that the Fiorino was designed as a commercial vehicle first.

What you get for your Money

Prices for the British market have yet to be announced, though in Ireland the Qubo starts at €15,395, which puts it roughly on equal footing with the five-door Grande Punto. As an approximate guide, we'd estimate that the UK range will start at about £10,000 and include a small line-up with Active and Dynamic trim levels. Engine options in Ireland are limited to the venerable 1.4-litre 8-valve petrol unit and Fiat's 1.3-litre MultiJet turbodiesel. We suspect that this will be the biggest selling engine sold in combination with the well specified Dynamic trim. It's worth forking out a few hundred extra for the Blue&Me Bluetooth hands-free system, which also features a USB port and an amusing SMS readout function.

Driving it

The upright driving position of the Qubo is quite appealing and there's plenty of adjustment in the seat and steering wheel. Starting up the 1.3-litre MultiJet engine on a cold morning was a bit of a shock though, as it took quite a while to catch, even allowing time for the glowplugs to do their thing. That's virtually unheard of in most modern turbodiesels. Likewise, it's difficult to stall most, but a combination of low bottom-end torque and a clutch devoid of feel makes the Qubo tricky to pull away cleanly in.

Once on the move, the engine does an adequate job, but nothing more. It needs to be extended to keep up with faster traffic, yet runs out of puff before 4,000rpm. This is all exacerbated when you fill it to capacity with people and luggage. There is a silver lining though, as we returned over 40mpg in our time with the car, despite a lot of town driving and utilising every last one of the engine's meagre 74bhp when outside the city limits.

The Qubo betrays its origins with what can only be described as a bouncy ride. It improves when loaded up, but that's hardly an excuse - it can be plain uncomfortable. Bizarrely, the stiff springs mean that the Qubo is actually fun to drive on a twisty road. It clings on keenly and body roll is well contained, though most family buyers would prefer a little more comfort.

Worth Noting

To make up for the Qubo's obvious commercial vehicle origins, Fiat will be marketing it as a cheap and cheerful alternative to regular family hatches; one that also has practicality on its side. We can't deny the easy access to the rear seats, but its load carrying abilities are less impressive. Even with the rear seats folded and tilted fully forward there really is not a huge amount of usable space in the back. That pert rear end really truncates the length on offer, which means for instance that carrying mountain bikes is not an easy task, at least not without marking the back of the rear seats. Admittedly the roof is quite high up.

Summary

The Fiat Qubo will be cheap, but we're not sure where buyers will come from. It's a lot less comfortable to drive than the Grande Punto yet doesn't offer a vast amount of extra room or flexibility. It's certainly a little different and fun to drive, but at this end of the market we believe that buyers may have other priorities. For now, it doesn't quite feel like the finished article.