Fiat Doblo JTD ELX (Fiat Doblo)

Member Name: Mr fussy

Product:	Fiat Doblo
Date:	11/10/03 (1709 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun to drive with great steering, Spacious with great seats, seems robust

Disadvantages: Pedals too close to each other, Indicator wand too wilful and quiet, Anti-lock extra

The Fiat Doblo JTD ELX.



I bought my Doblo a month or so ago, having seen it in a Fiat showroom a year ago and having been compelled by the weirdness of the thing. In those days it came without a proper engine, being offered with only a 1200c.c. inboard petrol motor or a clunky old diesel. Neither appealed and I walked away. I was, however, drawn to the cleverness of the design and the delightful cabin.



Well, a two-hour drive in the new turbo diesel was 110 minutes more than I needed to be won over, and within a week I owned one.



This is one fine car/van type thing. Common sense writ large (very) in steel and aluminium with absolutely no attempt to sucker in the buyer with visual appeal. Buying a Doblo requires self-confidence and a love of driving. Given those attributes the buyer will revel in a machine with a driving environment that cannot be beaten easily by any estate car at any price, combined with an unsurpassed ability to carry, er, stuff. The driver?s seat has lift and tilt adjustments which, when combined with the lumbar support, offer the best seat I have sat in in any car ? and I have been in a few, believe me - some very expensive as well. Now add in a truly inspired gearchange with a close-coupled quick-throw, light, gearbox combined with a deliciously progressive clutch and you are on the way to driving nirvana. Keep going. You will discover a throttle that needs only a gentle kiss to spin that wonderful motor up to, well, to what? The fact is you?ll discover torque a-plenty almost immediately, which will propel you onwards positively exponentially. And the steering; perfectly weighted and so very quick ? sports cars are duller than this. All right, this is just a diesel van-type-thing, but that motor is astonishingly responsive and provides (within an admittedly narrow rev band) a power surge that belies the quoted 0-60 time 0f 12.4 seconds. This car doesn?t need to wor


k for any of those seconds either, they whiz by. It doesn?t sound strained either. Combine these attributes with well-suppressed noise and a fabulous view out and you have true comfort. Real comfort of a type becoming rare in a world where gizmos are supposed to compensate for crampedness and rotten visibility.



So, the Doblo is quick and comfortable. Well, it is also big, with lots of sensible places to store things (two bottles of wine, plus water for the gym), also a boot fit for a baby Hippo. It has a radio. Mine has no CD, just a tape player, which I prefer as I can?t cope with discs in cars. The option is there to upgrade. Speaking of which, anti-lock doesn?t come as standard; silly this, but it will soon. But what is wrong with the Doblo you ask? Well, the throttle pedal is too close to the clutch. There is plenty of room available, but this is the Fiat way, apparently. Change your way Fiat, say I. Don?t worry, you?ll manage, but it has taken me a month and 1500 miles to stop noticing. Worse is the indicator switch, which has a mind of its own and also suffers from laryngitis, so you can?t hear the thing. This also I have become used to, but my last car was better in this respect. And that is about it.



A pretty inexpensive, solid (no rattles at all), and cleverly designed car that handles very well indeed (I forgot to mention that driving it is fun all the time) and has room for all your things and your friends too. There are clever lights that stay on for seeing you home, and a radio that does the loudness increase with speed thing; also a shelf over the window for, er, more stuff. I know other manufacturers provide similar offerings, but none offers a really fun drive into the bargain; and I love driving.



A great car. Buy one and enjoy. Oh, and I love the looks too: sorry.

Summary: