If you don't get the idea, you won't get the Idea. This higher-set development of the Fiat Panda majors on cabin space, an ingenious rear seat arrangement, and so many separate stowage trays, shelves and boxes that it would take a long spell of ownership before any regular user could - blindfolded - remember them all.And it's curious that the Idea beats the Panda on style. Where the smaller car is visually awkward around the rear quarters, the Idea is much more a conventional mini-MPV, and the better for it. There's excellent glass area, and visibility is fine except where the thick A pillars, even with a little extra window in the downward-facing "fork", get in the way at T-junctions.The 1.4-litre Eleganza as tested here has the petrol engine rather the optional 1.3-litre MultiJet turbo diesel, and it comes with the top-rated equipment specification. Front foglamps, 15" alloy wheels, "intelligent" wipers, body-coloured door handles, dual-zone climate control, dark-tinted rear and tailgate windows, rear parking sensors, side and window airbags are all standard. So is the front-to-back row of ceiling stowage compartments with one of those extra fold-down mirrors which lets the front-seat occupants keep an eye on what's going on in the back.Driving position is high and the driver's seat is multi-adjustable. Like the Panda, the Idea has a space-saving console-mounted gear lever. Two lidded fascia-top boxes flank the central cowl where all the instruments and trip computer read-outs are arrayed - there are none directly in front of the steering wheel - and there's a tray directly in front of the passenger. Down to the right of the steering wheel are the supplementary switches for headlamp beam height and so on. The Eleganza has fold-down centre armrests for both front seats, and it's generally pretty comfortable.Fiat has paid a lot of attention to the seating, to keep the Idea up with its best compact MPV rivals. You can fold down the front passenger seat to make a table, but it's in the rear that adaptability really takes over. The seat bases there are split 60/40 and slide fore and aft, but the seat backs are 40/20/40 and recline through 60 degrees.The idea of the central "20" section is that you can have one rear seat folded forward out of the way, so as to increase the luggage area, and still have another seat in place, with a centre armrest or table alongside. Fiat says there are 32 possible seat configurations, taking both front and rear into account, and who's to argue?With both rear seats in place, the load floor behind them doesn't look too generous, but the higher-set bodywork allows for more load volume than can be provided in the Panda, and of course there are all the variations in load space thanks to the many rear seat adjustments.All the Idea models come with Fiat's Dualdrive electric power steering, which can provide more power assistance in city and suburban driving than you'd want out on the open road. When it's going briskly on country roads the Idea provokes a fair amount of body lean, but in the unusually sophisticated extra-cost options list there's an Electronic Stability Programme which comes with a number of built-in systems like hydraulic brake assist, traction control, anti-skid control and a hill holder to stop roll-back on an uphill start.It's possible to have a mild chuckle at the fact that two of these systems - ASR and MSR - aren't abbreviations for some mellifluous Italian phrases, but for Antriebs Schlupf Regelung and Motor Schleppmoment Regelung, which betray their origins on the north side of the Alps.There are bodywork options too, notably the SkyDome. This is a glass sunroof, with one fixed and one tilt/slide panel, as well as retractable sunblinds.What with one thing and another, and although Fiat naturally suggests a fuller range of uses, the Idea looks to be designed and equipped as a multi-purpose family runabout particularly well suited to the school run, leisure weekends and holidays.Second opinion: Well, yes, it's all devilishly clever in various ways, as described above, but a couple of obvious points have been missed. A reader informs us that when he sat in an Idea in a Fiat showroom he couldn't see the indicator warning lights, which didn't impress him much. My biggest gripe was that the controls for the foglights and for the headlamp levelling are fitted low down on the fascia, completely hidden by the steering wheel. These are switches you really need to see, so who thought it was a good plan to make them invisible? Otherwise the Idea is reasonably roomy, handles better than you'd think and, with this engine, surprisingly quick . . . but in this kind of car I don't think these things outweigh the occasional examples of design clumsiness. David Finlay. Engine 1368 cc, 4 cylinders Power 95bhp @5800 rpm Torque 94.4ib/ft @4500 rpm Transmission 5 speed manual Fuel/CO2 42.8mpg / 157 g/km Acceleration 0-62mph: 11.5sec Top speed 109 mph Price From £11979.00 approx Release date 21/02/2004
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