Fiat carry-all is blast from past

By DAVID LINKLATER

Has there ever been a more shocking, stranger-looking production car than Fiat's brand new six-seat Multipla?

Perhaps. How about Fiat's original six-seat Multipla?

In 1956 the Italian carmaker threw away the rulebook in pursuit of people-carrying capability. The 600 Multipla was one the world's first mini-MPVs - even if the concept didn't become popular for another 40 years - and one of the first mainstream monoform-shape passenger vehicles.

The original Multipla squeezed three rows of two seats ahead of the rear-mounted engine, which was pretty radical at the time.

Just as radical for its time is the packaging of the new Multipla - but a lot more spacious into the bargain. The design brief for this car was to accommodate six adults and their luggage into a car less than four metres long.

The solution was to make it wide enough to fit two rows of three-abreast seats, so that the cargo-carrying capacity remains unaffected even with six aboard.

To allow maximum legroom up front the three seats are slightly staggered, with a large footrest on the floor for the centre passenger. The huge instrument cluster is centrally located and angled towards the driver, while the gearshift for the five-speed manual 'box sprouts out of the dashboard.

The handbrake is a conventional floor-mounted item, but sits on the right-hand side of the driver's seat.

If you're going to be wide, you may as well be really wide. The Multipla has nearly as much girth as full-size luxury cars like the Audi A8 and Mercedes-Benz S-class, even though it's an amazing 500mm shorter than the Fiat Marea Weekend station wagon.

The original Multipla used the floorpan of the standard 600, but the year-2000 version has a high-tech spaceframe chassis - a modular arrangement of steel sections on to which the body panels are welded.

Luckily, there's a lot more engine capacity powering the latest Multipla than its 600cc ancestor. The rev-happy 1.6-litre petrol four from the Bravo and Brava produces 74kW and 144Nm. It provides eager performance and, in true Fiat fashion, makes some sporty sounds. The company claims 0-100km/h in 12.6 seconds and a top speed of 170km/h.

What is remarkable about the new Multipla is that it is as much for the driver as the passengers. The car has its dynamic foibles, but they are shared with the rest of the Fiat family and have little to do with its height and size.

Like the company's more conventional models, the Multipla has a fidgety low-speed ride that's pleasingly firm on the open road, steering that's prone to kickback but quick at speed, and a grippy, entertaining chassis.

With the engine hanging out the back and the driver sitting over the front axle, it's safe to say that the 600 Multipla wouldn't have been nearly as much fun The new Multipla is available to special order in New Zealand in two models: the $35,990 entry-level SX with dual airbags and climate control air conditioning, and the $39,990 ELX with side airbags, anti-lock brakes and10-stack CD player.