I ENJOYED Fiat's little van-derived Qubo MPV but it is painfully slow in turbo diesel form and this makes overtaking on two lane roads completely impossible.

The little 1.3-litre diesel is willing and quiet but it's just not man enough for the amount of air the car has to push out of the way.

And even in a genuine mix of allsorts driving, the best economy I could get was 45mpg - 19 less than Fiat's claim.

All that said, it does have low emissions and the performance may be more than enough for you.

It has a slick changing five speed gearbox and a light clutch, the steering is good and the road holding and handling are much better than anything this high has a right to.

But the height adjustment of the driver's seat is very poor. At its lowest point I still had to have the seat further forward than I wanted to be able to reach the clutch and shorter drivers would have real problems.

The ride is comfortable and the interior has excellent storage. The seat split-folds 60/40 and the boot is excellent with all the seats in place.

Equipment is good, with central locking, electric front windows and aircon, but for me, the Mitsubishi Colt Cleartec would be a better buy - almost as economical, nearly the same size and with good performance.

: Mitsubishi Colt Cleartec.