YOU cannot argue with the fact that the Fiat Tipo of decades past was something of an also ran.

It did not have the oomph to keep up with the likes of the Volkswagen Golf, but the Tipo of today is a different story altogether.

Retaining one of the Tipo's strongpoints which is value for money, Fiat embarked on a project to give this car appeal in the areas which mattered most. And as always with Fiat, that appeal focused on family motoring.

The reason being that the Tipo has absolutely bags of room.

Taking the best features of the old Tipo, which was in production during the 1980s and 90s, Fiat created a larger, wholly new look hatch which can strut its stuff against some very sophisticated opposition.

With fresh modern styling, the latest Tipo raises the bar in how to create a roomy practical car with exceptional styling and very zippy performance.

With the upmarket £17,995 1.6 MultiJet Lounge model you do get a lot with features such as 17-inch alloys, LED daytime running lights, body-coloured bumpers, roof rails and chrome door handles.

There is also the now almost taken for granted sat nav, a DAB radio, automatic climate control, Bluetooth and a touchscreen.

Heart of this model is a 1598cc four-cylinder diesel engine which is a prize example of the amazing work being carried out on engines by this manufacturer in recent years.

This model could reach 62mph from a standing start in 9.8 seconds and topped out at 124mph.

But when you look at the Combined fuel consumption of 76.3mpg a sense of what this car is all about begins to make itself clear.

And with carbon emissions of 98g/km this model gives an idea of just how frugal and clean a new generation car can be.

And with the family in mind a 440-litre boot capacity is most useful.

The Tipo is also user friendly with a soft-touch dashboard and very comfortable seats.