SPATIAL AWARENESS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Fiat has a small van that can seat five and hold their luggage. Jonathan Crouch takes a look at the Fiorano Passenger Transport.

Previewword count: 97

Combi is a common term in commercial vehicle circles. It's used by a number of manufacturers to indicate a van that has had some extra seats installed in its load bay. You might expect to see it attached to a panel van or some other suitably roomy model but Fiat's Fiorino? This is one of the smallest purpose-built vans on the market, yet a Combi version there is. Once the default reaction of "I'm not getting in the back of that" has subsided, the Fiorino Combi might just surprise a few people with its capacity and versatility.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 78

Fiat's Fiorino van is small for a commercial vehicle but the Italian maker is confident it can accommodate a second row of seats in Passenger Transport form and still make sense. A larger vehicle would certainly be more comfortable for five occupants on longer journeys but on short trips around town, there's sufficient space. There's decent luggage capacity too, especially with the seats folded, while attractive looks and sturdy build also count in this Passenger Transport model's favour.

Backgroundword count: 90

The Fiorino is Fiat's smallest purpose-built van. It delivers a reasonably spacious load bay coupled with micro dimensions that should make the cuts and thrusts of metropolitan motoring that bit easier to avoid. The van, like the mainstay of Fiat's light commercial vehicle range, was originally created in partnership with PSA Peugeot Citroen but the PSA partner models (the Peugeot Bipper and Citroen Nemo) are long gone, as is the old proper passenger-carrying Fiat version of this design, the Qubo. This Passenger Transport varaiant of the Fiorano van though, continues.

To see the full road test text contact us on 0330 0020 227