Let's face it, life with a young family can, sometimes, become a little bit trying. No matter how plausibly adoring parents radiate happiness as they regale you with details of their adorable offspring's first words, steps, teeth or hair, you always suspect that behind the façade they're absolutely cream-crackered. So why make things more taxing than they already are? Fiat's Doblo 1.3 Multijet is a simple vehicle designed to eliminate some of the hassle from family life so that parents and kids can get on with enjoying the good stuff.

Sleepless nights, dirty nappies, temper tantrums, seemingly endless expense, people with growing families have enough to struggle through without a vehicle that's ill-suited to their needs. With the Doblo MPV, Fiat have addressed the problem by breaking down the modern family's requirements for space, durability and affordability to their basic levels. They've stripped away the superfluities found on many so-called family vehicles (the stuff that's largely there just to make dad feel better about getting behind the wheel) and the result is the Doblo - a simple, functional, light, airy, playpen on wheels.

Actually, forget all that. The Fiat Doblo is essentially just a van with seats but that's its genius. You'd think that family MPVs and commercial vehicles would be designed with two very different sets of criteria in mind but the Doblo is proof that one basic model can fulfil both purposes. The Doblo Cargo van has space to move bulky items around, wide access points for easy loading and unloading, tough interior trim designed to stand up to the rigours of the daily grind and economical engines like Fiat's 1.3-litre Multijet diesel to keep running costs down. The Doblo MPV, which is very similar in its make-up to the Cargo, benefits from the same cavernous interior space that can be used to seat five or seven people while leaving room for luggage as well. There's masses of headroom, creating a fresh airiness that reduces the likelihood of children getting cramped and irritable. The sliding side doors and huge tailgate all open wide, creating excellent access for getting kids in and out, doing up their seatbelts, fixing car seats in place and stowing bikes or pushchairs. Every parent knows that children have a spooky in-built capacity for making a pigsty of a car in minutes but the Doblo's basic and tough commercial vehicle design means the trim should stand-up well to little fingers pulling it, scratching it and colouring it in with crayons.

"The Fiat Doblo is essentially just a van with seats but that's its genius?"

Then we come to the engine. Just as vans must be reliable and cost-effective to run so as to avoid eating into a business's profit margins, a family MPV must be reliable and cost-effective to run so as to avoid crippling the family budget. Fiat's 1.3-litre Multijet is well suited to both tasks. Its on-paper performance is fairly woeful with a full 16-seconds required to reach 60mph and a fair bit longer than that needed to approach the 97mph top speed but in real world driving conditions, things aren't quite as bad as those figures suggest. There's 133lb/ft of torque at just 1,750rpm which means you can accelerate with some urgency up to 30mph or so and what urge there is won't be diminished too drastically by the presence of a heavy load on board. Fuel economy is excellent as well, with Fiat quoting a 51mpg average.

The 1.3-litre Multijet engine is one of three Euro IV-compliant diesel units offered with the Doblo and while the pricier 105 and 120bhp 1.9-litre JTD units offer much improved performance, the smaller Multijet is a more advanced powerplant. All the engines use the common-rail configuration that's fast becoming a byword for economy and refinement in diesel cars but where the 1.9 JTD is what Fiat refer to as a Unijet engine, the 1.3-litre unit uses second generation Multijet technology.

In traditional diesel engines, fuel is fed to the injectors by a mechanical pump, the injection pressure rising with the rpm of the engine. This has repercussions on how efficiently the fuel is burnt, leading to noise, poor emissions and so-so fuel economy. A common-rail engine, however, maintains a constant injection pressure regardless of the weight of the driver's right boot, the Unijet injectors also using so-called pilot injection to pre-warm the combustion chamber. This decreases noise, and vibration. Fire up the Doblo 1.9-litre JTD and you'll appreciate the technology. The 1.3-litre Multijet engine is a progression from the JTD, it divides that main injection into a series of smaller shots, the idea being to reduce emissions and noise while at the same time increasing performance. Unfortunately, there's no substitute for cubic capacity and the 1.3-litre Multijet is some distance shy of the 1.9-litre Unijet in terms of its driving experience. Having said that, it is noticeably more refined and average fuel consumption is improved - though only by a few mpg.

The originally rather odd looking front end has been thoroughly revised in recent times, Fiat ditching the gratuitously odd-looking horizontal bar that appeared plastered onto the front of the old car for a look that's more like a compact 4x4. Bigger headlamps and wider underbumper intakes give the Doblo a little presence without looking like it's been tagged by the ugly stick. The changes are likely to put the Fiat onto the shortlists of many buyers who previously rejected it on the grounds that it looked a little unconventional.

The interior styling is more conservative still, and the latest revisions have brought things further up to date. Standard equipment is generous with base Active trim including electric front windows, remote central locking, twin airbags, a split folding rear seat, three rear seatbelts and head restraints all round. Go for the Family version and there's 7-seats, ABS and front fog lights amongst other things, but the range-topping Dynamic level is not offered with the 1.3-litre Multijet engine.

The Fiat Doblo 1.3 Multijet models are uncomplicated and efficient family cars. Prices start at just £10,995, which is inexpensive in anyone's money, and the Family version at £11,795 is probably the cheapest 7-seat vehicle out there. Despite the Multijet's technological superiority, the 1.9-litre JTD will be the preferable option for many because of its vastly superior performance and reasonable £300 price premium but parents making short trips around town won't miss the extra urge too much and may prefer to put the money towards Junior's college fund.

TOP 3 DOBLO DEALS

The results below show the top DOBLO deals on buyacar

	Fiat Doblo 1.3 Multijet Family 5dr Estate
	ETR	Mthly £167	Saving £2,374	Price £9,526
	Fiat Doblo 1.3 Multijet Active 5dr Estate
	ETR	Mthly £154	Saving £2,163	Price £8,937
	Fiat Doblo 1.3 Multijet Active High Roof 5dr Estate
	ETR	Mthly £166	Saving £2,360	Price £9,490

typical 11.49% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000