Test drive Fiat Doblo 2001 - 2005 Minivan

Many -faced Fiat Doblo

A couple of years ago, the automobile world, before that already exhausted by excessively fastidious buyers, was born by a new subclass of commercial cars, although, as time has shown, they won the greatest popularity in a slightly different format. We are talking about the famous Gemini Peugeot Partner/Citroeon Berlingo, who later received a relative - Renault Kangoo. Cars, according to the classification related to the station wagons, our motorist more reminiscent of the famous heel, came in handy in the European market, which caused the wave effect: many, especially European auto manufacturers, decided to produce their models of this subclass, and the first among them was Fiat with their model Doblo.
 
Of course, the car is not as original as the spectacular Multipla, but we can say that among its classmates, and there are already quite a lot of them, it looks more light, even despite the large size. However, if we compare the new Fiat Doblo with our most popular cars of this type - Peugeot Partner and Renault Kangoo, the Italian is good at least because there are much more French inside, although an increase in external sizes is unlikely to add maneuverability. But the most important advantage of Doblo over French heels is that it was originally designed as a five-door car, while competitors were first produced with only three doors, and only then, for surcharge, five or boar versions began to be delivered. This is beneficial not only from the point of view of ease of use, but also in price: a five-door version of the French car will cost much more than Fiat Doblo, which in a gasoline version costs from $ 7660.
 
Agree, quite a bit for a new car, especially if you recall that in terms of the volume of the internal space Doblo is much larger than the golf or small class cars offered for the same money, even if you do not take into account the possibility of Doblo in terms of cargo transportation. However, it is extremely difficult not to accept this fact: you open the rear swing doors and I listen to the trunk that is nothing more than a luggage compartment to call it the language does not turn. In the usual state, its volume is 750 liters, and if you fold the rear seats, then the volume of the luggage compartment increases to 3000 liters. Naturally, not a single hatchback or even the station wagon will boast of the same dimensions with a similar volume.
 
At the moment, Fiat Doblo is proposed in two versions-with a 1.2-liter gasoline engine and a 1.9-liter atmospheric diesel engine. Naturally, such a gamut of power units cannot satisfy the requests of all consumers. But since the car is very much and universal, more powerful gasoline and diesel versions will go into production in the near future. It is expected that the company with a 1.2-liter motor, borrowed from the popular low-profile Punto, will be a 1.6-liter 103-horsepower gasoline engine that has perfectly proven itself on a larger Multipla. The 1.9 -liter turbodiesel will be borrowed from it, only its power will be slightly reduced - to 101 hp. Of course, an increase in power will inevitably affect the cost of the car, so it is still unknown which of the versions will eventually be the most popular. Even a 1.2-liter gasoline engine is quite normally coping with its responsibilities, at least until Doblo is loaded. It is very convenient to control the machine: with soft treatment of clutch, you can move off the place without touching the gas pedal, and if you promote the engine well, you can achieve quite acceptable dynamics. Acceptable to such an extent that thanks to short gears on this, Doblo, even in a sharp urban cycle of movement, do not feel like a soft -proof. True, the sound accompaniment of this process is not the most pleasant: at high speeds, the engine itchs a little unpleasantly, and the passenger compartment on the holes is responded with a deaf eye. It was not that it was very loud, but when you go not including the radio, the sound of the motor, especially if it is not a high -frequency war of the sports engine, attracts attention in the first place. At speed, this is not so noticeable for the reason that at cruising speeds all the noises are approximately equal, and the engine, which is already working in the fifth gear at this time, works much quieter. He works quietly at idle, especially if you compare it with a rumbling diesel. In general, diesel is very different in character from a gasoline engine, and not so much dynamics as a change in the behavior of the car. If with a Doblo gasoline engine, non -realized on its utilitarian essence, it still remains a purebred Italian car, with an appropriate disposition and temperament, then the tapping diesel instantly deprives the car of its combat pressure, turning it into an unpretentious workhorse. Acceleration from a place to hundreds, occupying 20.9 seconds, this, of course, is not an indicator, especially since the gasoline version with its 18.9 seconds is also far from a sprinter, but the dynamics of this car, depending on the type of engine, changes indigenous way.
 
If the gasoline engine after a couple of minutes of calm driving literally provokes to twist it to the red zone of the tachometer and pass the turns almost in a controlled skid, then on the turbodiesel I want to ride calmly, without sharp acceleration and rebuilding, enjoying the magnificent traction of the engine at low speeds. And he will surely show himself when he is loaded under the tie. By the way the car pulls empty, it can be assumed that the presence of several hundred kilograms of cargo will not affect its accelerated dynamics. The gasoline version in this case will probably not be so good, although during everyday operation it will surely delight you with a groovy character and low fuel consumption. As for the accelerated dynamics, it does not reach a car with the same volume of Doblo, if only because at speeds of more than 80 km/h the height and the proportions of this minivan will play against it. Of course, if you portray a racer and in each gear to twist the engine to ringing (there is no tachometer), then the losses in the dynamics will not be so noticeable, but in the fifth gear, the impulses of the oncoming wind will be felt. However, all the same, given that the power of the gasoline engine is only 65 hp, Fiat Doblo can be called a dynamic car. As for handling, then the creators of Fiat Doblo, apparently, did everything according to the principle of maximum safety for the driver and others: in those modes in which the normal minivan should not go at all, our ward was well held well. The confident passage of turns, almost transparent steering plus tires, which, in extreme cases, simply allow small transverse slides - this is what helps to clearly predict the behavior of the car in situations far from ordinary.
 
As soon as I saw Fiat Doblo on the site of the dealer, I immediately wondered: who will buy it from us? With the cargo version of Cargo, everything is clear - a new businessman of this format, and even flavored with spices in the form of a good leasing program, should be sold as cold beer at the city festival. But with the passenger version, the problem ... choice: the car is equally ideal for both the family and for a novice businessman. Of course, Fiat Doblo’s professions are not limited to these, because with the same success, the car can play the role of service transport at the company, as well as for the transportation of small goods. By the way, in the German catalog, the Doblo passenger modification is called only minivan. In principle, the way it is: if it were not for the protruding hood, then Fiat Doblo would be a single -luminous minivan. See for yourself: sliding rear doors, a huge cargo or passenger compartment, great possibilities for transforming the cabin, but at the same time the driving qualities of Doblo, in the sense of riding comfort, are at the level of good Mikroven, especially if the car is loaded. If an all -wheel drive version of Fiat Doblo appears soon, then it will be able to claim the role of a car for all occasions. Of course, to choose, but the best alternative, at least until I see this car.
 
Subjective opinion:
 
(+) A spacious salon, a well -thought -out ergonomics, an acceptable price, a good overview of the driver's place, a huge number of messes, pockets and other places for storing small things.
 
(-) there is no indicator of the inclusion of a handbrake, poor sound insulation of the passenger compartment and the luggage compartment, wide windshield racks.
 
Text: Pavel Kozlovsky
 

Source: Autogazet / N 27 (330) dated 05.09.01