Never in your wildest dreams would you expect Fiat to sell their upgraded Doblo on looks alone, but it must be said its quirky appearance makes this model stand out amongst the aerodynamically engineered clones that fill the roads.

Appearance aside, the Doblo is all about practicality and this is where Fiat have ignored the more stylish designers in their ranks and pinned the Doblo’s success what it can do, not what it looks like.

Buyers have a choice of petrol and diesel engines, a 1.4 petrol producing 77 bhp, a very punchy workhorse that is the 1.3 85bhp turbo diesel and for those that want a little extra kick there are 105 or 120bhp 1.9 turbo diesel variants.

Around town I was pleasantly surprised by the Doblo’s agility and handling considering its height and width. At higher speeds it is still quite composed and although the steering loses a little, from a ride point of view, it is competent over all terrains and speeds and its small looping front end makes for excellent parking visbilty.

The interior follows the practical theme that will appeal to those wanting a no-nonsence but stylish design. This is no mean feat to carry off, but one I think Fiat deserves credit for, and is certainly one of the strong selling points.

The load space is immense, dwarfing most hatchbacks and estates, especially when you take advantage of the folded rear seats option. Accessibilty is provided by two sliding doors in the rear as appears to be standard these days on the van-based MPV ranges.

A simplistic cabin layout makes everything user-friendly while driving and the dash mounted gear lever provides easy use but also very smooth changes. All models have twin air bags and ABS as standard as well as a built in engine immobiliser. Side airbags are an optional extra.

The Doblo is an affordable, adaptable, economical and reliable MPV capable of carrying out tasks above and beyond the realms of most others. If common sense rules your fashion sense then the Doblo will not let you down.