A class act

If you do not continually entertain children, they will start to break things. Expense or value mean little to kids, and however much you’ve spent on your new car, it will never be a match for the inventively destructive mind of a young child. As the summer holidays finish and term time looms ever closer for the little terrors, your car will be put through its paces in the harshest roadtest of all – the school run.

You can use more or less any vehicle to transport children, but only in the same way you can transport bricks for your new extension in the back of a Porsche 911. It’ll get broken and you’ll be upset, so it’s far better to use a car that’s designed for the job. The MPV market is crowded with companies desperate to sell you a family wagon, so we’ve picked two of the most interesting examples to see how they shape up.

Ugly duckling
When the Fiat Multipla was first launched in 1999, it may have been so ugly that it made strong men cry, but it needed all its interior space to carry all the awards that were lavished upon it. With a wide, flat-sided body it was able to carry six people with ease, and a genuinely quirky interior meant it was fun to be in as well.

A mild revision in 2002 kept the oddball features, but the latest look has done away with the frog-like front and brought it more in line with the rest of the Fiat range. It’s a shame, but the sleeker, more modern front end will probably tempt more buyers, the bold styling of the original having put many off.

The most striking aspect of the interior remains unchanged, however. Dash-mounted controls mean that three can sit comfortably across the front, with a further three in the back. It’s when there’s just two of you in the front you realise how wide the Multipla really is – as wide as a Rolls Royce in fact – but its flat sides make it a doddle to manoeuvre. It’s also glazed like the Louvre, so visibility is excellent and the levels of light create an airy, comfortable atmosphere.

The main controls are in a central cluster, and angled towards the driver. The dash-mounted gear shift takes some getting used to, as does the handbrake to the right of the driver but these all help to create floor space, of which there is enough for a cricket match. One thing this car is not short of is space. The Multipla’s ability to absorb the general paraphernalia associated with kids is almost second to none; there are cubbies and holes are dotted around everywhere, the most inventive being the pull-down storage spaces behind the sun visors. The boot isn’t as big as you’d expect, though.

The Fiat’s basic but clever design is its biggest asset

Seating combinations are also versatile and easy to achieve – simple pull straps make changing the layout of the cabin to suit your needs easy, and everything clicks back into place again with a gentle push.

The only real criticism you could level at the Multipla’s interior is the very thing that makes it so good at what it does. It is very basic and this, especially with a diesel engine, can make it feel vaguely van like. However, if you’ve got young children it’s perfect; there is literally nothing to pull off or break in the Multipla, so for young kids, it couldn’t be better. Just don’t expect luxury.

Driving the big Fiat is a pleasant surprise, too. It doesn’t pitch or roll as you might expect, and the diesel’s low-down torque makes it surprisingly nippy. Avoid the 1.6 petrol if you can – it’s a sweet enough engine, but you’ll need to work hard to keep up with motorway traffic.

So what if you have a little more to spend? With the Fiat’s quirk all but gone, we have to look to the French to provide us with a little bit of flair. Enter the Citroen C4 Picasso.

A vision of the future
As the Fiat Multipla drops its controversial styling, Citroen comes charging in with an MPV that looks like it was inspired by the Millennium Falcon, and if you ignore the ridiculous front overhang, it’s a smart and very cool-looking car.

Our test car was painted black and had heavily tinted windows, making it look even more menacing – definitely one for the wannabe cool dads.

Sliding inside, it’s a very different beast to the Multipla (remember, it’s also a good deal more expensive). A massive windscreen stretches back past the driver’s head, affording an unrivalled cinematic view out. In the centre of the dash, a large digital display, which fades gently to blue when you turn the ignition, tells you speed, gear and revs, along with radio and fuel info - it’s a far cry from the analog dials of the Fiat.

Perhaps the most novel item is the steering wheel, of which only the rim turns – the boss stays stationary in the middle. It’s very smart, but can be a little annoying, as the wheel-mounted controls don’t follow your hands.

All the padded surfaces in the Picasso have an expensive-feeling grain to them, and chrome accents to the interior add to the feeling of quality. There are just the two seats in the front, but if you need more space you can order a C4 Picasso with seven seats - it’s huge.

In the back, trays fold down from the rear of the front seats, so your kids can do their colouring in on paper instead of the upholstery, and there are even tiny LED lights to help them stay within the lines.

In the front, driver and passenger both get digital readouts for their separate air-conditioning controls, while passengers in the back have their own individual temperature controls.

The trouble is, the Picasso is too nice to put your children in

It’s a smart and well thought out interior, but you’re going to be very upset when your kids have reduced it to thoughtfully trimmed debris. The trouble is, it’s too nice to put your children in, and it won’t be long before the innovative features and luxurious touches have been carefully removed by an inquisitive young mind’s vandalistic tendencies.

Again, the diesel is the engine to opt for, preferably the 2.0 litre because, although it takes a tardy 12.5 seconds to reach 60mph, its torque makes it a very relaxed journey. One thing not to option, however, is the electronic gearbox system. This is an automated manual set up that can either be left in automatic mode, or switched to manual with the use of wheel-mounted paddles.

It’s fine while you’re cruising, but it reacts in a different time zone and the resulting gearchange will have everyone in the car lurching back and forth like a yacht in a rough sea. Stick with a standard manual and you’ll be fine.

Handling wise it’s a good ride – like the Fiat it’s well damped and comfortable, with body roll well checked. On the move, the C4 Picasso feels more like a big car than an MPV, and Citroen has also thoughtfully provided a small mirror under the main rear view one to keep an eye on the hooligans in the back.

If you’ve got kids with vandalistic tendancies, the Fiat is perfect

These are both extremely capable MPVs. The Multipla has clearly been designed by somebody with young children – there is literally nothing to pull apart or break inside, and as such it’ll probably stay in one piece on a long journey. Its basic but clever design is its biggest asset, and, surprisingly on the test Matt the photographer and I both decided we preferred the way it drove to the more expensive and much cooler-looking Citroen.

The C4 Picasso works differently. While it has taken up the quirky styling baton dropped by Fiat, it remains a far classier place to be with innovative and stylish touches everywhere you look. Build quality is high, and yet you wouldn’t want to let your kids loose on it until they are old enough to understand destroying everything in sight isn’t the way forward.

If you want to avoid the ‘Daddy, I pulled this and look, it’s come off in my hands’ situation, the Fiat is the car for you. If you have faith in your kids, take the Citroen.

Citroen C4 Picasso

ENGINE: 2.0 Diesel

PERFORMANCE: 0-60 11.3sec, 121mph

ECONOMY: 35.3 mph (combined)

PRICE: from £14,550

WE LIKE: Futuristic styling, cabin quality

WE DON’T LIKE: Uninvolving drive

VERDICT: Well built and stands out from the crowd

Fiat Multipla

ENGINE: 1.9 Diesel

PERFORMANCE: 0-60 – 12.2 sec, 111mph

ECONOMY: 44.1 mpg (combined)

PRICE: from £13,635

WE LIKE: Sheer space, simplicity

WE DON’T LIKE: The bland facelift

VERDICT: Perfect for transporting young kids

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