[jai-uno-t]

Yesterday was the frogs first big outing to the main Italian Car themed show of the year, AutoItalia at Stanford Hall, Leicester.

i'll post up some photos of the show elsewhere, but a couple of thing that i noticed on the day. On the drive up the motorway, there was a long section that was under construction, and so limited to 50mph, out of curiosity i flicked the display to range...


ok, i'll add a huge pinch of salt, but 50mph, light load in the car, flat level straight road, light throttle opening, full tank at 65 litres, perhaps not too far away.....only one way to find out and i'm working on that!

On the day itself, we had 40 cars on our stand, but one was of intrest to the frog and I, my friends Panda 100hp, a warm hatch version of Fiats city car:

massive size difference! but then these two cousins from the FIAT family are for very different markets, although with the remap and heavy right foot, the sporty panda had a little trouble staying with the big multi

[jai-uno-t]

maybe it's time for an update....

the big frog has been quietly going about its business of transporting a new family around the country, getting into work, and being a workhouse...and being very good about it too. there an issue with a rear wheel bearing, and a tdc crank sensor, but both were sorted quick, cheap and easy, so onto more fun stuff, the tyres that came with the car were looking past their best, and i didn't like the wheels much, so i dug out a nice set of 15s i had from my old uno

problems are 15s look great on a little car like the uno, but shopping trolley wheels on the multipla, coupled with low profile 45 section tyres, the effect is rubbish...

time for a rethink, sell the old wheels, look around for an ebay bargain, 17" 5 spokes, some decent new rubber:

much better, but now of course she needs lowering, i'm thinking 45-50mm at the front, 35-40mm at the back for that slightly aggressive (!) stance, and decent looks.

meanwhile, the mrs, baby, mum, dad and sister have jetted off to india, i'll be joining them shortly, so while they all piled into a MPV minicab, the frog and i were pressed into service as the goods wagon, step one remove rear seats:

step two, load up:

8 full size suitcases, 7 carry on bags, and still space inside that huge cube for more should it be required.

i'm kinda liking middle aged, practical motoring

[Durango Dude]

With the low window line and huge windows and glass area for great 'outward' visibility; if and when "The Pope" and "Queen of England" think of getting a hatchback I think this will be it. For their ceremonial outings to wave/bless the public. Congrats on your Quirky/Practical Multipla.

[nurni76]

I remember seeing this car long back in 2000 auto expo in delhi. The thing striking about this car is the phenomenal amount of space and genuinely wide nature. However when it comes to looks nobody can beat it in terms of ugliness.

[mooza]

Well, well, this is a car that no one would like to steal, but it could be used for stealing a lot of things !

But what an amazing, practical, large family car. I would pick it up if it were launched in India

[jai-uno-t]

ugly? ok, but ugliest? have you seen a pontiac aztec? daewoo tacuma? smart car? nissan juke? ssansong korando? renault wind? almost any bangle bmw, swap the blue and white roundel for any other badge and we'd be screaming fugly

[jai-uno-t]

It's been a while since I updated how Miranda the Multipla is doing, over 18 months. Maybe it's time I did.

It's been just over two years and 26,000 miles, and so farm, for the most part, it's been pretty much as expected. Miranda has dutifully gone about the business of transporting us around with all the bits a baby need. As well as cracking on with my daily grind of a commute.

Occasionally there is still a need for a small van, recently I had to clear a garage, moving a large number of parts back and forth, including the storage units to hold them:





For the most part, loads were taken with ease, even the big IKEA units slipped in and out with no issues.

What with all this moving stuff about recently, for the last month the rear three seats have been out, that's a combined weight of about 90kilos, which itself has translated to a slightly improved mpg, and a slightly more waggly rear end, fun if you can exploit it!

But as with the good, there must be some bad, though not always of our or the cars making. last year as my wife was waiting in a queue of traffic to turn right at a junction, someone in a small blur hatchback decided to burn down the inside, the result was:

his door mirror caught the rear light cluster smashing a hole in it, then on the little handle "horn" and ripped right off, worse was the quite deep crater it left, the scrapes in the paintwork across both doors and the crease along the lower edge. Before it finally ripped the front door moulding. It was difficult to know where to begin with the disapointment, or anger. The wife said she gave chase, no baby wasn't on board, and did so for about ten minutes! "what were you going to do if you caught them?"...blank stare, exactly, sheesh. The repair was easy enough, new light cluster, a lot of cleaning off the rubber and paint left behind, a new moulding, £50 later:

All that's left is the crater behind the door, which let's face it for a city car is pretty standard, I consider it a battle scar, one of many she has, almost a badge of honour!

As for the running gear, oil level appears to refue to drop, every week it's checked, and every week it stays dead on, not a drop added. Starts on the button forst time every time, but she did throw a wobbler with the crank sensor, requiring a recovery from the motorway and a new one to be fitted, back to rude health in a day. The tyres are a slightly different matter, she had a new set last year to combat the massive wear over miles and type of use, but they were almost slicks by april this year, and a full set of four went on. problem is despite the tracking and balance being set up perfectly, the fronts are maybe 2 months away from going illegal, the rears are not too far behind..Taiwanese ditch finders...rubbish. Strong chance of going back to 15s, cheaper and maybe a bit more durability, one hopes.

So, what's in her future? No plans to move her on, if anything this summer looks like it's going to be a big one. At the end of June it's the huge Glastonbury festival, and whilst I won't be going, a good friend is, but he hates tents. Since he is part of the build crew, he will be on site for about two weeks, the plan? Cheap mattress in the back, black out cloth on teh windows, and an ad hoc home from home is born!

Once she is back from there, a thorough clean out, and it's time to do the family taxi, in laws from Mumbai. As well as running around, there's a long weekend away in Wales, five up, i have no doubt Miranda will do the business across mountains, motorway and back roads.

Finally there's talk of a return to the Nurburgring, I'll keep you posted!

[v12]

Excellent review Jai-Uno-t!! The Multipla is an excellent vehicle to own - if you can ignore the looks. Its a very practical big family car - a car that can seat 6 people very comfortably and even carry enough luggage along. I believe this is the only non-American car which can comfortably seat 6 people in 2 row of seats

Fiat India was conducting clinic tests of the Multipla in the early 2000's - at the same time when Honda was conducting similar tests on the Odyssey, Stream and Multipla. If I remember right, BSMotoring had carried out an article on the Multipla in one of their issues.

Maybe now with the success of the Ertiga - Fiat can now look at rethinking their strategy.

[jai-uno-t]

So, it's been awhile since I've posted, life, family, work, being silly with cars seem to have taken my time up... as well as forgetting my password to get back in here....

Anyways, an update on the family car situation, just to ease back into here.

So after more than 4 years solid service, Miranda the grey was starting to get a little ragged around the edges, daily runs to work, shifting house for friends, being used as a tent at festivals, airport runs were taking their toll on her, servcing costs were starting to get a little high as bearing, brakes, suspension and even the exhaust started to wear. But, as ever, there was a complication, Mrs Jai wanted a larger car too. The Panda whilst a perfectly good city car, was getting a little small for a young lady and her growing needs. The solution?




Yes, in Nov 2015 I bought another 2002 Fiat Multipla 115 JTD! Amy the green came all the way from South Wales for the sum of £380. Of course at that price point, she needed a little work. A new rear subframe, brakes, dampers, springs refreshed a clonky rear end, and brought the total cost up to about £800. But the work was sorted, and she was pressed into service very quickly, taking over the majority of Mirandas workload. The funny thing was, the Mrs still kept on using the Panda most of the time, so now we had 2 Multiplas, and one was barely being used. But I could not bear to be parted with it... Miranda soldiered on for about 2 years racking up minimal mileage, until finally the time came, a new home was found for her for £200.


All was well, until spring this year, when a learner driver decided to take great offence at the side of Amy, and buried her Fiesta in the wing, effectively writing her off as insurers deem this kind of damage uneconomic to repair. Which left only way for our beloved Amy...



Still, the payout from the insurer, and the scrap value payed for:

BETTY!


Yes, I know, I did it. I bought a third Multipla, again a 115BHP 1.9Litre turbo diesel... this time a 2004 model, with a long MOT. Mileage a little on the high side at about 114k, but she seemed solid, and pretty clean inside. Front and rear dashcams, a bluetooth stereo and HIDs installed. As ever the daily grind of family life started straight off, and we settled into a routine pretty quickly.


Of course, i couldn't just leave it there, oh no. Some friends and I had been thinking about gelato and beaches for a few years. Where to go for the perfect combination of the two....? Yep, that's right, Positano southern Italy. 3000 miles, 4 days, 4 friends, 1 car, massive idiocy:





Totally worth it.