Think of the word "idea" and more likely than not you will give it the appellation "fresh". Ideas are rarely bad, they are mostly "fresh" or "good". It explains in part Fiat's thinking, or even idea, in calling their new compact MPV.
The IDEA will be going on Irish sale in January next and the troubled car maker has presented it to the international motoring press with incredible hype, like "a superlative automotive example of technological progress at the service of mankind".
The IDEA launch pad was a disused railway station in Florence which included a vast exhibition of great ideas that changed our world such as the telephone, the radio, and the internal combustion engine, developed, according to the exhibit, by two Italians in the mid-19th century who didn't patent their work.
In case the name doesn't suggest winning features, Fiat would like us then to think of IDEA as an acronym. So it has Intelligence, Design, Emotion and Architecture. The intelligence bit is in the engines which include the innovative and frugal 1.2 70bhp multijet diesel unit that has already made its mark in the revised Punto and the soon-to-be launched Panda. Other engine options that will be available include a 1.9JTD Multijet, and 1.2 and 1.4 petrol units.
The short test route near Florence again showed up the nimble agility of the small Multijet engine which also was remarkably quiet with virtually no diesel clatter. Much more vocal was the 1.9 although out on the autostrada, it quickly shed its diesel character.
The design element is really represented by compact packaging. Everything is packed into a little under four metres in length, 1.70 metres in width and 1.66 metres in height.
Packaging is good and the gearshift is in the middle of the facia, not on the floor. Storage areas abound and there's even one compartment in the ceiling. Fiat people admit that it doesn't match rival Opel Meriva for interior versatility but IDEA still manages to offer different configurations including an unusual couchette position. In this case, the front seats are folded forward to form a platform while the rear seat backrest is reclined by more than 45 degrees. The front seat folds and the two rear seats slide forward and backward and can be reclined independently.
How about emotion? More Fiat hype because climbing aboard "you discover a special mental and physical sensation". And architecture? Yet more Fiat hype because the "extensive" window area and "generous" door mirrors allow an unprecedented relationship with the surroundings.
Forget the acronym, IDEA is well thought out. It's a worthy addition to the compact MPV band that's represented by the Meriva and Ford Fusion among others.