No-one can ignore the Fiat Qubo. My neighbour, spotting the tubular roof rails on my startling green test car, declared it "like a plumber's van that's been dipped in mushy peas".
I'm sure if the late artist Picasso had seen it before he died he'd have admired its boxy lines and been happy to include it in a new "Qubist" period.
Me? I think it has a rhino's nose in side profile. But I still love it to bits. Like the original Fiat Multipla, Fiat have conjured up an oddball that turns heads and divides opinions in creating a vehicle that is plainly van-based, but transpires to be an incredibly practical yet fun car.
As its name indicates, the Qubo has a high, square and cube-like cabin – a converted van with rear doors, seats and windows. It's smaller than stablemates Doblo and the mad Multipla, and cuter as a result. And Qubo gets away from its van-like inheritance by designing in some racy, black-edged, tapering side windows that give the vehicle a certain style.
With huge height and width, Qubo is the sort of vehicle that is going to soak up people and luggage with aplomb. Sweetly-sliding side doors are incredibly useful and huge safety bonus, as they don't have to be opened wide into the road or block the pavement.
When passengers are the priority, Qubo happily delivers the good as an airy five-seater, complete with panoramic views all round and headroom that would suit a giraffe. Access is excellent, with a low floorpan, so oldies and kids can clamber aboard without problems, and rear legroom is very generous.
But if you just have to take down a shed or empty the junk of ages from a garage, Qubo's your man. Rear seats lift and tumble right out of the way, creating a huge, flat load floor at bumper level. Fiat have wisely retained the hose-clean rubbery black flooring which is just so practical – why can't all cars be like this?
Qubo is also up there with the best in terms of oddments space. The centre floor console includes a big, long tray and cup-holder, doorbins have moulded bottle-holder space and the fascia features another long trough to junk things in.
So how does a large, square box like this handle? We, better than I expected. Though steering is slightly vague, the boxy Qubo actually hangs on tight through the bends, even there is inevitably some body lean.
The small turbo diesel MultiJet engine in the test car has quickly found fame for its fluency and impressive pulling power, with huge amounts of tug particularly in the mid-range, although it needs booting to get going early on.
Vision, of course, is excellent all round and Qubo is easy to point and aim accurately, even when reversing into a space.
But I was disappointed by a five-speed sticky, rubbery gearbox that rather spoiled the fun, and there's also a constant choppy ride, even on fast roads and motorways.
Inside, its van origins are obvious, with painted metal interior door panels and rather shiny nylon seat upholstery, although, again, these will wipe clean very easily and they are actually very comfortable and supportive, even on a long run.
The steering wheel is tactile and moulds itself to your hands rather wonderfully, but it's dished, so the driving position tends to be a bit bus-like.
A chunky dash is easy to negotiate your way around, with small but easily-spotted main dials with clear readout, and the CD-tuner is decent quality and easy to operate.
Unlike rivals like the bigger Citroen Berlingo Multispace, Qubo is actually quite cute. Sometimes it's hip to be square. Qubo has succeeded in putting the fun into function.
Fast facts:
- Fiat Qubo launched in four versions, priced from £9,750-£12,350.
- Two engine options – Fiat's award-winning 1.3-litre MultiJet turbodiesel and a perky 1.4-litre petrol, plus Active and Dynamic trim levels.
- High safety features include driver, passenger and side airbags as well as head restraints and three-point seatbelts for all five seats for all models. ABS anti-lock brakes and EBD Electronic Brake Distribution are also standard fit.
- Nine funky colours from funky green to vibrant orange.
- Hard-wearing interior capable of adopting 16 different positions. Remove the split folding seats and 2,500 litres of load space is available.
- Diesel model returns combined figure of 62.8mpg, with CO2 emissions of 119 g/km.
- The MultiJet engine can be specified with Fiat's Dualogic six-speed auto transmission (can be used as a clutchless manual as well as full automatic).
