Greetings Dobloids,

I have joined the forum because my wife and I are seriously consideringa Doblo as a replacement for our 2001 Renault Kangoo 4x4.

The 1.4 petrol is our likely choice until such time as carmanufacturers sort out the DPF issue. Maybe 30K miles on an 07 plate orthereabouts. I am aware of the problems with the wiper boss, the rear doorcatch and the rear suspension bumpstops.

Are there any other regular early failures?

Is the 1.4 underpowered in 8v or 16v form?

Do they handle well in snow? (We will be giving up a 4x4.)

Is there a non-DPF diesel version?

My wife will be the main driver. Are lady Dobloids happy withthe vehicle?

Any advice gratefully accepted.

Thanks,

B.E

i've got a 2006 56 Doblo 1.9 JTD Cargo & that doesn't have a DPF. 105bhp standard but i've remapped it to roughly 130-135bhp.

It's currently averaging 49mpg. Bought it cheap in Nov last year with a problem with 4th gear. Had that sorted & have done 12k since without any probs at all.

Parts aren't too bad, just fitted Mintex front discs & pads at about £65 & replaced the rear bump stops as they were about 1" shorter than they should be. Cost about £50 for the pair.

All in all it's a great van & even if it did have a DPF i'd just do remap with DPF delete

Can't say at what it's like in the snow as not had much since buying the van & when we did have some we were abroad. I always fit snow tyres on our cars & they make a huge difference

Hi
I would suggest you look quite seriously at the 1.9 multijet. The engine seems to be bombproof and responds well to a remap (50 mpg + significant performance increase). When having the remap just knockout or remove the DPF. I've used Angel tuning a few times and found them very good.
The problem points you've already found are about it, I did have a problem on my first Doblo(02 1.9JTD) where the front tyres would rip out after about 9000 miles and as I do 30,000 miles a year it was a bit of a pain. Others also reported this problem but it was quite rare.
The car is easy to drive, has more space than the Kangoo and my wife likes it a lot. I'm self employed and treat my car like a van - it never lets me down.

Snow ? I've no idea, I always thought it was about tyres and driving skill.

Six months ago I had a major problem with my then 2 1/2 year old Tourneo Connect which Ford wouldn't fix under warranty. I literally went out and bought the first Doblo I saw - an 07 1.9 mjet 120 with 30,000 something miles. I had the remap done after 2 weeks(and dpf) and I've had 15,000 trouble free miles already, when I've done 160000+ miles I'll sell it and buy another. My first Doblo was brilliant and trouble free apart from the usual wear items.

Just go and buy one - you won't regret it.

i'd thought about a connect but the interior felt too much like a van for my liking. Obviously the Doblo is still a van but it doesn't feel too van like to me

I've been meaning to get mine on a dyno to see what it's actually producing after i remapped it

grumph said:

The engine seems to be bombproof and responds well to a remap (50 mpg + significant performance increase).

Just go and buy one - you won't regret it.

Click to expand...

The engine is softly tuned in it's standard state hence it can comfortably cover huge mileages or as stated respond well to tuning, just don't forget timing belt and water pump every 5 years.

Brummy Exile said:

Any advice gratefully accepted.

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I've owned easily 25+ cars and the doblo, IMO, is the best....but then again I have a bit of experience with Fiats

Any issues are well known and easily avoided or fixed, I dont really consider the bump stops or rear door latch problems yes they are common but easily (cheaply) sorted.

Hello and welcome, glad you got past the captcha verification stage. I

didn`t . Lol. Have had to reregister because I couldn`t remember my

password and that visual bobbins thing is pants.

Anyways saw your post and thought I would bring something to the table. I

have a Renault Kangoo Trekka and a Doblo 1.9JTD.......I like them both!

Your good lady will love the power steering on the Dobbie compared to the

Kangoo, that`s the first thing I noticed, very smooth and accurate on the

old Dobbie and relaxing to boot, very easy on the arms. Lots more light in

the cabin too The Dobbie I have is a 1.9JTD diesel and compared to the

ever so noisy Kangoo above 60Mph it is a blessing. Then again the Kangoo

gearing is perfect for around town. One is for work (Doblo) and one is for leisure (Kangoo).

Hopefully someone with a petrol engine will contribute. Try one out I did.

It`s like having 2 children in the family. I love em both.

Hi I have a 1.4 petrol 2006 8v its no ball of fire the 0-60 time is something like 18seconds, however it keeps up with traffic, is flexible, quiet, smooth, pulls well and starts pretty much instantly. Economy for a petrol is very good 36mpg mixed or high 40's constant. I would imagine the 16v on the new shape are even better. One thing spoils it for me, the gearing, to low in the high gears, so at 70mph the engine is just over 4000rpm and thats not very relaxed. For a high torque engine I'm sure they could have given it a higher 5th gear, check you can live with it. Snow wise it was brilliant you can just let it pull you through.

I've got an'03 JTD - no DPF.

It's a lovely car to drive and has never let me down. I had to have the wipers and motor replaced early on, and I've had a new radiator and wishbones (bushes failed). The aux belt collapsed while it was under guarantee and I was just able to heave the steering to get me to the nearby dealer. I've had a few pulleys and wheels replaced again recently, unfortunately. It will need another new cambelt next year and at 90,000 I'm anxious about the clutch. The rear wiper motor packed up ages ago and the remote locking no longer works on the rear door. There is a qestion about some of the brake pipes needing replacing too. The headlamp bulbs are a pig to replace by the way.

So I am thinking very hard about replacing it. Mine doesn't have a DPF, but I think i could live with one.

The new Doblos are far too expensive, the Qubos are also expensive and i read here of problems I don't need, so what am I to get?

I'm still working on it.

The new Panda I like, but it is small and expensive for what it is, so I am now looking away from Fiat.

Still, i have always said that the Doblo is one of the great cars, and i mean that. It is great to drive, easy to see out of, easy to get in and out of, and the steering is, as has been said, typically Fiat good.

It is also very good on snow. I have always driven in all weathers and the Doblo has gone everywhere. Once I slid down a hill with the front brakes locked on the footbrake and the rears on the handbrake - on and off. I made it without hitting anyhting, which is more than can be said for many others.

No car is perfect, but the JTD is a good engine - except for the auxilliary belts - and my A/C has only been recharged once but still works well: it is practically always on though :devil:

Mine is also economical at speed. Long journeys at 70 can give me over 45mpg, on the computer, which is pretty accurate.

Good luck

A few folks have had trouble with battery earth leads corroding internally which leads to all sorts of strange electrical problems.

My Doblo has winter tyres and its amazing in 4 inches of snow. As I said on here back in the winter I easily outclimbed a couple of 4wd cars that were stuck on hills with wheels spinning. Never got stuck once or even got close to getting stuck.

I love mine, its great around town and is amazingly practical. I guess its only weakness is long journies, when I always take one of my other cars which eat up the miles better. :worship:

actionman37 said:

i'd thought about a connect but the interior felt too much like a van for my liking. Obviously the Doblo is still a van but it doesn't feel too van like to me

I've been meaning to get mine on a dyno to see what it's actually producing after i remapped it

Click to expand...

What was your insurance company's reaction to the remapping, or shouldn't I ask?

I hope that you don't mind a Trekka question. On the offside under the car roughly level with the rear sliding door is a box section. Our's has mostly rusted away. It got through an MoT back in January so is not a structural element. I imagine that it is there to protect the rear offside suspension etc. What condition is yours in? Our Trekka has done 93k miles. Thanks.

Mine is in exactly the same state. 02 plate @ 98,000. Must be made out of tin, mostly rusted away and dangling down. Will be removing it when we get a dry day , in fact there are 2 of these, covering vulnerable bits, think they were mainly cosmetic judging by the rustiness.

We took the plunge - see attached. It's an 08 1.4 8v Dynamic with the optional rear parking sensors. 24k on the clock with one owner from new. Paid less that £5k.

Missus was impressed with the light steering and the general condition of the car. Turn of speed is less impressive but it's for transporting the dog, mostly local trips with a couple of holiday jaunts each year. It's even more cavernous that the Kangoo 4x4 that we traded in, but I shall have to work out how best to use the space.

Upgrades are likely to be the tailored rear window shades, and a tailgate guard; all to benefit the pooch!

We collect tomorrow morning. Fingers crossed.

B.E

That looks stunning, love the colour.
Brilliant value for money too !

Excellent another 1.4 fan, good colour.
When you get it home
first job check the sump for rust and hammerite if necessary,
second job change the battery if its the original fiat one.

There is (or was) a tailgate dog guard on ebay the other day - have a look - think it was down South somewhere - had it been local I'd have had it myself.

Yes De-V, I spotted it too. There was too little info to risk. It might have been abused or in a crash. I have ordered a new one from MMG in Lincolnshire. The pooch is too valuable and loved to take unnecessary risks.

Funny how hard we all seem to find it to replace the Doblo with another car that ticks all the same boxes.

I was beginning to think it was just me.

hey, just a quick comment about snow driving.....

last winter i brought and used a set of 'snow socks' on my vauxhall corsa sri 1.7 diesel. the socks were the best 40 quid i have ever spent. There was a hill off a busy slip road where everyone in 2wd vehicles were struggling to move at all. I just pulled over, fitted the socks to the driven wheels on my corsa and i drove in 2nd gear up the hill and my car didnt wheel spin once!!!! plenty of unhappy faces as i sailed past stranded cars at the side of the road.

I know this post int really dobby related but i will keep the socks in the boot of my dobby just incase the snow blows in again lol.

I got the snow socks from wilko direct but they are available all over the place now.