General I own one!

[raton_laveur]

I have an Idea. It's an Emotion 1.9 Multijet, Jet Blue with orange interior trim. Mine is chassis number 80619.

Like all cars, it has both strong and weak points. I'll start with the weak.

WEAK POINTS

Outside mirrors are too small or just oddly shaped. You can't always tell when it's safe to pull in after overtaking.

The interior door panels and the console around the gear lever are rather cheap.

Rear seats can not be removed.

Suspension is not up to the power of the 1.9 MJTD , even with only 100 HP (150 is availalbe from this engine in other cars). Car wants to roll while cornering and I have the 205/50 R 16 tires.

STRONG POINTS

1.9 JTD is very willing and flexible. Too bad you can't get this in the UK.

Flexibility and space of the interior.

Electronics in the interior: climate control, computer, power or electric everything, great sounding Blaupunkt stereo. Just don't take the fuel consumption figures from the computer very seriously.

Build quality seems quite good but I'm a little concerned about the life of some interior fittings. Fit and finish are quite good. Several French car magazines say it's the best built Fiat available at the moment.

 

[Steven]

The Idea is the best looking small MPV available in my opinion. There aren't many around where I live though for some reason.

This might interest you - http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=6525195156&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT&rd=1

 

[raton_laveur]

The style is the best in class. They don't seem to be popular anywhere. Mine is chassis number 80619 after about 14 months of production unles the petrol engine ones have a different number series. That's not exactly a high volume car.

 

[Steven]

True, and that's a pity. Maybe if Fiat promoted it properly it would sell better. I've never ever seen an Idea advertisement.

 

[Dr_Pepper]

It's good to get an owner finally, still never seen one in the UK maybe they are more popular over there.

I do stand by my opinion that they have a very very limited market niche so for me that's why they don't sell, although equally they don't seem to advertise (mind you they don't advertise anything else either!)

Either way good luck with it I hope it serves you well! Always good to get owners of all the different models on here.

 

[serin]

True, and that's a pity. Maybe if Fiat promoted it properly it would sell better. I've never ever seen an Idea advertisement.

i have

they had George Clooney in them, as well as the one with the changing bloke

dont see them now tho :chin:

 

[Dr_Pepper]

I thought they were just for continental markets - the one posted on here was in foreign anyway I think!

 

[T14086]

You sure you cant remove the rear seats??? Sure I done this few weeks ago.....or was it a panda

Is there 2 release cables (one grey & one black) at rear of seat,one lifts seat other unhinges it,bit awkward from memory.

 

[raton_laveur]

You sure you cant remove the rear seats??? Sure I done this few weeks ago.....or was it a panda

Is there 2 release cables (one grey & one black) at rear of seat,one lifts seat other unhinges it,bit awkward from memory.

The rear seats may come out of a Panda, but not the Idea. They even have lift cylinders to help raise them, but they stay inside.

You are correct about the gray and black release handles at the back side of the seats. Wish you could do this from the side doors as well.

 

[raton_laveur]

It's good to get an owner finally, still never seen one in the UK maybe they are more popular over there.

I do stand by my opinion that they have a very very limited market niche so for me that's why they don't sell, although equally they don't seem to advertise (mind you they don't advertise anything else either!)

Either way good luck with it I hope it serves you well! Always good to get owners of all the different models on here.

How many Merivas do you see in the UK? I don't think the poor sales of the Idea are niche-related. The two are direct competitors as are the Renault Modus, Hyundai Matrix, Ford Fusion, and a couple of others. The car has a lot to offer including the biggest load volume in class and the best diesel engine (1.9). Sorry that the best engine is not available in the UK and I suggest you'd see a few more of them if you could buy it that way. Maybe the biggest problem is perception. If it were made by almost anyone other than Fiat I think it would be more popular.

 

[T14086]

Your right,I knew I had had the rear seats out but that was to change interiors,4 bolts & disconnect the lift cylinder.Pity as would make them very versatile with the extra room....are you listening Fiat

 

[Dr_Pepper]

I hardly ever see and Merivas or Moduseseses (!) and I wouldn't know a Matrix if it crashed into me. You do see a few Fusions (and C-Max's), but that's just because of Ford's dominance of the overall market I reckon. If there was a big market for these cars there would be loads of them.

Not to say the car doesn't suit you well. It looks like a nice car to be honest, it's got reasonable writeups.

 

[The Negotiator]

I see plenty of modi , merivas and isn't the cmax the scenic competitor? Then again, isn't the idea a totally different market from the modus?

 

[raton_laveur]

No, the Modus is in the same segment as the Idea. As I got over 200000 miles out of my Clio, the Modus was on my shortlist. I didn't get it for three reasons. It's about the smallest in class as far as total interior volume is concerned. I mean interior volume is why you buy something like this in the first place, so buying a small one doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Reason two has to do with the fact that the most powerful Modus diesel at the time was only 82 HP. The performance you get with that engine in the Modus was inferior to what I was getting with a 65 HP Clio. Reason three is a little wierd, but here goes. Because of what my job is, I get tax free cars and fuel. In Belgium you need an engine of at least 1751 cc to qualify for 400 liters a month. As I live 50 miles from where I work, that comes into it. No other car in this segment would qualify for that little benefit. With a smaller engine, I'm only allowed to buy 200 liters a month tax free and any more is at the local pump price. The fact that I got the Idea for 25% off the tax free price also had a little something to do with my choice. No one else had a discount anywhere close. My real first choice was a C Max. That's in the next higher segment as it's based on the Focus. As things have turned out, the C Max diesel has had a lot of emissions-related engine and some other problems. The fact that I could have gotten two Ideas for what one C Max would have cost me also had something to do with my choosing the Idea.

 

[AppleSei]

Out of this 'mini mini mpv' catergory the most ive seen is the meriva!! It has been advertised more and it has that rear radio thingy!!
The modus is very impressive interior wise the engines good but its french so theyve used PVA to stick everything together!! The interior is very citroen c4 and picasso with its digital speedo in the middle of the car!! Wudnt b suprised if renault stole that idea from citroen!!
The c-max is a different catergory, ive cn a ton of those but a lot of em are rep-mobiles!!
Ive started to see a few more IDEAs, but like sum1 said it hasnt got a lot of advertising behind it, perhaps fiat have a plan further down the line........

 

[Metro Wolf]

I also own one !

I have had mine for about a month now .. a Metallic Black 1.4.

I traded up from a Panda.

Impressions:

Obviously bigger than the Panda but not as "clever" in the design

Drivers window appears to have no "one touch to open"

Cruises happily 70-80 mph on the motorway

City Mode welcome for getting in tight spots at car parks (I drive on this setting all the time)

The overhead shelf at the front is a bit of a pain (hit my head on it twice) but you learn to avoid it.

Foglight control difficult to get to when driving (by your right 2/3 down the dash)

All other controls OK

Mid placed instrument panel fine when you get used to it.

Plenty of headroom (important to me)

Trim Quality - quite good

OVERALL: Quite pleased

So that's at least 2 in the UK !!

 

[Koa]

My Parents own one, and have done for the last seven months, apart from a few niggles when they first had it, and a really crappy dealer, they love it.
In fact I talked them into buying it.
It was a prereg with 200 miles on the clock, the only thing they were dissapointed with was the lack of sunroof. The dealer said they would fit one for them, when it went in to get done, they then said it can't be added as an aftermarket thing.
Its the 1.4 engine and it's really nippy and very quiet... Nice little car.

 

[raton_laveur]

There must be an aftermarket fitter than can put a sunroof into it.

 

[Koa]

There must be an aftermarket fitter than can put a sunroof into it.

Fiat said that there's a roll bar right across the front end of the roof and the only way was to have the sunroof in the back. If she would have ordered the car to her specs then it would have been fine because when ordered with the sunroof they emit the roll bar.

 

[poggy]

Sounds a bit dodgy to me to remove the roll bar for the sunroof. I think I would stick with the roll bar. I bet they don't put that in the brochure.