I was having a read of the survey in Whatcar magazine and I couldn't find the Doblo listed anywhere. It's supposed to be a comprehensive survey, why isn't it there? They list the Berlingo.

Captain Swing Posted this thread earlier regarding the JD Power Survey

well I've read it through 3 or 4 times and there's no mention of the Doblo in whatcar magazine. The Panda did well, it was the top rated Fiat and the Punto didn't do very well but the Doblo was missed out.
In fact there's only 2 Fiats mentioned. Out 113 models, the Panda came joint 54th and the Punto came 106th. No other Fiats get a mention.
Fiat came 30th out of 33 manufacturers.

After a bit of googling came across this. If you select all models. The doblo comes out at no 20. If you then push all the sliders across to very important then the doblo comes out at no 42

Seems fair enough.

Very subjective though. I have had no trouble with the exterior quality. I mean, the paint still works and nothing on the trim has has broken; and I rather like the look of the thing. I'm uncertain how these things are measured. I mean, a van can't look like a Ferrari, and I don't want a bland car. So it looks great to me. And it is a very practical car with room for stuff.

Oh, and my dealer has been good.

As I said, subjective.

I've just bought an 06 plate 1.9 JTD. Drove to Halfords to look at bikes for my son. When I came out there were a couple of admirers interested in the motor.
Whilst chatting, a range rover pulled alongside, my doblo looked as long and as tall but from experience, it has waaaaaaay more space for driver, passengers & luggage - not to mention better economy, cheaper to tax & insure & I'll bet parts are a fraction of the price as well.

Comparing it to my OH's Astra estate, the doblo is a fraction longer, heaps more headroom, heaps more space for occupants & luggage, more economical to run & cheaper to insure & a darned sight cheapert to buy.

So what if the trim is plastic?
So what if the seats aren't quite so plush?

It more than does the job I need it to do.

Thanks for that Kevin,
obviously Whatcar don't think the Doblo is important enough or isn't cool and trendy enough for them to bother listing it in their cut down version of the JD Power survey .

well just to prove how subjective th JD power survey is. I selected Family Cars and MPV, took al the sliders up to vey important except for vehicle exterior which i left at unimportant which is apt for a doblo. Selected update list and the Doblo now appears at No. 3

This must be the JD Power survey best kept secrets the results were

Models to Consider:
32
PRIORITIES
1. SKODA OCTAVIA
2. HONDA ACCORD
3. FIAT DOBLO
4. HYUNDAI ELANTRA
5. MERCEDES-BENZ A-CLASS
6. CHRYSLER VOYAGER / GRAND VOYAGER
7. FORD GALAXY
8. HYUNDAI MATRIX
9. TOYOTA AVENSIS
10. FORD MONDEO
11. KIA SEDONA
12. CITRON C5
13. CHRYSLER PT CRUISER
14. CITRON BERLINGO
15. NISSAN ALMERA TINO
16. MAZDA 6
17. MAZDA PREMACY
18. VAUXHALL ZAFIRA
19. VOLKSWAGEN BORA
20. CITRON XSARA PICASSO
21. VOLVO S40 / V40
22. VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT
23. NISSAN PRIMERA
24. RENAULT SCNIC
25. RENAULT LAGUNA
26. KIA CARENS
27. VAUXHALL VECTRA
28. KIA SHUMA
29. SEAT ALHAMBRA
30. MITSUBISHI CARISMA
31. FIAT MULTIPLA
32. PEUGEOT 406

Maybe people are finally realising what a good car it is...

Now everyone will be jumping on the bandwagon, not calling it an ugly thing (which I'll miss) and Fiat will put their prices up ... let's keep the Doblo a secret

Have a look here and breath a sigh of relief you don't drive a Renault. 48 pages for the scenic - 96 for the clio!!! Very few FIATs in there.



http://www.parkers.co.uk/advice/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=8

Looking at the various MPVs, I originally wanted the sharan ( having hired one a few years back).
After picking myself off the floor, further research showed the Seat Alhambra & Ford Galaxy come off the same line.
Like I'm happy to pay group 16 insurance & £10k + for a decent second hand model.

I then noticed my local Citroen garage had an MPV on their used car forecourt so did a bit of research & discovered Fiat, citroen and renault all do an MPV based on their vans.
Comparing sizes etc led me to buying the dobbie, it's longer, taller & has better all round vision than its main competitors - and best of all...it was cheap to buy.

Just had the yellow light on the fuel so filled up - 48 litres ( a bit off the book's capacity of 60, even allowing for the 5 - 7 litre reserve).
Just waiting now to find out what my urban economy will be like.


I think what you have to bear in mind with these car surveys is that most are influenced by idiot car programme presenters who feel the only cars worth having have a top speed no less than 200mph, fuel economy measured in gallons per mile and a 0 - 60 measured in nanoseconds.
I've yet to see a review on the telly where family, luggage and economy (initial and overall) have any say in their choice.
As a consequence, the general public remain the uninformed masses.

:yeahthat:

A lot of people are very sheeplike and, let's face it, dim.

Did you see that remarkably stupid girl on the news last night saying she'd rather be dead than seen with a Nokia something? mobile? She repeated it.

She'll buy a Mini or a Peugeot something convertible I expect when she gets bigger.

Good.

Now, as Ozzie says, let's keep the D**** quiet or they'll put up the prices and it'll become chic and lobotomised girls will buy them.

I am worried about the new 500 for just this reason. I expect people who really shouldn't be driving Fiats will go out and buy them to match their mobiles...:yuck:

Ulpian said:

:yeahthat:

A lot of people are very sheeplike and, let's face it, dim.

Click to expand...

Explains how a government can stay in power term after term.
People are told how much better off they have been under... & believe the hype then whinge amongst themselves when fuel hits £1 per litre.


Trouble is, the dobbie has a reasonable look about it now. Dirt cheap to buy, economical to own & extremely versatile.
As more people ditch their chelsea tractors as the running costs escalate, the dobbie will become the next best thing as peolpe look for a better replacement.

A mate has a discovery, I have to use a shoehorn to get into it, he moans about the poor fuel economy & excessive price of parts ( remortgage job just for a set of tyres!). Now he's drooling over my dobbie & trying to tell me it's not as good as his beloved 'disco' - yeah, right. the dobbie wins hands down on nearly all points, the only thing in his favour is the 4 wheel drive - like we get snow in this country, especially in the south.

All these 'big' cars are small inside. A Porsche Cayenne is another one.
And try sitting in an Audi, any Audi, it's like being a pot-holer.

As for fuel prices. Well, world oil supplies have peaked. It was probably last year, or it may be this. No-one can be certain until a few years after the actuality. No government wants to admit to this of course, because they have no contingency for economic decline. They will try and use the global warming card to cut our fuel usage, and they will keep making lame excuses for the ever-increasing price of energy. But, although we have a terrible, corrupt, lying, incompetent government, it isn't their fault that fuel is getting dearer. Supply and demand this time I'm afraid.

So, can anyone tell me how much the mpg will be with the new two cylinder motor being designed for the 500? This might become my new dream car!

Ulpian said:

All these 'big' cars are small inside. A Porsche Cayenne is another one.
And try sitting in an Audi, any Audi, it's like being a pot-holer.

As for fuel prices. Well, world oil supplies have peaked. It was probably last year, or it may be this. No-one can be certain until a few years after the actuality. No government wants to admit to this of course, because they have no contingency for economic decline. They will try and use the global warming card to cut our fuel usage, and they will keep making lame excuses for the ever-increasing price of energy. But, although we have a terrible, corrupt, lying, incompetent government, it isn't their fault that fuel is getting dearer. Supply and demand this time I'm afraid.

So, can anyone tell me how much the mpg will be with the new two cylinder motor being designed for the 500? This might become my new dream car!

Click to expand...

It annoys me when people agree with road pricing schemes like the one in London and the national one they're proposing.
We already pay the one of the highest fuel taxes in the world, possibly the highest, and road tax on top (alot of countries don't have road tax) then they want us to pay another tax for driving in London or driving during rush hour. Are they nuts??? Or are we nuts for just putting up with it???
How many different taxes should motorists have to pay?
I'm getting a bit off topic here but it really p*sses me off.

I reckon a 2 cyl 500 would do a good 100mpg. I heard that the Diahatsu Charade 1.0, 3 cyl diesel would top 80mpg.

Ulpian said:

All these 'big' cars are small inside. A Porsche Cayenne is another one.
And try sitting in an Audi, any Audi, it's like being a pot-holer.!

Click to expand...

You ain't kidding

Mate of mine had a range rover for a short while, brought it round to show it off - he really wanted me to do the head gaskets.
What a job, I'm 6'4" & struggled to get into the engine compartment because of the stupid bullbars.
As for driving the thing - typical of the range, it wallowed & rolled all over the place (much the same as the rover bus I had to drive.
Not oly that but even with the seat fully adjusted I had to drive with my head severly tilted onto my shoulder & kept banging my head on the roof:bang:

Until now, the best car for driver space was the datsun 100A or rover metro.

Sadly, the Daihatsu engine (also used in the Citroen C1, Aygo etc.) won't do anything like 80 in the real world, but it is very good. The Fiat motor is supposed to be 90 -110 bhp, which is a lot

I would hope for a realtime figure of 65mpg. With 90 bhp performance, in a tiny car, this would be a fantastic combination. One of these days someone will stumble on Fiat press release, I hope.

And yes - completely off-topic. Sorry

Er; Doblos are very good: OK

No need to panic. I've answered my own question. The two cylinder (V -twin) won't be out till 2010, so no point waiting...

sludgeguts said:

Just had the yellow light on the fuel so filled up - 48 litres ( a bit off the book's capacity of 60, even allowing for the 5 - 7 litre reserve).
Just waiting now to find out what my urban economy will be like.

Click to expand...

I can do about 60 miles after the light goes on, the reserve capacity kicks in when it reaches the bottom of the red I think just not been daring to do it yet I did make a thread about it... something like "Where do you get your fuel?" have a search