Hello, has anyone had a chance to compare the Idea to a Honda Jazz or Skoda Roomster?

The reliability of the Idea compared to those two doesn't seem too good (sorry if this is blasphemous on a Fiat forum ;-)

Also the way the seats fold and tumble forward in Idea and Roomster look similar, but you can't remove the Ideas, is this correct?

Thanks

We looked around a bit and:

The Jazz (new model) is the best small car of the 3. Petrol only but the way the seats fold means the load space is almost the same size as the Idea.

The Roomster is about 1 foot longer than the others. It has a low drivers seat position and is made to look really poorly styled next to the Yeti. There is the most space and it is flexible. Good range of engines although the 1.6tdi is missing from the UK lineup.

The seats in the Idea are fixed in. When folded and tumbled you are limited on front seat movement. When just folded they take quite a bit of height.
The Idea does have a flexible driving position which is nice and a huge amount of space for 4/5 people. All the running gear is well proven and spares available cheaply. We have dual zone climate which is a great system and works better than most other cars I have tried the climate in. There are problems with it which I think are: (maybe in the others too)
- All storage trays are missing rubber mats so everything slides and rattles
- The doors dont have intermediate check postions so can swing into other cars if you arent careful
- Road holding is pretty poor by todays standards.
- NVH and refinement are also pretty poor due to using mk2 Punto running gear.
- Large A-post blindspot


We also looked at the Nissan Note quite seriously, the Qubo, A-class and also the Modus.

The missus doesnt enjoy our Idea at all but she will have to stick it out for a bit longer as most of her complaints are ones she would have with nearly all cars. (seat base too long, cant see the end of the bonnet, its stalls easily due to being petrol and not a chuggy diesel, etc....) Basically if it isnt a Panda she doesnt want it, although the same was true with the Seicento when we changed to the Panda but she isnt really coming round to the Idea yet.

In terms of reliability they are probably very average but may age worse than some of the Japs.

I based our searching on length and width and tried to stick to practical shapes, the only other car was the C3 Picasso which is probably the best in class but very new.

If you look at roomster size cars you can include Golf Plus, Seat Altea, C-Max.

Before buying the Idea I tested the Jazz on the strength of its reputation and comments in the motoring press. Must admit, I quite liked it as it seemed to be very well put together and was pleasant to drive. Rear seat configuration was good, resulting in an easily accessible load space which in my view, beat the Idea hands down. Why didn't I buy it? Well, in order to achieve the convenient, simple seat mechanism and the resulting load space, Honda had to reduce the thickness of the seats, which made it a lot less comfortable than the Idea, plus, and I'm probably being a bit of a tart here, I didn't like the idea of actually sitting on top of the fuel tank.
Regarding the Idea, every time I have to fold the seats down I curse the designer for coming up with what I consider to be an ill considered and inconvenient mechanism.
I have held that view since day one of ownership, but all in all, having had the car for over 6 years am glad I chose it over the others. It has worn well and it still looks like a new car both inside and out, although I have to admit to it being fairly low mileage at 28k. If load space is a prime requirement, then I consider the best non - Fiat vehicle to be the Citroen Picasso. We have one in the family and it has proved to be a good choice. It's built like a tank - the body panels are solid and it has the convenience of both a family saloon and a van. Doblo would be my choice though, but I can't have one cos her indoors says it's an ugly beast!!

Thanks for the advice, you've covered all the things I was concerned about. I think the Idea looks great, and have seen a 2006 Eleganza with 12,000 miles for under £4000, but I think I need something bigger like the Roomster or even a Nissan Tino. Cheers.