General Hi

[Gazzak]

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I bought my first Fiat, a Ulysse. So I thought I'd come and say hello!

My wife, the 3 children and myself were getting a bit too big for our Ford Focus so we started the hunt for an MPV 2 weeks ago. We have tried them all, but in our opinion and research nothing can touch the Ulysse. The Peugeot 807 handled like a bus, (same chasis I know), and the one we tried had been previously owned by dog owners so the kids hated the smell! The Citroen C8 just seemed to be a bit naff on the inside, and dark according to the kids. The Ford Galaxy was boring, the Sharan was nice but you see one on every corner now, the Grand Scenic was great for 4 year old kids and below, the Chrysler Voyager might have won but for the huge 3 seater at the back. Almost as a last resort we tried our local Fiat garage who had a couple of late 2003 Ulysse's on the forecourt. Straight away we all loved the interior, it seemed lighter, more spacious and more comfortable than all the others we'd tried. The doors seemed to open and close easier than the C8 or 807, the colour, (blue), just seemed to fit. The test drive was a revelation, I could hold a conversation with the kids in the back without raising my voice, (unlike our small but noisy Focus). So we bought it! We don't pick it up for a week but can't wait to get it home. Only 9000 miles on the clock, I really want to add to those as soon as I can.

So my first question for Ulysse owners here...

I have a TomTom navigator that I used frequently for work. The Ulysse has a navigation system that I didn't really play with when I did the test drive, but how good is it compared to the TomTom and how easy is it to update? Can I now sell my TomTom???

 

[Stu DemonD]

Hi and welcome to the forum, albeit the slightly quieter section

Interesting about the doors - do you mean the middle sliding doors, because aren't they electric as 'standard' on the C8 and 807? We didn't pay for that option on ours, spent the money elsewhere instead.

Ok, as for the Nav, to be honest I have never used a TomTom - I would imagine it has better POIs, like speed camera databases, and all that, something the Nav+ is missing.

I really like the Nav+ unit though; all the buttons seem close to hand, plus you get voice activation as well. The firmware is updated occassionally, with yearly maps [which reminds me :chin:] as well.

Out of interest, do you have the full colour Nav+, or the monochrome Nav?

 

[Gazzak]

Interesting about the doors - do you mean the middle sliding doors, because aren't they electric as 'standard' on the C8 and 807? We didn't pay for that option on ours, spent the money elsewhere instead.

Out of interest, do you have the full colour Nav+, or the monochrome Nav?

You're right about the doors. It was the Chrysler that had the harder to close doors. We saw so many recently! As for the sat nav, I only looked at it quickly but don't remember it being colour, so monochrome it must be.

 

[Stu DemonD]

You're right about the doors. It was the Chrysler that had the harder to close doors. We saw so many recently! As for the sat nav, I only looked at it quickly but don't remember it being colour, so monochrome it must be.

A Chrysler? :chin: We had a member on here the other day, who may be defecting that way....

Ok, you must have Nav then - the colour screen is like this:- <---EDIT - the 'colour' screen for the NAV+ is like this, trying to show the member the difference.....

 

[Gazzak]

A Chrysler? :chin: We had a member on here the other day, who may be defecting that way....

Ok, you must have Nav then - the colour screen is like this:-

No, not the colour one, the monochrome one. There's a speedo where your picture shows the navigator.

 

[Stu DemonD]

No, not the colour one, the monochrome one. There's a speedo where your picture shows the navigator.

I know, I think I was misunderstood

 

[Lou]

Hi Gazzak,

I have the Monochrome version, you're Tom Tom is bound to be better but then again it depends what you require from it. I have used Nav now and again and it gets me from A to B quite efficiently as long as you have the Voice commands on, which I think is the default. I have even used it in Europe where the maps have the main motorway routes and it works. The screen is tiny but it does give you information like roundabout exits very basic road forks etc. No place names as there is not enough space. You can toggle to a different screen which will tell you which road you are on and what is coming up, along with distance/time to destination.

Lou

 

[Gazzak]

Hi Gazzak,

I have the Monochrome version, you're Tom Tom is bound to be better but then again it depends what you require from it. I have used Nav now and again and it gets me from A to B quite efficiently as long as you have the Voice commands on, which I think is the default. I have even used it in Europe where the maps have the main motorway routes and it works. The screen is tiny but it does give you information like roundabout exits very basic road forks etc. No place names as there is not enough space. You can toggle to a different screen which will tell you which road you are on and what is coming up, along with distance/time to destination.

Lou

Hi Lou,

To be honest, the TomTom system gives you way more information than you need anyway. Do I really need to know all the street names along the way, the distance as the crow flies, the speed I'm doing, nice coloured a roads and motorways etc etc? I want to get from a to b whether it's with an arrow, a simple map or voice commands only. As long as it know's where it's going then it'll be as good as the TomTom. Thanks for the post.

 

[jamesant]

Hi and welcome Gazzak I have the Monochrome version on my auto eleganza and it is fine, has managed to find every destination I have entered up to now but just wish it had post code search built into it. As for the Chrysler Voyager I have heard that it has one of the worst safety crash records of any MPV would never put my kids in one. If I was you I would put the tom tom on eBay as what is the point of having two sat navs use the money you make to buy a car DVD player for the kids will make those long trips a lot better. Have to say that when I first got my car without this website I would have been screwed as my fiat dealer didn’t have a clue how anything in the car worked and it was only with the help of this forum that I got my connect service running even now the only auto Ulysses my dealer has ever serviced is mine. Have had it nearly 3 years and like most people on here am about to trade it in for a newer model but it is the only car that I will miss as even though it has had a few faults it has been the best car I have owned.
james

 

[Gazzak]

Hi and welcome Gazzak I have the Monochrome version on my auto eleganza and it is fine, has managed to find every destination I have entered up to now but just wish it had post code search built into it. As for the Chrysler Voyager I have heard that it has one of the worst safety crash records of any MPV would never put my kids in one. If I was you I would put the tom tom on eBay as what is the point of having two sat navs use the money you make to buy a car DVD player for the kids will make those long trips a lot better. Have to say that when I first got my car without this website I would have been screwed as my fiat dealer didn’t have a clue how anything in the car worked and it was only with the help of this forum that I got my connect service running even now the only auto Ulysses my dealer has ever serviced is mine. Have had it nearly 3 years and like most people on here am about to trade it in for a newer model but it is the only car that I will miss as even though it has had a few faults it has been the best car I have owned.
james

Hi James,

I agree that there appears to be a wealth of information on these boards. I think I'll be hanging around for quite some time I did once buy an in-car DVD system for a trip we were taking to France. I tested it with the kids in the back of my Scenic and both of them felt very sick within a few miles of watching it. I had no choice but to return the DVD system. Then again, it could have been the Scenic

 

[The Prof]

Hi James,

I agree that there appears to be a wealth of information on these boards. I think I'll be hanging around for quite some time I did once buy an in-car DVD system for a trip we were taking to France. I tested it with the kids in the back of my Scenic and both of them felt very sick within a few miles of watching it. I had no choice but to return the DVD system. Then again, it could have been the Scenic

Hi Gazzak, welcome to the gang.

Re: the DVD system.
We bought an '03 2.2 JTD eleganza recently that has almost everything. With 2 kids already (6 +4 years old), and another one due in July I thought about buying an in car DVD to occupy the 2 older girls, but hadn't considered the vomit potential.
Considering we'll have a child that will definitely puke in the car, it may be wise not to encourage the two older kids to do likewise. :yuck:

 

[Stu DemonD]

We run a Centurion dual screen after-market system in ours, and the kids love it - they are aged 3 and 5 as well.

 

[Gazzak]

Hi Gazzak, welcome to the gang.

Re: the DVD system.
We bought an '03 2.2 JTD eleganza recently that has almost everything. With 2 kids already (6 +4 years old), and another one due in July I thought about buying an in car DVD to occupy the 2 older girls, but hadn't considered the vomit potential.
Considering we'll have a child that will definitely puke in the car, it may be wise not to encourage the two older kids to do likewise. :yuck:

Definately worth trying out a system before you give it the thumbs down. Most decent suppliers will give you a 2 week grace period to try it out. The online place I got ours from was fantastic, I returned it a week later and they gave me a full refund with no quibbles whatsoever. Strange thing is though that our 2 girls felt ill watching the DVD system yet can go miles playing on gameboys without a twitch :bang:

 

[AppleSei]

In that case, maybe a ps2 install would be considered and enjoyed by most

 

[Hippo]

As for the Chrysler Voyager I have heard that it has one of the worst safety crash records of any MPV would never put my kids in one.

Have you actually read the NCAP results?

The Voayager was tested in '99, that's 7 years ago. The model tested was introduced in '96. And yes, it done badly but since then the model has been revised.

The Ulysse has not been tested, but the 807 has. Firstly if you're going to compare the NCAP results for the Voyager then to be fair it should be compared to the Ulysse MK1. A quote from the NCAP test for the 807 states "but impact forces fed through to the 3-year-old child’s chest were assessed as on the high side." It didn't score high on child protection at all, so I can't really see why you have such a downer of the Voyager.

To be fair, as I'm sure you will agree, the NCAP results for the Voyager and Ulysse can not be compared. Personally I would like to see NCAP testing on all cars.

 

[poggy]

Have you actually read the NCAP results?

The Voayager was tested in '99, that's 7 years ago. The model tested was introduced in '96. And yes, it done badly but since then the model has been revised.
.

The Ulysse is the same as the Peugeot 807 in all but some minor cosmetic differences. It has all the same active and passive safety features and the same floor pan. You can't compare it to the Mark 1 Ulysse at all as this is an entirely different car from the gound up. In reality it wouldn't matter whether they tested the 807, C8 or Ulysse and the fact the Ulysse has been awarded the 5 stars by NCAP is proof the test result would be identical or they couldn't do it.

I am not having a go at the Voyager, but the NCAP rating applies to the current model because the current models structure is identical to the 99 model tested and the only differences are cosmetic. If you look at the NCAP rating it still states current for the Voyager due to this.

At the end of the day you have to decide on how much faith you put in these tests, but it would put me off.