Faults:

Mechanically nothing, some minor electronics problems that only reluctantly were fixed by the dealer after I said I would open a consumer case against them.

However, this car rusted like it was 1973. After the first winter I could spot a lot of visible rust in the undercarriage. External items like the wiper arms were also visibly rusty after just one year. Treated the undercarriage with sheep wax from independent anti rust specialist to stop the rust. This didn't go well with the dealer that said they would void the factory warranty. Again, I said I would open a consumer case if so. After a lot of arguing it was resolved, but I've never used this dealer again. Completely hopeless.

General Comments:

Simple and robust. Reasonable comfortable and engine very frugal and has good torque. Good loading capacity and practical.

Main argument against this mini van is that rust proofing is very poor, and dealer support beyond hopeless. We've owned and leased close to a hundred vehicles last 40 years, both privately and commercially, have dealt with 30+ different dealers and never had so much problems ever. Luckily the van itself was basically OK.

Faults:

Glow plugs failed - this was the biggest expensive repair to the engine.

Climate control a bit hesitant to work sometimes.

I look after the car well, it has been reliable enough. A lot of rattles however and the door seals have started leaking on driver's side. Side sliding doors a little hard to close also.

General Comments:

I got a good deal on this Doblo considering I just needed basic economical transport.

Good looking, spacious, practical vehicle. Interior has way too many cheap looking plastics however. But the seats are comfortable and the car is refined enough.

1.6 diesel engine is very slow, but always does over 50 mpg even when loaded with passengers. Not bad to drive.

If you are after a spacious family car, it is pretty much ideal. Nothing special, but then it does not pretend to be anything special. Lots on the used market, choose carefully and always go for a looked after car. Be aware a lot of Doblo's were used as taxis.

Faults:

Nothing so far. 50k kilometers without a warning light or spare part.

General Comments:

The Doblo is a nice car to drive, quite agile and easy around town, and fun enough out in the countryside. There is a bit of body roll due to the height of the car, but the excellent suspension keeps it from getting out of hand. The gearbox is well suited to the 1.6 petrol turbo engine, and getting away from the traffic lights or stealing a gap at a roundabout isn't a problem due to some good low-end acceleration.

The interior space is very good, but a lot of it is above head height - useful if you have bulky loads which can be stacked, but a bit of a waste if you need surface area rather than height. The car is ideal as a family bus to get the kids to clubs and has a 7 seat option, but those back seats get cramped for anybody taller than a preteen on a journey of more than a few minutes. Luckily those extra seats can be removed to leave a normal boot space, and the second row of seats is also completely removable to create a very large interior. The rear doors have a very low and flat floor at the bottom, so loading even heavy items is easy. We went for the rear "barn doors" option rather than the vertical tailgate, and have been very pleased with them.

There isn't a lot of technology available (and even less on my Doblo because I hate having all that stuff on my cars), but the stereo can be paired with a smartphone very easily. Cruise control is an optional extra, which shows in the impractical placement and operation of the lever which controls it; it was never in the original design and had to be fitted in somewhere. The rest of the controls are simple and practical, the seats are in the "OK, they do the job" category, the interior appears to be largely kidproof so far and the visibility all-round is outstanding. I also need to mention the heated seats, which work brilliantly but (as another optional extra) have been wired in such a way that they stay on and drain the battery flat if you forget to switch them off manually...

Now to the elephant in the room... fuel economy. It is absolutely shocking. It is just about possible to attain the claimed 9 litres per 100km (26mpg) running around town, but by modern standards that is already quite heavy consumption. That however is not the shock. The trip computer has a "live fuel consumption" option, which can become morbidly fascinating once you get onto the motorway. So far we have managed a high reading of 32 litres per 100km (about 7.35mpg) going up a steep hill at 130kph with no vehicle in front to make a hole in the air, and a low of 4 litres per 100km (59mpg) going downhill behind a large truck at 80kph. On flat terrain in normal motorway conditions we tend to get between 12 and 15 litres per 100km (16-20mpg). The engine has a sweet spot at between 80 and 100 kmh in 6th gear where you can keep the fuel consumption reasonable, but once you go above that the numbers just start climbing. If you never had to go on long trips in the car then it wouldn't be much of an issue, but it is something that needs to be factored into a purchasing decision if you intend to do any motorway cruising.

All in all, as a family runabout this is an excellent, practical option. Just watch out for the headroom if you are going into a parking garage!