2005 Fiat Doblo Family 1.3 Multijet from UK and Ireland

Summary:

It has almost everything I want in a car

Faults:

Nothing major has gone wrong with the car other than a crackling noise from one of the dash speakers. I have upgraded these for better quality speakers and everything is fine.

General Comments:

My main concern when purchasing the Doblo Multijet was.

Would this little 1.3 diesel engine be strong enough to power this non-aerodynamic, heavy (1475Kg unloaded) 7 seater?

Answer: The 1.3 Multi-jet is incredible, while it will not blow you away in speed terms. It has ample power for most motoring tasks and if you push it, it is not slow. It has a power rating of 70 HP, this may seem quite low for a car of this size. However, driving and living with the Multi-jet would lead you to believe you were driving a 1.9 or 2.0 liter diesel, now I am referring here to the older generation of diesels pre common rail.

I personally think a lot of modern cars have more power than they need theses days, wasting fuel and pumping out high emissions. The Multi-jet engine supplies a nice balance of power, lots of torque which I think is the key to its success.

My previous car was a Peugeot 206 SW 1.4 Hdi diesel; the engine in this car had a very similar specification on paper. The Peugeot lacked torque, this was very noticeable when you’re driving in the city, resulting in lots of gear changing which I find very annoying.

I have to say I love the Doblo, it is really comfortable to drive, great visibility, very economic and I have averaged 45 MPG on the last 6,000 miles which included all types of driving.

The Doblo Multi-jet is not an attractive car; it is a 100% practical car.

I am delighted I bought it.

I would say to anyone who is looking for a spacious car, and does not like to look of the Doblo, do not knock it until you try it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th June, 2005

21st Sep 2005, 08:35

I agree completely with this review!

If you need a spacious car (that is affordable!) this is a very good choice... and you can drive longer distances with it as well.

This summer we drove from Belgium, to Sweden and Norway. In our car (just one!) we had: two adults, a baby+ maxi-cosi, two mountain bikes, a stroller, food, cloths and diapers for two weeks, a fold-able baby bed, a baby-bike seat, fishing lines and even more than that...

When I am driving around at home, I can take the stroller everywhere without having to fold it. When I go to the shops, I see parents having a hard time folding the stroller while their baby is crying in the car etc... I just open the rear door, lift the pram (without folding it) in the truck and off we go.

The engine is made for driving on average the maximum speed (120 km per hour) but if necessary there is extra power (which we did use in Germany :) ).

I love my Doblo too. I call it my playmobil car, because I do think it looks a, but like a toy, but it is the best purchase I made last year.

TIP: if you have kids, take two sliding doors, so they can get out easily on either side, which is useful when you parked in a busy street.

Pay the extra 250 euro for the beeper when driving backwards... sometimes it is really hard to see if there is anything behind the car.

14th Apr 2006, 13:34

I have had a Doblo 1.9 JTD for just over a year now, and am pretty pleased with it. Only moan is speedo is not marked at all at 30, 50 or 70. Can't understand how they got it through type approval. Have bought a Road Angel with digital speedo to solve this.

I take the car to south of France with 5 passengers, 5 bikes, roof box and the kitchen sink. Still does 48 MPG. It does exactly what it says on the box.

Found it difficult to get a comfortable driving position, but persevered and got there in the end. As it only cost just over 9000 on the road with air con and alloys, I think I am getting more than value for money.

16th Jun 2007, 09:25

I have a Doblo 2005 1.3 Multijet.

After 50000kms, the turbo didn't open until 3000 RPM, and it won't pull uphill due to this. I took the car to Turkey services, who said they could not rectify as these models always have this problem.

Kado Ur

905055034486

15th Jan 2008, 15:31

It may need clearing out as the DPF may be clogged if the car is used for lots of slow short journeys.

Try giving it a hard, fast run to activate the cleaning cycle which will create a large puff of black smoke as the carbon is burnt off the filter. Explanation in owners manual.