Fiat Scudo Panorama : ROOM WITH A VIEW

Expert Rating:

We're not going to patronise you by dressing the Fiat Scudo Panorama up as anything other than a van with seats and windows but don't let that fact undermine its ability. Andy Enright reports

It's a curiously British affliction to recoil in horror from any passenger vehicle that shares its roots with a commercial vehicle but the Fiat Scudo Panorama shows that if you can sacrifice some polish, you're rewarded with a whole heap of practicality. If you need to lug family and a lot of gear, it's well worth a look.

Let's not beat around the bush. As much as the Scudo Panorama plays the MPV card, it's effectively a Scudo van with seats and windows fitted. This Scudo, like its predecessor and its bigger brother the Ducato, is a product of Fiat's alliance with PSA Peugeot CitroÃ«n who badge their wagons Expert and Dispatch. It's an unorthodox-looking vehicle with a steeply raked windscreen, a huge front bumper and dramatically elongated headlamps. The styling themes are definitely more Peugeot than Fiat with the large front overhang and the bonnet that rises at the edges before easing up into the A-pillars. Half close your eyes, stand on your head and on a foggy morning, you could almost mistake it for a 407.The Panorama model is offered in either long or standard wheelbase guises with a 2.0-litre Multijet diesel cranking out either 120 or 140bhp. Fiat claims it's a 5/6 seater but an additional row of seats can be fitted if necessary. The Scudo Panorama isn't going top be the first port of call for those MPV buyers looking for a sparkling driving experience. Unless your work vehicle is a pantechnicon, the Panorama isn't going to feel especially lively. Load it to the gunwales with passengers and related gubbins and you'll probably want the more powerful of the two engines if you're to make anything other than stately progress. On the open road, the Scudo is very pleasant to drive with the suspension taking care of the bumps admirably and the electrically assisted steering being light and accurate. The Scudo corners with good body control for such a high-sided vehicle and the braking is assured with ABS and EBD as standard. The 2.0-litre engines both feature second generation JTD Multijet technology and that means torque of 300Nm or 320Nm for the 120 and 140bhp models respectively, all generated at a lowly 2,000rpm. Refinement is acceptable although there is inevitably quite a degree of wind noise and you'll notice crosswinds when motorway cruising. The suspension setup is a fairly rudimentary arrangement of struts up front and a torsion beam at the back and there is some bump and thump overt city potholes as a result.

"The Scudo Panorama is all about space and a lot of it. â€¦."

The Scudo Panorama is all about space and a lot of it. The eternal problem with MPV-style vehicles is that once you've loaded them with all the family, there's nowhere to put the luggage. I drove one such vehicle recently where when it was configured in seven seat mode there was not even enough space behind the rearmost seats to carry a modestly sized briefcase. Inexcusable, really. That's certainly not the case with the Scudo Panorama. Specify it in standard 5/6 seat guise and even the regular wheelbase model has enough space back there for enterprising estate agents to slap a For Rent sign on it. The Scudo Panorama is offered in either standard wheelbase (3000 mm) 5/6 seater or long wheelbase (3122 mm) guise, with commensurate luggage payloads of 610 kg and 530 kg for five and six seat versions respectively, or 328 kg and 249 kg for the optional eight and nine seat variants. The light grey plastics aren't of the soft-touch variety but they do seem tough and the layout of the controls is largely conventional with all the important stuff sited on the steering column itself. For storage there are narrow door pockets, a large pot in front of the passenger and a small glovebox but you might need that third front seat to sit larger items on. The overhead shelf increases the oddment space available but you have to reach up and feel about blindly for anything you've put in there, so leave that box of roofing tacks in the glovebox. Only one trim level is offered but it's fairly well equipped, as it needs to be in a market stuffed with so many arresting alternatives. Equipment includes electric front windows, dual zone automatic climate control, front fog lights, a CD stereo with wheel-mounted controls, twin front and side airbags, sliding doors on both sides, Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity and a height adjustable driver's seat. There will always be buyers who need a vehicle capable of hauling a big family and all their paraphernalia but the fact remains that these customers are often among the most cash strapped and have other diversions for their cash. Other than a questionable depreciation performance, the Scudo Panorama turns in some decent results. Both engines are respectably economical and the combination of long-legged six-speed gearboxes and huge 80-litre fuel tanks gives the Scudo Panorama some real reach when it comes to distance between top ups. Emissions are amazingly good too, the 120bhp version emitting 194g/km of carbon dioxide and the 140bhp engine only slightly worse at 196g/km. Parenthood does some strange things to us. It changes our worldview, it breeds tolerance and we learn to put up with things that previously would have seemed utterly unbearable. Curiously that includes driving a car that is, in effect, a van with seats and windows. Who cares if it doesn't look particularly sassy or that it won't corner like a BMW? You've got your family with you, you've pacified the kids with their favourite toys, their mountain bikes and their entire Nintendo Wii games collection and that has to be worth more than the fitment of expensive soft-moulded plastics or leather seats. The Scudo Panorama answers a very particular call and does the job very well. It's big, easy and inexpensive to run, agreeably rugged and comes fitted as standard with a refreshing lack of pretension. Surprise yourself. Do something sensible next time you buy a new family vehicle. That way you have credit in the bank stored up for the mid life crisis.

Facts At A Glance
CAR: Fiat Scudo Panorama range
INSURANCE GROUPS: 11-13 [est]
CO2 EMISSIONS: 194-196g/km
PERFORMANCE: [140bhp] Max Speed 106mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [120bhp] 38mpg (combined) [est]
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: twin front and side airbags, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length 4805mm (SWB) 5135mm (LWB)