Fiat Croma Estate 2005 - Present

The Fiat Croma is looking to take Fiat back into the mix of large family cars. A car that's halfway between an MPV and a traditional estate it offers lots of room for the occupants and great boot space. Croma's strongest suit is its trio of diesel engines. They're economical, strong and powerful. With power outputs of 120bhp, 150bhp and 200bhp, there's an engine to suit most peoples needs, and wallets.

Croma's designed to be a long distance cruiser rather than town runabout, but given it's size that's hardly a surprise. The ride is very good and comfortable over most surfaces. It's only found wanting by the worst potholes in the road. The gear change is smooth and the brakes responsive, but the Croma isn't really what you'd consider sporty. On country lanes the soft suspension sags and there is excessive bodyroll through corners. The steering is light, which makes parking easy, but this is achieved at the expense of both precision and feedback. On the whole the Croma is an easy drive when driven at a civilised pace, but if you try to take it out of that comfort zone it behaves like a naughty schoolboy

The engine options are wholly sensible; there is one petrol option, a 147bhp 2.2-litre. But as Fiat figures most Croma buyers want diesel they give the choice of their two best oil-burners; the 1.9-litre MultiJet, available with 120bhp or 150bhp, and the range-topping 200bhp 2.4-litre. The 1.9-litre with 120bhp offers a great mix of performance and economy. It's a versatile unit that pulls from low revs continues through the mid-range. It offers effortless overtaking and makes swift progress on back roads, but also cruises comfortably on the motorway - especially with cruise control activated. The top speed is 121mph and it reaches 62mph in 11.3 seconds yet it still returns a very respectable 46mpg. The bigger 2.4 MultiJet diesel tops out at 134mph and a 0-62mph time of 8.5 seconds, and returns 35.3mpg in everyday driving. The smart money will probably plump for the more economical diesel.

Levels of head and legroom are good throughout the cabin and unlike most others in this class, there's a full size middle seat in the back. This is big enough to seat an adult for short to mid range journeys, although they may want some payback when you get top your destination. At speed there is little intrusion from little wind and road noise. This is in part thanks to a specially engineered windscreen. Under heavy acceleration, engine noise is evident, but this settled down once at cruising speed. The cabin is light and airy and, if you have the full-length sunroof fitted, it has more glass area than any other car in this class. All models have air conditioning which is a relief in the summer as all that glass has the tendency to turn the car into a mobile greenhouse.

The boot space is, as you'd expect for an estate car, capacious and flexible. There are 500 litres of luggage space - or enough for a full set of luggage and passengers in the back. The rear seats split and fold for extra room and take the total space available to 1610 litres if required. Every car also comes with a useful coolbox, which is a nice touch if out for a day trip with the kids. There are other nice pieces of attention to detail including an armrest bin for the driver and a holder for sunglasses. Internal storage space is well thought out and useful.

The Croma is a reasonable car and has a great list of engine options. Unfortunately it isn't anywhere near good enough to drive to make the Mondeo or the Vectra look in their rear view mirrors.

Leave a comment

Type into the box below