Successful Crossover
by David Finlay (09 Aug 05)

The boundary between the medium-sized family car and compact MPV market sectors has become increasingly blurred in the last few years, and with the Croma - which goes on sale in this country on August 20 - Fiat has confused the issue still further. It's a crossover car which Fiat sees as a direct rival to both the Mondeo and the C-MAX, or to the Laguna and the Grand Scenic, or the Vectra and the Zafira.

Despite a fine effort by designer Giorgetto Giugiaro to combine elements of both types of vehicle in the same shape, the Croma looks more like a compact MPV than a more traditional saloon (perhaps more so in the metal than in photographs), and it certainly feels that way from the inside. This is good news in terms of visibility; the driver's eyeline is high, and the large glass area means you can easily see out in every direction.

There is one slight anomaly here, though it will affect you only if you like to sit low in saloon cars. The driver's seat of the Croma allows you to do this, but the steering wheel does not adjust far enough downwards to suit, and in order to reach it comfortably I found that I had to raise the seat again. The high eyeline is therefore pretty much compulsory.

That's not much of a complaint, but it's the only one I can muster about the interior. There is a fantastic amount of passenger room both front and rear (probably because the Croma has a longer wheelbase than any of its compact MPV rivals), and despite past concerns about Fiat build quality the Croma feels as well put together as anything you might buy instead. Whether or not they're German.

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