FIAT ULYSSE 2.0 JTD 16V Eleganza 5dr (2003)

Showing its age, lots of little problems, otherwise good, big, comfy

I think Fiat have got a bit of a reputation for cars that need work doing to them a lot. We've had our Fiat Ulysse for five years now (got it second hand at 15k miles) and it's had quite a bit done. We've added about 60k miles to the clock and the big things it's needed at the cam belt, the sliding door control (motor thingy or some such), and some ongoing electrical problems (something shorting causing the battery to drain sometimes) which hasn't been solved despite going into the garage a few times, I gave up with that in the end, just keep the car starter unit with me all the time. The exhaust gas recirculation valve has gone a couple of times as well. Other little things here and there like bulbs, springs, exhaust, tyres etc have just made for a higher ongoing repairs budget than we really wanted.

APART from all the repairs our Fiat Ulysse 2.0 JTD has been, and continues to be, a nice big and very very comfy family car. Seven genuinely comfy and spacious seats is a must for a family our size. We can easily separate whoever is having a fight that day, and if we really have to we can have three in the middle and one on their own in the back!

The very back two seats are on rails so you can make the boot bigger or smaller to taste. It is a big spacious car inside so we've usually been able to get everyone's stuff inside, usually with just a roof rack for holidays, although for a few years we had a caravan (which it pulled along with us without much hassle, although of course the fuel efficiency went down. The boot takes just any amount of shopping, the hugest shop it just swallows without a problem. The only difficulty is that the boot door hinge is at the top, so it opens from the bottom, which means you need to arrange things carefully.

Handy features in the Fiat Ulysee that are really worth having include the parking sensor system that guides you into your spot. We had a much smaller dinky car before this and the shock was really lessened by those sensors. There stereo is reasonably powerful, has to be really for a big car, and when it's empty and I'm doing a long trip I do enjoy turning the car into an auditorium. The noise from outside the car is reasonably controlled so that works well.

Overall it'll be the repair bill that makes me sell up. Our eldest two are at uni now so I reckon we'll just get something smaller.