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The name might not trip easily off the tongue (we’re going for kew-bow, but other pronunciations may be available) but the Fiat Qubo is one of that popular breed of van-based passenger cars that ignores sleek looks for ultimate practicality, and you’ll struggle to find another car this small that you can cram quite so much stuff into.
Sold between 2008 and 2019 in the UK, the Qubo isn’t just practical but also very affordable too, and is popular with cost-conscious families, campers, and also as a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, another advantage to the expansive interior. Performance is modest but economy (in diesels particularly) is excellent.
Both the Citroen Nemo and Peugeot Bipper are largely identical to the Fiat Qubo, just with different styling cues and trim levels, while the Ford Tourneo Courier is a newer, and slightly more car-like alternative while retaining van-like practicality.
The Fiat Qubo was co-developed with the Citroen Nemo and Peugeot Bipper, so most of what we say here applies equally to those models. The one you choose will depend mostly on brand preference, though the French brands used their own diesel engines, with a slightly larger 1.4-litre unit (albeit with less power).
With that out of the way, what are you getting with a Fiat Qubo? The answer is a smaller take on the van-based passenger car formula used to great effect in larger models like the Citroen Berlingo, or Fiat’s own Doblo. What these cars lack in style, they gain in the practicality that only a van can offer: few other cars as small as the Fiat Qubo are so adept at seating four full-sized adults, and luggage space varies between the merely impressive and the truly enormous.
What’s more, the Qubo features rear sliding doors, which is a real blessing for loading kids, while the raised, van-like seating position and expansive window area mean visibility is excellent in nearly every direction. The cabin is packed with storage space beyond the boot, too.
The downside of the Qubo being based on a small, cheap van is that the interior materials can’t match those of some ‘proper’ cars, while those sliding doors have only pop-out windows rather than wind-down ones. This makes finding a model with air conditioning all the more important.
The Qubo’s handling is a bit roly-poly, particularly from your bar-stool like seating position, but it still feels nimble thanks to the car’s small size and light controls, and it rides better than the Fiorino van on which it’s based. The diesels are the pick of the engine range and while they can be a bit vocal under hard acceleration, they use very little fuel.
The Citroen Nemo and Peugeot Bipper are the obvious alternatives to the Qubo, but if you want something a little more car-like (at the expense of practicality), then the Fiat 500L is a dedicated MPV rather than a van-based model. The Ford Tourneo Courier is also worth a look - it’s another van-based model but a little fresher than the Fiat/Citroen/Peugeot trio, and feels more car-like.
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The 1.3-litre Multijet diesel makes the most sense in the Fiat Qubo. The most powerful 95PS variant is the one we’d aim for, though it’s only available in the Trekking. While it’s no rocketship, it’s got the strongest performance and it’s very economical too, while there’s enough torque that motorways aren’t too much of a hardship either. The 1.4 petrol is enthusiastic but ultimately a bit slow, and can’t match the economy of the diesels.
Trekking spec is probably most appealing (which conveniently nets you that more powerful diesel), since it’s the best-equipped of a modestly-equipped bunch, but the mid-range Lounge at least gets air conditioning (handy in such a glassy cabin) and even its basic touchscreen offers a bit more usability than the radio unit in Pop models.
A simple three-tier range makes the Fiat Qubo’s trim levels easy to understand. Pop is the basic model, just as it is on the Fiat 500, with an equipment list that’s just a little better than a van, but possibly short of some regular cars in the same price range. Lounge is better equipped and where we’d suggest you start your search, while Trekking models are furthest from their van cousins, and even promise some light off-road ability (though no Qubo is all-wheel drive).
The Fiat Qubo’s dimensions are:
The Fiat Qubo’s boot size is:
Fiat Qubo models registered before April 2017 will attract annual VED or ‘road tax’ based on their CO2 emissions, which means cheap tax for most variants, with an annual bill of only £20 for the diesels. This changed after that date and both the petrol and diesel models will set you back £180 per year.
Vans can sometimes sit in quite high insurance groups, but there’s no such problem with the Qubo. It’ll cost you a little more than a dedicated city car like a Fiat 500, but a 1.4-litre petrol Pop is only group 3 insurance (out of 50), while the Trekking with the 1.3-litre, 95PS Multijet diesel is still only group 7. The Peugeot Bipper Tepee covers groups 3-10, and the Citroen Nemo Multispace the same groups 3-7 as the Qubo.
Read our full Fiat Qubo review