The MPV thing; it all really started off in Europe with the Renault Espace, where suddenly building more height into a car to gain interior space became the way forward for larger families. A host of imitators from virtually every mass-market manufacturer followed suit. Then Renault did it again, this time scaled down a class or two, with the Megane Scenic. Once again, more interior space was gained by building a higher roof and sitting the occupants more vertically. Families loved them; if your local school run isn't populated with 4x4s, then the parents are driving MPVs of one size or another. Like the 4x4s, a high, more vertical sitting position leads to the perception of better visibility ahead, and of course there is more space for the paraphernalia of family life without the down side of the 4x4 image.

And what came next - another scale down in size - is this a scale down too far, or do even smaller MPV type vehicles have a place in today's traffic? The Car Enthusiast was invited to try the Fiat Idea, the Fiat group take on the smaller MPV type vehicle, and based on the Punto super-mini. While the Punto is a perfectly fine example of the super-mini class, and it's been a big sales success throughout Europe, by no means could it be described as spacious.

That's where the Idea comes in. Building on the same principles that begat Espace/806/Ulysse/Galaxy/Sharan and then Scenic/Xsara Picasso/Focus C-Max/Corolla Verso/etc, the Idea is a taller Punto, with more vertical seating and thus more interior space. In fact, space abounds in the Idea, both in terms of passenger space and storage space. So much for space, a van has space; what makes the Idea desirable?

There are five versions of the Fiat Idea, ranging in price from £9,995 to £12,495 with three trim levels (Active, Dynamic and Eleganza) and a choice of two engines: a 1.4-litre 16v petrol engine developing 95bhp, or a 1.3-litre 16v diesel engine developing 70bhp.

The version we drove, in Dynamic trim, came with Fiat's recently introduced 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel engine as used in the Punto and now in the Panda. And what an engine this is. Sure, it emits the familiar diesel sound on start-up - show me a diesel that doesn't - but once running it's quiet, smooth, willing and very torquey. It soon dawns on the driver that the Idea diesel can be driven with typical Italian brio yet at the same time returns fuel economy figures that can only be described as exceptional. Both diesel and petrol engined models come with a choice of 5-speed manual gearbox, or 5-speed clutchless sequential manual, the Dualogic. Ours was the standard manual.

Moving off, it was immediately apparent that the Idea is a small luxury car. All the controls are effortless, and with the raised driving position over the usual super-minis, visibility is excellent. I was soon snicking from gear to gear letting the torquey MultiJet diesel engine do the work, and a willing worker it is too. Moving out of town into the countryside on our test route demonstrated excellent body control and handling, the very "brio" that Italian cars were always famous for. I know that 70bhp doesn't sound like much, but 133lb.ft of torque available as low as 1750rpm certainly pulls above its weight, allowing the driver to make excellent progress where road conditions allow.

So impressive is this engine, it deserves a paragraph of its own. It weighs in at only 130kg, and at 1248cc is the smallest (and Fiat says most advanced) second-generation common rail direct injection turbodiesel in the world. No wonder that when GM and Fiat negotiated their way out of partnership, GM kept hold of the rights to use this engine and its family. The engine has a specification that would have put most small petrol engines to shame just a few years ago, featuring twin overhead camshafts, four valves per cylinder, hydraulic tappets, and an aluminium head. The cylinder head is fitted with directional intake ports to ensure an optimum fuel mix despite the small bore. Finally, the 1.3 MultiJet diesel is fitted with a turbocharger and intercooler, with electronic control of exhaust gas recirculation. All this adds up to a clean efficient engine, CO₂ emissions being just 135g/km (leaving the Idea in the lowest company car tax band), and a combined fuel economy figure of over 55 mpg.

It was time to pull over and take a better look at the Fiat Idea. It is spacious, and with the taller body design, excellent headroom is a given. Playing with the seats showed a seemingly never-ending combination of seat configurations - Fiat claims 32. The rear seat alone splits 40/20/40 rather than the more usual 60/40, and its base splits 60/40 and slides backwards and forwards. Front and the centre rear seat can be folded to provide tabletops for those picnic occasions, or the front and rear seats can be reclined to allow two people to lie down and stretch out. Moving the rear seat forwards increases luggage capacity from 320 to 412 litres; folding the rear seats forwards increases that to a massive 1420 litres of luggage space, both figures being more than the perceived main competitor in the UK, the Vauxhall Meriva.

And as for storage space, I gave up counting the different storage compartments dotted all round the car. Suffice to say that Fiat claims 24 as standard with 3 more available with the right options selected, with even the area around the front of the roof (above the windscreen - optional on this car but standard at Eleganza trim level) providing somewhere for the bits and pieces that otherwise clutters most family cars.

The favourable impression of the Idea continues with the equipment list. Even in Active trim level, the Idea comes equipped as standard with ABS, remote control central locking, two front airbags, two level power assisted steering (the famous 'girly' button of the Punto finding its way in here as well), and headlamps with a built in delay when the driver switches off so as to illuminate the way to the front door. Our test car, in Dynamic trim, was also equipped with air conditioning, electric and heated door mirrors, rear parking sensors, CD player and three headrests. Splashing out on the top of the range Eleganza model (only available with the petrol engine) brings along 15-inch alloy wheels, dark tinted rear and rear side windows, dual zone climate control to replace the air conditioning, electric rear windows and both side and window air bags.

Back on the road again, and another chance to take in all that is good about the Idea (a good Idea... sorry!). Once moving, the engine noise settles to a distant hum, the Idea handles with a verve totally unexpected from a tall car and is a joy to drive briskly yet will do slow just as capably. The driving position is excellent, aided by both the higher seating position for good visibility, and also that with the seat adjusting for height and the steering column for both rake and reach, it is easy to find a comfortable seating position. All too soon I reached the end of my route and had to give back the Idea. One last look back confirmed the Idea is as attractive on the outside as it is to drive.