The Fiat Multipla Story
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- Опубликовано: 14 июн 2019
- If ever the phrase “Don’t judge a book by its cover” was appropriate, it’s with the Fiat Multipla. With an exterior described as “Designed by a group of people who seemingly never met”, and an instrument cluster resembling “Nightmare on Skull Rock”, this isn’t a car to easily love. But that’s a shame. Under the comical looks lives a truly great car that’s made a quantum leap in automotive design like the Beetle, 2CV or Mini. Top Gear summed it up best when they named it Car of the Year in 2000, and at the same time the Ugliest Car of the Year. Why did the absurd Multipla morph into the king of bland, and why did its designer have the last laugh?
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#FiatMultipla #Multipla #ZotyeM300 
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Erratum: The Multipla ran on CNG, not LPG.
A Fiat Panda story, perhaps? :)
Also isn't that 5th gear not top gear?
@@rentaspoon219 No - in the late 90's they were the Top Gear presenters. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Gear_(1977_TV_series)
Weren't there both CNG and LPG versions?
There were both. In Italy mostly LPG.
I bought my Multipla in 2003 and did 210,000 miles in it with my wife, 3 sons and middle son’s girlfriend (they’re still together!). When it finally had to go in 2011 it broke my heart and I wrote a poem to it called Soulmates. I loved it because it was so different and what everyone else saw as ugly I saw as unique. RIP BD03 WZS, you did our family proud. 😢
A certain car can do that to you.
Share the poem
You wrote a poem to your fucking car? LOL
I had mine for over ten years.
@@Trimondius So did I, mate. It's not so unusual.
When you design 100% for practicality.
That aspect made me kind of want one and kind of sad it flopped.
@@digitalhare4516 It's sad enough that there are hatchbacks, but appreciating this? The hell is wrong with you. That car deserves to be vandalized.
I doubt the result would look like a foot stuffed in an unfit shoe.
i unironically like this car and if they were cheaper where im at i would 100% buy one.
@@Leksuttaja149 I really want one but I can't find it anywhere 😔
Tons and tons of reconfigurable space, six full size very comfortable seats, powerful turbo diesel engine, 55 mpg, great handling, cheap servicing, individual looks, we called ours the fun bus.
Perfect description!!
Also a crazy sharp (for it's size) turning radius, good suspensions and plastic that melts under the sun after a few years!!!
Jokes aside the multipla is fucking great!
horrible realibity..
@@avdcrx5441 yeah no
But when do you actually use the reconfigurable space? I always thought that was kind of a cool thing or maybe even a gimmick but not really used. Apart from making storage room I guess.
There is an amazing amount of Multiplas still riding in Italy. It's a very wanted second hand car there. Some late recognition for its qualities.
Similar like the Audi A2 practicalitly mostly strikes on the used car market.
This is the car I have many fond memories of pointing out to my siblings as “the car with moobs”
I called it "The Double Chin Car"
Wtf is a moob. Pls
For me it was grandma's fat rolls
@@sacaret man boobs
This is what happens when a group of engineers design a car without designers
How so?
Or really bad designers.
Nah, that would look like Mad Max.
Nah, that would look like Mad Max.
engineers would have gone with an aerodynamic design so just a bad designer that draw this car
My dad owned one of these for a good chunk of my life and I loved it.
Rest in peace that car, died last year.
If i would be in your shoes, i would personaly burn that shit car down!
Daniel S ugly not shit
@@dreckigerdan3739 shut your fucking mouth idiot. You dont know what you are talking about
@@dreckigerdan3739 good thing you're stuck in those clown shoes
Mine is 350 000 km now and I'm hoping it will work for another 100 000. It has been a fantastic tool day after day. I cannot understand how most people are unable to judge a car for what it is : a mean of transportation for people and their stuff. Instead they only see the esthetics as if the primary function of a car was to please the eye or rathermore to satisfy the feeling that it looks the "right" way. That is such an idiotic perception of things, totally under the influence of the marketing and auto magazines incessant twaddle.
same here...1.6 tng 2002 :)
I had one too. So true! I also had one . It is a transportation vehicle. Now I would like to have the little one ruclips.net/video/ED-OgnLS7Vw/видео.html
I was an adolescent when the car started appearing in the streets, and back then I found it ugly. But I grew up to be an adult, and realize it was one of the best and most innovative cars of the 2000's. I would have loved to have one.
Now from a 2020 perspective I can say, at least it looked unique unlike all the other cars of the time.
True, the Renault Mégane Scénic and the Citroën Xsara Picasso, for example, look like carbon copies of each other.
No
There's a reason it was unique......
I love the futuristic and elegant design of the Multipla.
I still have mine. I took 5 friends to Sardegna last summer. Best car ever
And I m sure the travels are more pleasure with the real visibily of landscape. Since cars are design as panzer windows style, they are frankly dangerous without cam or sensor. Car2go rented some CLA GLC, here in MTL, I tried one and I was pretty sure I'd never never buy one..and can't understand people who did, except to be a Mercedes Star Club buyer...
Everyone: You are the most ungly car i ever heard about.
Multipla: But you heard about me.
* I ever heard :)
...... if thats considered a win, I want to pull a godwin xD
True .I never saw one in the US but I knew about it
Ok the Multipla wasn't exactly a beauty but it's nowhere near the ugliest car in the world. Besides MPVs have never really been an elegance contest in the first place and it's not their purpose. If nothing else, the Multipla looked rather better proportioned or at least less vomit inducing than the likes of the SsangYong Rodius, the Pontiac Aztek or even the Oldsmobile Silhouette, to name only vehicles roughly from the same era and category.
@@jacobzimmermann59 wrong
I'd take the old Multipla over most of today's designs. Big windows, great visibility, plenty of head room!
There are way too many bunkers on wheels these days. Cramped, dark, claustrophobic interiors, awful visibility.
Why would you need head room? Are you 2, 1 meters tall?
@@NiumeLTU 1.93 m
If I had a collection of cars, the Fiat Multipla will be at the very front with a Pontiac Aztec, Chrysler PT Cruise, Nissan Cargo and a Nissan Cube proudly keeping it company. I love it when car designers have fun with their cars!
I agree with the Multipla and Cube... The struggle is great today to find originality.
You could probably put that collection together for less than 5 grand..ROFLMAO ;-)
i like the looks of the pt cruise i mean it doesnt look so bad also
we had a multipla, and my i loved it. it so ridicously spacious and you sat high plus with the big windows you had a good sight
We had a proper ‘frog’ styled Multipla. It was fantastic, so versatile. Everyone whoever rode in it was impressed and it left many cars receding in the rear mirror. Visibility excellent, carrying capacity unbeatable, very manoeuvrable, a joy to drive, reliable (apart from the handbrake cable which froze in winter) and so much fun. Now own a little Fiat Panda which I regard as a Multipla baby in many ways.
Great cars that really stand out from the crowd and no-one can ignore that practicality.
I'd say this was one of their best cars of the modern era. Totally functional, spacious, comfortable and well laid out. Add unique quirkiness into the mix. An all time classic.
I loved my Multipla. A joy to drive and so practical. Just maintenance costs, especially suspension bushes made from chocolate, let it down. 8 years later, I still miss it
😀😉 that is the truth about fiat cars.. You either love them with all the joy&sorrow they can bring or you just buy a different brand. I have a sentiment to my father's old days Fiat Ritmo(Strada) 55CL 1.7Diesel. I learn't to drive on it at the age of 13. Boy oh boy! To reach 120km/h on it was some achievement.
Hope that was a joke.. It was horrible in every way
@@77funtomas great. My Ritmo 60 CL from 1980 to 2000 carried me to any country of western and eastern Europe, to Turkey too, always charged like a mule. I had other cars but always travelled with friends on that.
Great great car with an amusing design for its era. Never answered 'NO' to me.
Great...
I just saw another multipla owner saying that one good thing was that maintenance was cheap. Im confused now
@@da4127 It was, but sometimes cars force you to spend little amount of money too many times so they become expensive. Not all the Multiplas were like that of course.
I was embarrassed when my dad bought this as a family car...but secretly I loved it. It was so comfortable to be a passenger. It felt very modern and spacious. My dad never cared about people's opinions.
I actually drove the Multipla in Italy for a Holliday, I actually loved it, it drove great, was a very fine car.
im probably one of the eight people that have said this, but i like its design. it's weird, but that makes it endearing. cute car, if you ask me
That makes two of us
Count me in.
Love it from first sight 😍.
20 years of driving it (Sept 2000), 550.000Km and a lot of money saved using only CNG.. Every time I stop at a gas station they stare at me... " no gasoline tank??"
Yep... and happy about that...
Great car.. too bad they don't make it anymore...
Restyled version is acceptable for me but only because my wife really don't want to me to buy it and yet I'm still amazed by this car.
Multipla is a fantastic car. It has great visibility and it's absolutely incredible how much can fit in. You can have a good chat when there are only three of you and bags of space when you are only two sitting in the front. It beats any expensive cars for internal space, yet its small. We found it very reliable, the only drawback was the heating, as it was slow to start.
We bought our fist one in 2001 and it lasted us until this year. We then tried to replace it with a similar car, but couldn't find anything as spacious. We ended up buying another Multipla, a younger model. Our fiends did the same, bought two in succession. We are already dreading the moment when we'll have to get another car in the future. Bring back the Multipla!
So this is the car Simpsons was parodying...
The episode in which homer simpson designed his car actually aired in 1991. This car copied The Homer, not the other way around!
@@Stonehawk Whats the name of that episode lmao they again get the future right
@@MinenArbeiterLP it was Season 2 Episode 15 "Oh Brother Where Art Thou", aired February 21, 1991!
@@Stonehawk Simpsons predicting the future again....🤔
@@Stonehawk Wasn't this a parody of Studebaker? Designing a car nobody wanted.
I ve always liked it. Functional, unassuming, cheap and durable.
You are a psychopat
@@dreckigerdan3739 you are trivially offensive.
painful...
Zineb Ibanez, that's because: It's a Fiat
One Week ago i put "easilly" 600 kg of olives inside my CNG multipla (with 700 km tank only with gas).
Love it
And two inox can of 50 liters each
*italiano increases*
@Drew P. Weiner yestarday a fast😆😆 tour with a Gilera Rc 250 2 strokes.
Why do you need 600kg of olives?
@@notmenotme614 i don t need, i pick up my olives for make extra virgin olive oils😁.
It u are interested is 60€ plus shipping for 5 liter box😅
Give me the "ugly" Fiat Multipla or the Renault Avanatime any day - let the masses have their "looks just like every other car" design - just so they can blend in with the Jones's next door.
I think the Fiat Multipla was a car *TOO* far ahead of its time.
It is OK
Sacto1654 certainly it was too ugly for it’s time.
@@jl.7739 it still is
Implying anybody would buy it now lol
Multipla introduced a new concept, you may like it or not.
For example, Honda showed his 3+3 mpv time later and it it was boring, others arrived later
When I first saw it, I felt this must be a joke. When I first drove in it as a passenger, I was like „Wow!“.
I miss the original Multipla!
Thx for the vid. Most of your contributions are really cool and unbiased. 👍
Same with me. At the end started to like it. I drove it for 5 years and I cant complain on anything. In Serbia we say: Multipla is like a bordel. It's a shame to be seen coming in but once you are in it's nice🙂
Same. A friend's first job included a lease car, but until his choice arrived all they had was a Multipla. We all laughed at him, until we went out and he was the designated driver in his Multipla. So much room!
The Multipla is ace. We've had one and would have another any day. Thanks for the video.
I love it. don't need a car in my life but if I had to buy one I wish it could be a Multipla
They're great cars and only disliked by those that have never had one.
We are in desperate need of more exquisite cars like the Multipla. Innivative and striking
Frv Honda??
Much more sensible than today's suvs.
Multipla carried its original form from the function, the actual suvs carry their form from the nonsense: modern againist baroque.
That's all, falks!
The Multipla had the friendly face of a dolphin .
Always loved both the styling and the phlosophy of the Multipla - I think it looks absolutely gorgeous, especially compared to every SUV ever made. It does not look agressive at all - and that is rare these days. Too bad the first gen cars are starting to be too old now - would love to own one...or two - can't make up my mind if I like it better in orange or turqoise metallic :D
This is the real story:
Fiat multipla was so ugly that everybody died. The end.
Spongebob would be proud !
THAT DOESNT HELP AT ALL :(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((
Loll it was a bloody awful looking vehicle it has to said
My family has a multipla... I told them to change the car but they say it's bigger than jeeps for luggage behind
@@pizzadude3192 ngl Multipla is very practical for a family vehicle, the practicality comes with a price
My family had one of this and a friend still owns it and use it everyday
Me and my family still have a multipla, and they won't change it because of the expansion of luggage and the large number of seats... I'm kinda like it and hate it. We had two multiplas: the black original one from the early 200s and now a grey one from the more basic style version.
The Fiat 500 is gorgeous. I love the retro style. Would love a 2CV modern version!
Yes!
I loved a certain phrase written by the Top Gear magazine in ca. 2009: "It's the perfect car to buy if you're tall and entertaining. Eh Jeremy?"!
And they were right, this car still makes us all improve our self-sarcasm properties while still being unbeatable in terms of practicality at the same time!
Even James May's mythical phrase about the comparable Honda FR-V ("She's effectively saying 'You've given me the baby, now get in the back!'") wasn't mythical enough, since the FR-V was still less successful than the Multipla! Gotta love the Multipla! Everyone gotta love the Multipla! ❤
I read somewhere about a video made by FIAT to show off the handling of their coupe compared to its rivals - and the camera car is a Multipla which *also* just happens to be outrunning the competition.
I just watched proof that the other vehicles were shying away from the Multipla not being outrun by it
The Multipla had a great starring role in the 2006 feature film "Children of Men" starring Clive Owen. The framed structure of the car enabled the film crew to build an extra structure on the roof to accommodate the remote control camera, and extra driving positions were built low down on the front and rear of the car. The movie, and the "Making Of" documentary, are worth seeing.
We had this car and i loved the 3 seats in the front...
The interior looks very ergonomic. Must be comfy to drive.
It is i had no problem going on rides over 500km long with ease
Functional design.. Top car for me.
1:30 there were MULTIPLE MULTIPLA !
A fantastic dream of car, unbelievable... saving materials, gasoline, space, to carry around 6 people
@Miguel Sanchez
There where Multiplae?
@@AutoGamerZ_ Besides the two series of the 90's 00's there is the original one from the 50's that introduce the name: images.app.goo.gl/rkHL8kQZdd3LjR1B8
Multiplaception
I just love the Multipla (before the facelift)! An iconic car!!!
I had a Multipla, it really was a great car
I wish they still made cars this practical
It is unfortunate for all of us that the Multipla failed. The 500L, while more palatable to most, looks ungainly to me. They tried to fit a small car's details onto a large car, and it ends up looking accidentally disproportionate. At least the Multipla knew it wasn't conventionally attractive, and went along with the joke.
In Italy (maybe only in Italy) Multipla achieved a big success and actually it is still request on the second hand market
i have a multipla second series....great reliable machine!....it's so practice,versatile and economic with CNG natural gas version...consumption close to electric car...you drive with gasoline and diesel...i drive with fart propulsion...ahahah
When you don't want to look lame or overrated cool, so you choose this car
That's for when you wanna look ridiculous.
This car is for when you don't want to be looked at all.
I ABSOLUTELY FELL IN LOVE with the Multipla when we rented one on a family reunion trip to Italy 14 years ago, & I REALLY wish it were sold here!!!! Yes, it looks absolutely bonkers, but it is oh, so versatile!!!!
I still run my 2002 Multipla 1 6 16V petrol. Love it to bits...lol
me too ;)
Wish I'd bought a petrol, my diesel only warmed the cabin as I got back home from the supermarket in winter...
As well as other cars I had a Multipla for over ten years, my Multipla was a 1.9 JTD and a pleasure to own, with the rear seats removed I could get three motorbikes in. I drove it to Italy 5 times to get bikes in the period that I had it. If there was anything to improve it then that would be cruise control but Multiplas never came with this feature so I had an aftermarket one fitted, I would have also liked it to have been a little bit longer. I was happy with the appearance of it and it was individual.
Very clever cars, good sellers too. Fantastic handling.
Had four of these - loved them... I’d have one again tomorrow if the engine was a bit less fuel hungry...
This Giolito guy should work for Tesla, fam
@Big Car
I'm in the USA, and we missed out on so many incredible European cars that with the right marketing and support would have sold well here.
Yes you missed out on many incredible cars. But the ugly Multipla was not one of them :P
PLEEEEEAAAASE!! I'd take ANY Toyota, HOnda , even a Pinto over this abortion ! The US market briefly dealt with some Fiat models and every single driver who ventured into buying such useless cars deeply regretted : it's not by accident that the acronym FIAT has been dubbed into Fix It Again Tony since Fiats were spending more time at the car shops than on the road ! Gianni Agnelli aka " The AVVOCATO " as he was called , during his thirty year-long stint as Fiat's owner and CEO stole almost 4,000,000, 000 Euros in combined unpaid taxes and government's financial aids: all proved AND documented ! He was able to make garbage cars for the masses with little money and no knowledge by first channeling huge amount of public funds and later transferring them into his personal offshore companies' accounts . Thank God Fiat's "reign" is now over. FOREVER !
Giuseppe Pucci fix it again tony 😄 in Germany it’s: Fehler in allen Teilen. Failures in all parts.
@@jl.7739 Lol, here is Familia Italiana Atrapalhando o Trânsito, italian family disturbing transit
lol!
Wild and wacky but can see the practical versatility of it
Amazing car. Absurdly spacious and practical. Awesome, unique looks. Haters love to hate.....
i loved the design of multipla
I cried, this is so touching
I wish that I had designed it, where form and function compliment each other beautifully. Being a FIAT I'll bet it drove really well to.
If it was in driving condition. ; )
Fix It Again, Toni.
Although to be fair, all my Fiats we're badly maintained, cheap beaters, who had like one or one and a half year of TÜV remaining, when I got them, which they were expected to fail anyways. So the brand didn't really matter.
Thanks for your great videos and good luck with the new channel
Meanwhile my American GF describes the sides of a Citroen Cactus as a ‘mousemat’.
Yeah definitely looks like mousemat.
Drove 340 000 km in 15 years. A joy to drive.
I didn’t know that Brian Eno had a car RUclips channel, but I’m loving it!
One of my favourite cars ever it stands on it's own and dared to be different
This is a great channel, keep it up !!
I thought the Multipla was beautifully different.
I loved my Multipla and would love it if they brought it back.
It’s was ugly then the older one and older is better
Just discovered your channel. Very informative. Thank you.
I preferred 10 seconds ago when I didn’t know this car existed.
Halcyon _ You've never seen this car before? :o
Great content. Many just want to concentrate on supercars these days on YT
refreshing to have a channel with clear, conscience points, fantastically put together & well presented 👏👏
Take out 3 seats and it's basically a van. You could put a piano in the back and still have space for a couple of double basses. Try doing that in almost any other car. Easy and comfy to sleep in the back if you cover up the greenhouse windows. And on the rare occasions you see another one, everyone, drivers and passengers, all wave to each other. I gotta sell the thing soon because of London and emissions, but I'll miss her like hell.
Love fiat multipla. I used to have Fiat Tempra it was a nice car. I hope to see Fiat in Thailand again
i like the thairung tr transformer you guys have in Thailand
A "quantum leap" would be the smallest possible leap to make, so...
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I like the fluid lines, the huge windows and the overall original styling. This was supposed to be a compact passenger carrier with a streak of practicality, if you want a sports car better look for a Porsche.
Good video! Not a car I really liked visually, but I had one as hire car for a group of us on holiday it was definitely pleasant to drive, very practical and the interior (I thought) was nicer than the exterior
"Top gear" shows clip from Fifth gear
Potato potato.
Tomato tomato.
@@frantisekzverina473 It's not. Top Gear and Fifth Gear are two different car shows. One was the greatest of all time with Clarkson, May and Hammond and the other one is just ridiculous
Because of Vicky? Wasn’t she in Top Gear in the 90s?
Not true. There are two formats of Top Gear, one from 1977-2001 and one from 2002-now. The old format was cancelled in 2001 and then sold to Channel Five, where it continued as Fifth Gear.
The clip shown is from the "old Top Gear", which is hardly surprising as this car came out in the 90s.
If only it was prettier it would have been the king od mpv secnic, touran, and meriva would have been irrelevant
FIAT 500L ???
@@petarkresoja3481 tebra 500l je izasak 2012 godine ako se ne varam
Almost impossible to do unfortunately, the underlying structure of the thing doesn't allow, as shown by 2004 remodelling, still looks like something Noddy built. I own one by the way, I favour function over form.
It might be the wine speaking, but I'm considering finding one if these right now.
A brilliant family car, I loved mine.
Used it for work (take out the back seats) and play (six musicians and all their instruments).
Once got a sheet of 8 x 4 plywood in it and on another occasion a motor scooter, 3 people and the rear seats (detached and folded). Brilliant visibility, bright interior courtesy of 2 sunroofs, surefooted ride ……. and you could easily find it in a large car park. I would have bought another if they hadn’t redesigned the front end.
Used to hate the Multipla just because of its looks. Now we have two small children and all the clobber that comes with them, it’s very desirable. Can’t be any worse than our Zafira 😱
I' m with you.
I've ti say that when I was a young guy I bought for a few cents one original Multipla from the fifties and that really was a fantastic eyecatcher on wheels running at max 90 km/h !
We've got 2 sets of twin boys. It's just so easy getting everyone in and out, instead of having to stoop down to do seat belts. Tons of space in the back, unlike a Zafira. Probably a Zafira with half the back seat out has about the same storage space, but they just feel so cramped inside in comparison.
get the facelift to avoid the eyesore.
I still think it's ugly and I would never buy one, but I can respect what it stands for.
I had one for a while, it was actually OK to drive, all the kids were either indifferent or amazed at how ugly it was, one of them found the extra seat in a regular(ish) sized car very handy, one of them used to tell it that it was ugly every day on the school run. Eventually it died of shame when the back end collapsed.
One thing's for sure, none of them have forgotten it.
My father drove this car from 2001 till 2011. Due to medical reasons I had my leg in a brace back then, and this was the reason my parents bought this car. I could sit in the middle chair of the back row with my leg on the middle chair of the front row. I still love the car; although my brother and I said to him while he came home with it: 'we don't want to be seen in this car by our classmates'. Good memories.
Your voice is so relaxing though...
I always liked the original design of the multipla, and it was very practical, too. They ruined it with the facelift.
Really good info in all your clips keep it up
We had one when I was a kid so we could all sit in front. We'd always get waves and smiles from other multipla drivers. It's like driving a motorbike. Like an in-group. It's hilariously ugly but the best. Car. Ever. We were all sad to let it go.
The Miltipla was a great car, so clever and practical and you can never accuse it of being bland which makes it greater in my opinion.
"I'm an outlaw, you love or you hate me"
I loved it. I think it was a beautiful car. Never bought one because I had a big fight with my wife and my kid.
And you lost the fight, I guess.
You should have taken the car and dumped your wife, lol !
I collect car stereos and got yesterday an original MULTIPLA one, just couldn't miss that piece of automotive history
Interesting point on the team who helped with the 500. The team included Frank Stephenson who worked on the Escort Cosworth, heading up the design team for the MINI and then went on to become design director for McLaren, styling the MP4-12C, 650S, 675LT and the beautiful P1.
I prefer the Multipla over the 500L and 500L Living...
Multipla is miles better.
Both are very good
What is your icon
I wonder why almost every classical European car in the 2000's would end its miserable late life in China's copycat factory....
It's not a copycat if they use the original tooling, it's just the same car.
Very practical. It was the only mpv with a boot you could fit a double buggy in. That’s why we bought one. It was a great car. Comfy too.
Excellent video. Really informative.