In this week's issue:

• Fiat Panda Named "Car of the Year" by Press
• VW Moves into People-Carrying Mode

  Panda Named "Car of the Year" by Press

Fiat said on Monday that the Panda, one of a raft of new models it hopes will pull it out of the doldrums, was named "Car of the Year 2004" by a panel of 58 European auto journalists.

Fiat is hoping the flat-backed Panda, launched in September, together with the bigger Fiat Idea and nippy Lancia Ypsilon will help recover market share and reverse a sales slump that dragged the 104-year-old carmaker into its worst ever crisis last year.

"(This title) shows Fiat knows how to design and build attractive and innovative cars and rewards us for the hard work that is being poured into turning the company around," Fiat Chief Executive Giuseppe Morchio said in a statement.

Morchio added that his plan to speed up new car launches was bearing fruit in terms of sales and market share. Morchio had previously said orders for the Panda and the Ypsilon are a month ahead of schedule. It is the first time a Fiat car has been named "Car of the Year" since 1996 when the Bravo/Brava pairing won the right to stick the moniker, written under a group of round European flags, on their backs.

  VW Moves into People-Carrying Mode

Like Ford, Volkswagen has come into the compact MPV game very late indeed. Renault was the first to invent the compact MPV with the Scenic back in 1997 and since then seemingly everyone has wanted a slice of the action as buyers turn to these cars instead of estates. Just as Renault's new generation Scenic arrives, VW gives us the Touran.

It's been worth the wait though, because VW has come up with an excellent car. An MPV is a hard thing to get right first time, especially when you're not simply copying another manufacturer's design. The Touran is an original, even if VW has done its best to disguise this behind the blandest of designs.

Practically the Best

Before the Touran, the Zafira was the only seven-seater compact MPV on the market. Multipla apart, all the others have just five seats. The Touran is actually a five-seater as standard, but an extra £500 buys you room for two more kids. It's an option worth going for as it will make resale easier and it doesn't impair practicality in the slightest. That is because the rear two seats fold effortlessly into the floor - and there's even a compartment under the floor to stow headrests.

The three middle-row seats slide individually backwards and forwards with ease, and the centre seat can be removed to allow the two outer seats to be moved inwards. Doing this is a little fiddly and there are awkward stays to hold the seats up when you fold them forward, but at least all three seats are easy to remove thanks to easy grab handles. You get plenty of stowage areas, including triple overhead compartments and an extra dash-top box. And there is simply loads of head and legroom for front and middle row passengers but only small kids will ever fit into the third-row seats. The load space is a very generous too, unless the last two extra seats are left up, in which case you'll struggle to fit anything substantial in at all.

Big Mover

Our test car was fitted with VW's all-new 2.0 diesel engine. Over the years, the 1.9TDi has won plenty of accolades, but the new second-generation 2.0 TDi is better by quite some margin. It even has the beating of the Ford C-MAX's 2.0 TDCi diesel.

Fabulous torque gives the Touran the edge. With 236lb ft of low-down pull, brisk progress is possible from just over 2500rpm. The Touran has a smooth-shifting six-speed gearbox (except the entry-level 1.6) - but you don't need to change gear as often as that suggests: just floor the accelerator in any middle gear any you have superb tractability. Refinement levels are impressive too: not exactly silent, but tractor jokes don't apply.

The Touran is the first VW to use the underpinnings for the forthcoming MkV Golf, and marks a radical improvement in VW's driving dynamics. The Touran is impressive round the bends with plenty of grip and no nasty surprises in store. In fact, only the Ford Focus C-MAX is better on this front. Ride quality is not quite as good as the new Scenic but the steering is direct and imparts a feeling of security: indeed this is a solid-feeling car all round.

Easy Going

Volkswagen has gone to great lengths to make the Touran as easy to live with as possible. The styling is so bland that it can't offend anyone, unless you like style (buy a Scenic instead).

The cabin is play-it-safe dull too. There are no surprises and little to excite the eye. The Sport model we tested has plenty of equipment, including six airbags, ABS, traction control, cruise control, leather trimmed steering wheel, heated door mirrors, fog lights, climate control and roof rails. But a CD autochanger and luggage restraint would cost you extra.

Which brings us to the Touran's main problem. It may be an excellent car, but the price tag of £20,460 is hard to justify: the most expensive Zafira costs £17,720 and the Touran is not £2700 better. But if sheer practicality is your bag, the Touran is as talented as they come.

Written by David Summer Smith