In September 2014 I px'd my BMW 325i Touring with 98K on the clock for a 25 month old Qubo with 14K on it, a full Fiat service history and the balance of the 3 year warranty. Whist not built to the same quality as the BMW, the Qubo was big inside, reasonably compact outside, with 95bhp it pulled quite well and cruised comfortable around the maximum speed, whilst returning 54mpg on Shell V-Power diesel.

Within 2 months I experienced an engine management warning when starting from cold. The engine appeared to run normally but advice in the handbook was to stop immediately and take the vehicle to the nearest franchised dealer, in this case D Salmon Cars of Colchester. I telephoned their service department before driving the 10 miles in. No problems were evident, but I was concerned that I could be causing damage or invalidating the warranty. Whilst the receptionist was sympathetic, she was unable to find anyone to see me and I went home. I tried again next morning when their Saturday morning service slot started sharp at 8m. The service manager came and took a look and tried to reset the faulty lamp, without success. He tried to fit me in ut there wasn't a spot for me and eventually I booked the Qubo into the service department from the first possible appointment which was Tuesday. Fortunately there was a courtesy car available as I had business to attend to across Essex. Despite regular enquires over the next two working days no one could tell me the cause of the problem. Eventually I received a call telling me the car was ready. On collection I was told the problem was a faulty air temperature sensor and that I owed £250. I explained the car was still within warranty and the bill was then removed.

Following this episode I have been reading in your columns of problems with the dpf in the Fiat 500 version and I have found myself driving up and down the A12 so that similar problems don't occur with the Qubo. I even bought a moped to use for short journeys. Finally, I became paranoid about the vehicle, waiting for the engine management light to come on or the dpf to cause a problem. In December I traded the Qubo in against a 62K Lexus IS250 Sport and a 02 Reg Micra for my wife which has really low mileage. Whilst the costs of running both are a good bit more than the Qubo, the peace of mind is blissful!