THE prospect of fetching and carrying several teenagers to a birthday party sleep-over sent me in the direction of our long-term Fiat Ulysse.

Even though we only ended up with three passengers, the amount of gear teenage girls need to carry with them is awesome and everyone was delighted with the cavernous space provided by the Ulysse.

On reaching the pick-up point the Ulysse was greeted with almost universal praise. The girls loved the shaped seats with individual armrests, the three sunroofs and various little mirrors, individual heaters and storage spaces. They also loved the idea of moving the seats around.

What they didn't love was that the CD player and the radio kept cutting out. A few weeks ago someone stole the aerial and the radio has not been the same since it was replaced. However, this problem has not occurred for several days so it may be one of those things that fix themselves.

I enjoy driving this car. The high seating position provides excellent an all-round view, the handling is neat, with little roll for an MPV, and the gearchange works smoothly.

For the right driver, this vehicle can provide almost everything – comfort, seating flexibility, satellite navigation and even computerised verbal instructions and advice.

Company car tax bill 2003/04 (40% taxpayer): £210 per month