The Fiat Multipla is a compact MPV

Compact MPV

A compact MPV is a car classification used in Europe to describe multi-purpose vehicle versions of small family cars , fitting between the mini MPV and large MPV sub-segments...

 manufactured by Italian automaker Fiat

Fiat

FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...

 since 1998. Based on the Brava, the Multipla is shorter and wider than its rivals. It has two rows of three seats, while all its competitors have two seats in the front (the Honda FR-V

Honda FR-V

The Honda FR-V is a six-seater compact MPV introduced by Honda in 2004 and marketed until 2009. Alongside the Fiat Multipla, it is currently one of only two compact minivans with a 3+3 seating configuration available on the European market.-Engines:The FR-V is available with three petrol and one...

, which has the same layout, was released in 2004). The Multipla was even shorter than the three-door Fiat Bravo upon which it was based, despite offering substantially more space and seating.

In common with a number of other modern Fiats, the Multipla reuses the name of an earlier vehicle, in this case the "Multipla" variant of the Fiat 600

Fiat 600

The Fiat 600 is a city car produced by the Italian automaker Fiat from 1955 to 1969. Measuring only 3.22 m long, it was the first rear-engined Fiat and cost the equivalent of about € 6,700 or US$ 7300 in today's money . The total number produced from 1955 to 1969 at the Mirafiori...

 produced during the 1950s and 1960s.
The exterior and interior design of the Multipla was displayed at the Museum of Modern Art

Museum of Modern Art

The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...

 (MOMA) in New York during its "Different Roads - Automobiles for the Next Century" exhibition in 1999.

The car, along with the Opel/Vauxhall Zafira

Opel Zafira

The Opel Zafira is a compact MPV engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel. The Zafira is sold under the Vauxhall marque in the United Kingdom.- Zafira A :...

, were beaten by the Toyota Yaris

Toyota Yaris

The Toyota Yaris is a subcompact car produced by Toyota since 1999. Between 1999 and 2005, some markets received the same vehicles under the Toyota Echo name...

 in the 2000 European Car of the Year

European Car of the Year

The European Car of the Year award was established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organisers of the award are Auto , Autocar , Autopista , Autovisie , L'Automobile Magazine , Stern and Vi Bilägare .The voting jury consists of motoring...

 contest.

It was also voted Top Gear "Car of the Year" (2000) and Top Gear "Family Car of the Year" for four years in a row (2001–2004).

Multipla sales began in Italy late in 1998 but most other markets had to wait a year before receiving imports.