The all-new Fiat Doblò has been seen this week completely undisguised and production-ready, in its people-lugging "Combi" format, revealing a vehicle that makes distinct upmarket strides in all visual areas over the long-running version it replaces. Just like the outgoing model, the new Doblò, which is again built by Fiat Group's joint-venture company in Turkey, Tofaş, focuses on maximising the load space, all round convenience and ease-of-access, in a vehicle wrapped in a competitively-priced overall package. Production is slated at 120,000 units per year with 70 percent being destined for European markets.

The new photos of the Doblò Combi, known as Tofaş Project 263, show a very distinctive new front end that follows the current fashion (and adopted Fiat family design language) of a dominant, black-finished large front grille/spoiler section. Large new headlights sweep up the wings while the new Doblò is given more upmarket touches with the gloss-back A-pillars (reminiscent of the Skoda Roomster), a theme that continues round the side windows and onto the tailgate which is influenced by its smaller sister, the Fiorino, another light van that is also built at the same factory at Bursa, Turkey.

The outgoing Doblò model was introduced in 2001 based on a well-tested platform that was derived from the "Project 178 World Car" Fiat Palio which itself evolved from the Fiat Uno. Developed by Fiat Centro Stile and built by Tofaş in Turkey, the van provided a low cost option for consumers and proved to be a strong seller in markets across the world as well as Europe, including Brazil where it is also marketed in a beefed up off-road styled "Adventure" series version. A 5- or 7-seat passenger carrying version, called the Panorama, has also been a very popular addition to the range. In the autumn of 2005 the Doblò received a mid lifecycle facelift with a comprehensively revised front end including new bumper, grille and headlights, plus minor cosmetic treatment to rear (including new lights) and interior; and it quickly collected the prestigious Van of the Year 2006 title. The first generation Doblò was fitted with 1.2-litre petrol and 1.9-litre diesel (including JTD) engines while for the facelift the van received a 1.4-litre petrol unit and the 1.3- and 1.9-litre 16v Multijet turbodiesels while there is also a 1.6 16v "Natural Power" version.

The all-new next-generation Project 263 "New Doblò" has seen an investment of 370 million euros being made by Tofaş, which is a 50-50 joint venture between Fiat Group and Turkish conglomerate Koç Holding A.Ş, a Fortune Global 500 company, since the project got underway in October 2007. This project, just like the recently realised "Minicargo" (Fiat Fiorino/Peugeot Bipper/Citroën Nimo) has been entirely financed by Tofas through a 10 year loan which has a built-in 2 year grace period. Tofaş has also taken the lead in its engineering development, as it did for the first time with the Minicargo project, with input for Fiat Centro Stile in Turin.