Used Fiat Marea cars for sale ...

However, like the saloon, the Weekend estate is built on the chassis of the Fiat Bravo, a small family car. As a result, its load bay is shorter than most rival estates' and sitting three in the back is tight. That said, as a four-seater, it's fine. And, although the boot isn't the roomiest, it'll do for most families, and the rear seats split and fold for extra versatility. You may hear passengers complaining about the firm ride, especially in town. The pay-off, though, is that it goes round corners without too much lean, grips well and has sharp, responsive steering. The engines, too, are eager, although the 1.6 struggles when fully loaded.

Running Costs
The Marea Weekend is keenly priced, so you're off to a good start. In fact, that's the main reason for choosing one, if we're being totally blunt. Take care to get a good one, because repair costs for Fiats are higher than average, according to a leading warranty company. At least, routine maintenance is far easier on the wallet, and a leading warranty company estimate that you can save more than a third off the labour bill by going to a good independent garage rather than a franchised dealer. Insurance holds no fear, either. Our preferred 1.9 JTD turbodiesels fall into groups 8 to 10, and our top petrol model, the five-cylinder 2.0, is the heftiest at group 14. The cheapest petrol model to insure is the 1.6, in group 10. The 1.6 isn't that much more economical than the other petrols - all give around 30mpg on average. The diesels stretch that to between 40mpg and 50mpg.

Saloon
The Marea saloon, like the Weekend estate, is based on the chassis of Fiat's small family car, the Bravo. That means it isn't as spacious as, say, a Ford Mondeo or Vauxhall Vectra. The boot will take the family's clobber and two adults will fit across the back seat, but three is a bit of a squeeze. The cabin owes a lot to the Bravo's, too, which means a mostly decent layout of controls, but cheap-looking plastics and a less than ideal driving position. On the positive side, though, it handles with a touch of Italian verve. There's plenty of grip, not too much body roll and good, responsive steering. However, the ride is firm at best, and it deteriorates in town, so the Marea isn't nearly as comfortable or as refined as other family cars. On top of that, there's also too much racket from the tyres and a lot of wind noise at motorway speeds. The engines stay quiet, though, and are all pretty decent performers.

Running Costs
The Marea's greatest appeal is that it's cheap to run. Let's be honest: few people go out with the express intention of a used Marea, but those who end up with one often do so because it's cheap. Routine servicing isn't dear, either, especially if you go to a decent independent garage instead of a Fiat main dealer. A leading warranty company's data suggests that you could save more than a third on the labour bill that way. Repair costs of Fiats tend to be higher than average, but nothing outrageous. Fuel economy is reasonable, too - the petrol engines all give around 30mpg in normal driving, while the diesels will return between 40mpg and 50mpg - and the insurance won't sting you either. The diesels range from groups 8 to 10; the petrols kick off at group 10 (the 1.6) and top out at the group 14 of the five-cylinder 2.0.