‘What are you driving at the moment?,” a colleague asked. “A Nissan NV200,” I replied. What’s that?” he asked. “Err. It’s a people carrier-cum-van sort of vehicle,” came my unconvincing answer.

Nissan’s inventive description of the NV200 Combi is as a ‘compact passenger carrier’. On the road it certainly is compact, but with five- and seven-seater versions, and twin sliding rear doors it comes with the same cavernous interior as its award-winning sibling, the NV200 van.

Built on a modified and stretched version of the successful Renault Nissan Alliance road car B-platform, the NV200 is powered by a surprisingly punchy, 89 horsepower, 1.5-litre diesel engine.

A tight turning circle makes it briliant for town driving, and even fully loaded, it zips along country roads. From the driver’s point of view there is a commanding driving position, excellent visibility and the simplest range of instrumentation imaginable.

Just one instrument faces you — the speedometer — but this also houses a digital rev counter and a display that includes a clock, drive computer, trip and overall odometers and a shift-up gear display, which can be set by the driver to improve economy.

OK this is not the super- luxurious, whisper quiet, car-like travelling experience that many modern people carriers deliver, but the NV200’s real ace is space, acres of it.

The test model made the most of the Combi’s huge cabin, with a third row of seats. None of the seats needs to be removed from the vehicle to increase load space, since the second row folds and tumbles forward, while the two third-row seats fold up against the side panels.

And there is plenty of storage space, with oddment and document trays, door pockets, coin and card holders, cup and bottle holders and convenience hooks, dotted around the cabin. A secret storage space within the upper portion of the glovebox is large enough to hold a camera, mobile phone or important documents. There is also plenty of underseat storage, while a folding passenger seat back incorporates a moulded dished tray large enough to house a laptop computer.

All models come with a Bluetooth phone link. The SE grade test model also came with alloy wheels, body-coloured bumpers, air conditioning and a colour reversing camera, which helps to avoid any unnecessary bumps while parking.

Auto facts Nissan NV200 1.5D SE Combi

  • Price: £18,300 (inc VAT)
  • Insurance group: 11E
  • Fuel consumption (Combined): 53.3mpg
  • Top speed: 98mph
  • Length: 440cm/173.2in
  • Width: 169.5cm/66.7in
  • Luggage capacity: 2.9m3 (2nd and 3rd seats folded)
  • Fuel capacity: 12.1 gallons/55 litres
  • CO2 emissions: 138g/km
  • Warranty: 3 years/100,000 miles