French firms bring élan back into MPVs

Some within the motor industry predicted a while back that the emergence of the SUV as the family car of choice for a majority of, erm, families would spell the death-knell for the venerable MPV, which had traditionally been the choice for couples with two or more children.

The MPV, of course, has not died a death, fulfilling as it does a huge variety of family needs, and while many may roll their eyes and tut-tut vigorously at the mere thought of such an outdated thing in an age where the SUV has become king in both five and seven-seat modes, the people-carrier still has the appeal and the practicality to make it a saleable and profitable prospect.

It might not be hip, but it sure gets the job done and the French, of course, have had a long standing affaire d’amour with the MPV. That is probably because they helped make the idea a winner in the first place, with back-in-the-day radical motors like the Renault Espace, even though it was the Americans and Germans that pioneered the concept as far back as the 1930s.