Review
It's also not particularly quick off the mark when pulling out of junctions, but once you reach cruising speed it is fine. And to be fair, the Tino offers a fairly comfortable ride.
I'm not a fan of the outlandish dashboard - it has far too many curls and swirls for my liking to fit in with the fairly conservatively-styled exterior. I believe it would be more suited to a 'cool icon' car like the Smart but I suppose in its favour, it certainly grabs your attention.
And the satellite navigation system that crawls out of the dashboard at the touch of a button is certainly worthy of note - particularly as the 'birdview' screen can show the whereabouts of Paris and Milan, even if you're hundreds of miles away in somewhere like Peterborough. Pointless, but good fun!
In a previous report on the Tino, my colleague Trevor Gelken questioned what cost-conscious fleet manager would possibly sanction the £1,500 navigation option, bearing in mind that this money is highly unlikely to be recouped when the car is sold three years down the line.
I'd have to disagree with him there. I believe that a travelling salesman covering hundreds of miles every week visiting new clients is bound to claw back some of the cost in time and fuel saved. I admit though, the price is steep.
Not everyone is a fan of navigation systems but just because some drivers (like my colleague) can't be bothered to test them to their full potential, does not render them useless.
A Tino talking point must surely be the many storage compartments it offers - you could bore the neighbours for hours.
The compact MPV market is a competitive one and the Tino has a tough job to do. The Renault Scenic, Citroen Picasso and Vauxhall Zafira are the big sellers here but there are a host of smaller players on the market too, including the likes of the Hyundai Trajet, Mazda Premacy and Mitsubishi Spacestar.
So among all these, the Almera Tino has to be absolutely top notch to succeed - which unfortunately brings me back to that diesel engine again, which is assuredly not top of the pile.
Now that Nissan and Renault are partners, surely it would not be beyond the bounds of possibility to slip one of the those wonderful Renault 1.9cDi common rail diesel units under the Tino's bonnet and voila - the problem would be solved.
