Review
As part of the changes needed to comply with the complex regulations that cover different markets, most exporters use alternative mounting positions for windscreen wipers on vehicles destined for Britain.
That hasn't been the case with the Tino. The bean counters must have reckoned the Continental mounting on their MPV range was good enough for right hand drive territories – but driving our long term SVE test car in the rain shows they were wrong.
Because they are positioned for left hand drive, the wipers' sweep pattern means the front seat passenger gets the better view of the road.
And to make matters worse in a heavy downpour, every sweep made by the nearside blade flicks excess water directly into the driver's line of vision.
Matters are also less than ideal as far as the rear screen wiper is concerned – the lack of an intermittent wipe facility means you are constantly fiddling with the switch to maintain clear rear vision when conditions are not bad enough to warrant leaving the wiper in continual operation.
These might be viewed as minor points, but they mean a lot in a work vehicle which is often required to undertake long distances in poor weather conditions.
The omissions are also out of keeping with the general design of the Tino, which has strong credentials when it comes to safety and convenience at the wheel and proves it by including an electronic skid prevention system as standard.
The car also comes with its own special miniature camera built into the rear bodywork, a gadget that works surprisingly well.
Like an extra pair of eyes, it makes parking and reversing manoeuvres much easier by allowing the Tino to be nudged up to within an inch of whatever is behind the car.
Company car tax bill 2003/04 (22% tax-payer): £73 per month
