AT 4,730mm, the Mitsubishi Delica D:5 is shorter than a GT like the BMW 6-series Convertible (4,820mm). But while most people allocated the back seat of any convertible will grumble about the cramped quarters, those with tickets to the last row of the latest MPV in town probably wouldn't mind it very much.

In fact, those could well be the best seats in the house, er, I mean car.

A typical MPV, like the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Wish, has shallow seats in the third row. But the ones on the Delica seem just as big as those in front.

Set on rails, the bench will slide right to the end of the vehicle and the backrest will tilt till the headrests almost touch the rear windscreen.

In this position, few passengers will have limbs long enough to touch the back of the middle row.

The only weakness of those generous rear seats: getting them out of the way if you need more haulage space. They don't tumble into the floor like those in the Odyssey or Toyota Previa.

Instead, the Delica's third row can be pivoted and 'hung' by the side of the window, like in some multi-seat SUVs.

Even though the arrangement is clumsy, the space it frees up is more than enough for four golfbags to be loaded longitudinally.

When you're not golfing, the Delica seats eight. And those slouching back in the third row even get to enjoy a view of the sky through a sizeable glass section in the roof.

If that's not enough, there's even some soft blue floor lighting - visible at night - emanating from below the seats, at the edge of the sliding door.

At precisely 1.825m tall, the Delica can enter most sheltered carparks, while its lofty driving position offers an excellent vantage point.

At 1.795m across (only 1cm wider than a Honda Civic), the car is surprisingly easy to thread through traffic too.

To make life easier for the driver, it is fitted with parking sensors, a reverse camera and even satellite navigation.

Yet, despite its compact footprint, the Delica is a relatively roomy car. It would have been even more spacious if Mitsubishi had gone for a simple torsion beam rear suspension instead of the sophisticated but bulky multi-link set-up.

The latter makes it a better drive in the rough (the Delica has an off-road variant which is not offered here).

The cabin is airy and bright, thanks to another pane of glass above the second row of seats. This is a full-fledged moonroof that slides out of the way at the touch of a button.

Apart from seating eight in comfort, the car's seating configuration is versatile enough to keep road trips on the move while some people snooze.

The front passenger seat can be folded to join the base of the second row (remove headrests first), forming a bed. And the Delica can be easily transformed into a two-bedder too, by folding a middle row seat to join the last row.

This is a clever car packed with ideas. So much so that Mitsubishi ran out of imagination by the time it came to picking a name. The Delica is what it calls one of its commercial vans.

The writer is editor of Torque, a monthly published by SPH Magazines.

MITSUBISHI DELICA D:5

Price: $112,988 with COE
Engine: 2,359cc 16-valve inline-4
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission with manual select
Power: 170bhp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 226Nm at 4,100rpm
0-100kmh: 12 seconds (est)
Top speed: 170kmh (est)
Fuel consumption: 11 litres/100km (city-highway)
Agent: Cycle & Carriage