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It was a flying box. It took everyone by surprise, including me. Volkswagen’s 1999 EuroVan MV. The last two letters stand for “Multivan,” an apt moniker for a vehicle that is part full-size van, minivan, cargo van, weekend camper, sedan, limousine and sports car.

Ah, and it also can be turned into a mobile office, with a conference table, at a moment’s notice.

I hated the thing at first. It was long, high and rectangular with a bulldog nose, uglier than any van or minivan from the United States or Japan. The interior, to put it mildly, was underwhelming, absent decoration. There were two rear-facing center seats and a long, forward-facing rear bench seat. In the middle was what appeared to be a carpeted wasteland. The whole setup struck me as being dumb.

But that was before I started driving and using the EuroVan MV, exploiting its numerous unseen virtues.

Take driving. The van looks as if it can’t move out of its own way. But the front-engine, front-wheel-drive van is powered by Volkswagen’s famous VR-6 engine, a 2.8-liter job designed to to kick out 140 horsepower at 4,500 rpm and 177 pound-feet of torque between 3,000 and 3,400 rpm.

Lordy! The thing can run! I timed zero to 60 mph, in unloaded condition, in about 8 seconds — pretty darn fast for a van. When stuffed to the ceiling with boxes and flea-market goodies, it continued to move swiftly — no drag, no lag. It moved nimbly, too, thanks to a well-designed four-wheel independent suspension system.

Road hogs gasped. I’m not talking about people in big trucks or large cars. I’m talking about twerps in little cars — sports and economy models — who assume that being in the vicinity of a van gives them the right to cut in front of you sans signals or any other courtesy. The EuroVan MV easily outmaneuvered most of them, leaving their drivers feeling, I hope, a little bit humble.

Which is how I felt when I discovered how wrong I was about the common sense of the EuroVan MV’s interior design. Simply put, it’s designed to be used more than it is to be seen. It’s easy to shove large boxes into the gargantuan space between the center and rear seats. If more cargo space is needed, all of those seats can be removed, converting the EuroVan MV into a large cargo carrier.

The EuroVan MV can carry seven people, and allow at least five of them to sit facing one another around a conference or dining table that folds out of the driver’s-side wall. An overhead fluorescent lamp provides ample illumination at night. The rear seats convert to a bed that can sleep two normal-size adults, or three people who are serious about dieting.

What Volkswagen has here is more than a vehicle. It’s a Swiss Army knife with four wheels and an engine.

1999 Volkswagen EuroVan MV

Complaints: The EuroVan MV’s seats are not the easiest to remove. Taking out the rear bench seat, for example, requires unbolting it from the floor. You’ve got to remember to put those bolts back into the pr oper holes, even while the seat is out of the van. Otherwise, you lose one or all of the bolts and cannot safely reattach the seat. Carefully check the owner’s manual on this one.

Praise: One of the most versatile vans I’ve ever used. One of the fastest I’ve ever driven. The EuroVan also comes as a more passenger-oriented GLS and a more camper-oriented EuroVan Camper, which includes an overhead pop-up sleeper and other Winnebago-provided options. The MV is a compromise between the Camper and the GLS.

Ride, acceleration and handling: Triple aces in loaded and unloaded conditions. Excellent braking. Standard brakes include power-assisted front and rear discs with vented fronts with anti-lock backup and traction control.

Head-turning quotient: Ugly but distinctive.

Capacities: Seats up to seven. Comfortably sleeps two (privacy curtains provided). Can carry 988 pounds of cargo and tow a trailer weighing up to 4,410 pounds. Fuel capacity is 21.1 gallons of recomm ended regular u nleaded (minimum 87 octane) gasoline.

Safety: Dual front air bags, seat belts, anti-lock brakes and traction control, rigid construction.

Mileage: Disappointing in loaded and unloaded conditions. But the engine was spanking brand new, with less than 90 miles on the odometer at time of delivery. Estimated overall mileage was about 14 miles per gallon, about a 280-mile range on usable volume of fuel.

Sound system: AM-FM stereo radio and cassette installed by Volkswagen. Okay.

Price: Prices not yet firm. Expect to pay about $30,000 for the EuroVan GLS, about $34,000 for the tested EuroVan MV and nearly $40,000 for the Winnebago-equipped EuroVan Camper.

Purse-strings note: This is a van for people who do lots of driving, carry lots of stuff and enjoy weekend camping or long road trips. It is too much van, and too costly, for people in need of a family shuttle bus. Any number of lesser and lower-priced minivans can be used for taxi service.