Fiat Professional’s revised Ducato van range has one major USP when compared to the Citroën Relay and Peugeot Boxer that are built alongside it. Where the French duo use a 2.2-litre diesel engine to provide a choice of 110hp, 130hp and 150hp, Fiat has its own 2.3-litre MultiJet II motor, offering a similar power choice.
When we first tried the new Ducato in Italy earlier this year, first impressions suggested that the Fiat had the better engine installation, the 2.3-litre lump being both smoother and quieter. That feeling has translated to right hand drive and the 130hp engine that we have here is both easy on the ear and relatively unnoticeable when cruising.
It’s powerful too, with 130hp and 320Nm of torque more than enough in this short wheelbase low roof format. Indeed the feeling of sprightly performance and fairly rapid acceleration was increased when we opened the back doors, to discover a pallet of cement bags strapped inside providing a test load.
Unlike the French duo, that only offer a Stop/Start system on the 130hp engine, Fiat makes Stop/Start an option on both 130hp and 150hp models. Oddly though, much like the Peugeot and Citroën 130hp vans that we have tested, Fiat Professional in the UK chose not to fit the system to our van.
Even without Stop/Start the 130hp model offers a claimed 44.1mpg with 170g/km of CO2 in this 8m3 body, which is better than the French duo. While Fiat asks a further £350 for Stop/Start, it would deliver consumption of up to 45.6mpg and emissions of just 164g/km. It really would depend on how much time you are likely to spend in an urban driving environment.
Fiat had however ticked numerous option boxes on this van, adding an incredible £6,000 to its standard specification. We would happily do without the independent Webasto heating system (£650), the annoyingly loud lane departure warning system (£400) and the 15” alloys (£450), while the climate control (£990) is also looking a bit steep.
If you do want a high trim level, but don’t need the full-fat 3.5-tonne gross weight of this van, a better bet would be the 3.0-tonne SH1 130 in Tecnico specification. For £2,360 you get air-con, front fogs, reversing sensors, LED daytime running lights, a rear camera and that 5” full colour screen with TomTom sat-nav.
The majority of fleets will no doubt stay closer to standard trim of course, though that still includes Bluetooth, a full steel bulkhead, ESC stability control, a tyre pressure monitoring system and electric heated door mirrors. Drivers should also find the cab a comfortable place to spend the day, though personally I find the driver’s seat a bit thin on padding towards the rear of the base frame.
With service intervals extended to 30,000 miles/two years and a warranty that runs through to 120,000 miles, customers should certainly experience reduced ownership costs with the revised Ducato. Add in the more efficient engines, up to 10% better according to Fiat, and you could be looking at quite a saving over the previous model.
What we think
The new Ducato is comfortable, economical and well equipped, even in base trim. The firm’s own MultiJet II engines provide that all-important selling point and certainly don’t disappoint.
Specfication
MODEL Fiat Ducato 35 SH1 2.3 MultiJet II
BASIC PRICE £23,145
ENGINE 4-cyl/2,287cc
FUEL INJECTION Common-rail
POWER 130hp @ 3,600rpm
TORQUE 320Nm @ 1,800rpm
Weights (kg)
GVW 3,500
KERB WEIGHT 1,860
PAYLOAD 1,640
MAX TRAILER WEIGHT 2,000
Dimensions (mm)
LOAD SPACE LENGTH 2,670
LOAD SPACE WIDTH 1,870
LOAD SPACE HEIGHT 1,662
LOAD HEIGHT (unladen) 535
LOAD VOLUME 8.0m3
Cost considerations
COMBINED MPG & CO2 44.1mpg/170g/km
OIL CHANGE 2 yr/30,000 miles
WARRANTY 3 yr/120,000 miles