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13th March 1997, Page 58
13th March 1997
Page 58
Page 59
Page 58, 13th March 1997 — VANS
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ON TES T

CITROEN DISPATCH

Price as tested: £12,180 (ex-VAT). Engine: 1.9 litres, 91hp (68kW). GVVV: 2,220kg. Payload: 740kg. Fuel consumption (laden): 33.4mpg (8.4411t/100km).

It used to be so simple for would-be van buyers. There was just Big Van, Small Van. If you didn't want a Big Van (like a Transit), you were stuck with a Small Van (like an Escort).

Fine for us journalists, who like things nice and easy, but not so good for pukka van users— what if you wanted (perish the thought) a Medium Van? Well, there was the Toyota Liteace, and later there was the Volkswagen Transporter, but both of them were panel vans, so Joe Public doubtless classed them as Big Vans.

It left a sizeable market niche—a niche big enough to drive a Citroen Dispatch into. Its not Too Small, and its not Too Big; it's Just Right. You don't have to be Goldilocks to appreciate the virtues of a van that's as easy to drive in town as a highcube van, but which has the load-carrying capacity of a small panel van.

We've already looked at the Citroen's near-identical sibling, the Fiat Scudo, in naturally aspirated form.

This Dispatch has the turbocharged version of the same engine, which is also available in Fiat or Peugeot Expert models. We liked the unblown Scudo: does the Dispatch match up?

• PRODUCT PROFILE The Dispatch "range" is simply a choice between engines: the turbo charged or naturally aspirated versions of the 1.9-litre Peugeot/Citroen XUD9 engine.

The turbo-diesel is 30kg heavier but the grass weight is adjusted to compensate so it can cope with the same net payload of 740kg (with a 75kg driver), A word about pricing: the three versions of the "mini-Sevel" (Dispatch, Expert and Scudo) hit just about the same price points with only £180 separating the cheapest (Peugeot) from the dearest (Citroen). The difference is justified by specification (electric windows and the coded securi ty system, for instance) and warranty—the Dispatch gets pretty compre hensive two-year, unlimited-distance cover with two years' Citroen Commercial

Assist (a panEuropean breakdown service).

Whatever the brand, the turbodiesel comes in at a nice round £1,000 more than its unblown equivalent. Other options are few, but the most noticeable is the Window Van version; this has glass in the side loading doors and costs an extra £165. Those windows also make the Dispatch liable for VAT, bumping the total price up by £2,325. Ouch!

Convenient and driveable the Dispatch may be, but it's not cheap: competitors from Nissan and Volkswagen cost at least £1,000 less, while only the Toyota Hiace Powervan and MercedesBenz Vito are pricier.

But the Hiace has a massive 1,200kg payload, and the Mercedes, well, it's got a threepointed star on the front.

The keenest competition for the Dispatch may in fact come from Citroen itself: the even newer Berlingo (and its Peugeot sister, the Partner) are sizeable high-cube vans with three-quarters of the volume of the Dispatch and (in heavy-duty form) roughly the same payload.

They lack side loading doors and dual passenger seats, and cannot be had with a turbodiesel, but do cost L3-4,000 less.

• PRODUCTIVITY Our low-mileage test vehicle went round the CV Kent route at an average 33.4mpg with a full load on board; a little worse than the unblown Scudo's 35.5mpg but better than any of the other small panel vans, and at an excellent average speed of 69.1km/h. Only the Nissan Vanette Cargo equalled this, and that was in perfect summer weather rather than the gloom of winter.

The Citroen's 740kg payload is pretty fair but its 4.0m3 load volume is a little disappointing All its direct competitors claim at least 20% more; biggest of the lot are the VW Transporter and Toyota Hiace at 5.4m3 each.

But if you're really after load volume the Dispatch's Sevel-built big brother is what you're after: the base-model Citroen Relay costs around the same (albeit with the naturally aspirated XUD9 engine) and offers 6.5rn3of load volume with a full tonne of payload.

In fact, the Dispatch is not very space-efficient. It's 300mm shorter than the Transporter, but there's hardly any difference in height or width.

The wedge nose sacrifices some loadspace (the load bed is 400mm shorter than the VW's) but it does give it a low-slung, people-friendly appearance.

The Citroen makes loading easy with a low loadbed (555mm from the ground) and decentsized sliding doors on both sides. But there is room for complaint: there are only four tie-down points and the bulkhead consists of a ladder frame behind the driver's seat.

We'd like to see a proper sheetsteel bulkhead, even if this would impede side access.

• ON THE ROAD First you've got to start the engine, of course, and this isn't as easy as you might expect. The Dispatch has the same coded immobiliser that we've found so irritating in the Scudo, Berlingo and Partner.

Practically every time you want to start the engine you have to enter a four-digit code, and if you don't fold the keypad away it's easy to hang your knee on it. Great.

The seats are a bit of an acquired taste too. They're the softest seats around (a bit like a Renault 16TS circa 1973) but are pretty comfortable for most drivers. The dual passenger seat is not especially useful, as even the dash-mounted gearstick gets in the way.

Visibility's another complaint: some drivers disliked the thick windscreen pillars and the smallish mirrors, though others were not bothered.

But when it comes to driving, you can't complain. The turboDispatch is the most powerful van in its class by a fair margin, and it feels like it. Not only does the turbo offer 63% more torque than the unblown engine, but peak power comes in 600rpm sooner.

It beat the non-turbo Scudo's time up the M20 hill by around 25% and the engine is very smooth, with little turbo lag. It may make less noise than the already quiet unblown version.

Fewer gearchanges mean better fuel consumption, and the handling is well up to the job. A long wheelbase, plush suspension and power steering make the Dispatch as fast as most cars on A-roads.

• SUMMARY By normal van standards the turbo-diesel Dispatch lacks any of those Unique Selling Points so beloved by marketing men. The loadspace and payload are unremarkable, and the price is a little steep, while Citroen's own Berlingo is snapping at its heels.

But it's a distinctive-looking van with exceptionally good road manners, substantial performance and a good warranty. If you need speed, driveability and easy loading, the Dispatch could be Just Right.

H by Toby Clark

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