FIAT DUCAT°
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Price: C23,720 Engine: Euro-4 7.3-litre Muttijet common-roil turbo-diesel Power/Torque: 118hp Transmission: Six-speed manuat GVW: 3,500kg Payload: 1,525kg Load volume: 12.7m3
Fiat's entry into this battle royale was its underrated Ducat() panel van. The Ducato is part of the Sevel van range. which includes the Peugeot Boxer and the Citroen Relay opposite.
On the surface, the Italian is identical to the Citroen, but the main difference is that the Fiat oenefits from it's own Multijet turbo-diesel engine. This helps to differentiate it from the French offering, but is it enough to make it stand out in this company? The Ducato received only lukewarm comments for the engine and driveline combination. The consensus was that the transmission felt very mechanical in comparison to the others. One tester remarked that the engine "recovers well in top gear on the motorways, but it doesn't cope as easily up hills and usually requires an additional downshift".
That said. most of the remarks were of a satisfactory nature, with four testers saying that the powertran was neither good nor bad.
'Dynamic' and 'long wheelbase' are not usually terms you would use together in the same sentence, but according to our testers. the Ducato "copes well with pitted road surfaces, possessing accurate steering particularly in fast bends". Although the majority of the field was made up of mediumwheelbase vans, the long wheelbase Fiat handled the roundabouts and twisty B-roads with aplomb. There's very little body roll to speak of in the corners, and the firm suspension does a sterling job o soaking up the bumps and ruts on the roads.
Like the driveline, the DucatoS interior can described as adequate. There's nothing parti. wrong with it, but it does feel dated in compa the newer Vauxhall Movano.
A member of CMS test team says: "I stronc dislike the overhead storage, I cracked my h( twice. It also limits visibility."
However, the very same tester heaped prai the interior's flexibility with its rake-adjustable wheel and good all-round visibility.
The Ducato is a good van: that is certain. It matches. and in certain cases outshines, its rivals in certain areas.
However, as a whole, the Fiat Ducato lacks little something extra that it takes to turn a good van into a great van. Engines: Three from 99h( and one tester GVWs: 31 to 4.03 tonnes Range finder summed it up by Heights: Three from H1 Ls saying: "The • 13 .extra highl
Ducato feels Volumes: .9.0m3 to 17.0m'
middle of the road.' Payloads: 1,075kg to1,85(