Long Term Test: Fiat Professional Doblo Cargo

Date: Friday, September 30, 2016   |   Author: Steve Banner

The Doblo Cargo’s seat position and comfort is proving a welcome relief to tired muscles of Steve Banner, who is used to less cosseting light commercial transportation

One reason that van drivers take time off is because they've got back trouble.

Admittedly that is sometimes because they don't fancy turning in on a cold, wet, grey Monday morning and have decided to throw a sickie. Quite often however it is because the seat they have to sit in for most of their working lives cannot be adjusted properly and is downright uncomfortable.

Over the years I've experienced more than my fair share of driver's perches that appear to be stuffed with a mixture of broken concrete and old nails. Doblo Cargo's seat is a more-than-welcome contrast.

Offering support in all the right places, it can be altered for height as well as reach and rake and comes with a lumbar support. With a bit of patient fiddling you can coax it to just the right setting; fine of course if you are the sole driver, but not quite so useful if several people have access to your van because somebody is bound to alter it.

The steering wheel is height-adjustable too, as is the headrest, and the ability to change the height of the seat belt means that you are at less risk of throttling yourself the first time you have to hit the brakes hard in an emergency.

So most Doblo Cargo drivers can look forward to a smooth passage on long journeys and should emerge from the cab without too many nagging bodily aches.

There is something that causes me some discomfort however and that's how difficult it is to clean Doblo Cargo's cab interior thoroughly. Like all van cabs, it has a variety of  difficult-to-access nooks and crannies; and they can be a source of irritation.

The difficulty of course is that van drivers often use their cab interiors as a canteen; so if you drop crumbs from your bacon sandwich or the odd peanut from your packet of dry roasted and they end up down the side of the passenger seat, they tend to stay there, just out of reach.

Maybe I'm excessively fastidious. Or perhaps I should admit to being a messy eater, and start wearing a bib.

 

Fiat Professional Doblo Cargo Maxi 1.6 MultiJet 105hp SX
 
Mileage         6025
Claimed combined consumption 60.1 mpg
Our average consumption   52.0mpg
Price (ex VAT)       £16,395
Price as tested (ex VAT) £19,760
 


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