The What Van? Road Test: Mercedes-Benz Citan (2023)

Date: Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle dealers are in a unique position. They are the only ones able to supply everything from a light van to a heavy haulage tractor unit with the same badge on; in this case, the prestigious Three-Pointed-Star.

Admittedly the ownership structure of the brand’s truck activities is different to that of its van activities, but that is not something likely to concern customers. All they will see is a dealership capable of satisfying almost all of their fleet requirements.

The light van referred to is the latest, restyled, Citan. While it shares the same basic design as Renault’s Kangoo and Nissan’s Townstar it has features which make it stand out, including the design of the dashboard and the use of Mercedes-Benz’s own MBUX infotainment system.

At present Mercedes is marketing it solely in short-wheelbase 110 L1 guise with just one engine option– a 1.5-litre 95hp diesel married to either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic transmission. Opting for the latter increases the vehicle’s unladen weight by 20kg.

Trim choices are either Progressive or the more-upmarket Premium, which includes alloy wheels and metallic paint.

An L2 long-wheelbase model is promised for this year along with a crew van and an electric derivative.

At the time of writing, however, it was unclear whether Mercedes would offer the 115hp diesel or the 100hp petrol engines up for grabs in Kangoo, or the 130hp petrol engine offered in Townstar. The latter is being promoted primarily in battery-electric guise.

Faced with a limited choice, we got to grips with a Premium 110 L1 diesel with the automatic gearbox. Here’s how we fared.

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