The What Van? Road Test: Fiat Professional Ducato

Date: Tuesday, September 4, 2018

The Fiat Ducato looks pretty much the same as Citroen’s Relay and Peugeot’s Boxer. Yet there is a key difference under the bonnet...

Appearances can be deceptive.

Fiat Professional’s Ducato looks pretty much the same as Citroen’s Relay and Peugeot’s Boxer thanks to a long-standing joint venture with PSA Group.

PSA owns the two French brands as well as Vauxhall.

Yet although the three front-wheel drive vans share the same basic design, there is a key difference under the bonnet: while the Relay and Boxer rely on a 2.0-litre diesel, up for grabs at 109hp, 131hp or 161hp, the Ducato employs Fiat’s own 2.3-litre Multijet II diesel at 130hp, 150hp or 180hp, so the Ducato is the one to go for if you need an extra dollop of power. Also available is a 2.0-litre (Fiat’s, not PSA’s) Multijet II developing 115hp.

The Ducato is on offer with three different wheelbases and three different heights. Load cubes range from 8.0m3 to 17.0m3 , gross weights extend from 3.0t to 4.25t, while payloads run from 1,000kg to 2,100kg.

It is also produced as a crew van with a rear cargo compartment, a window van, a chassis cab, a chassis crew cab, and as a platform cab.

In addition, Fiat Professional makes the cab, engine, transmission and front wheels available as a package for special conversions minus the chassis.

We sampled a medium-wheelbase medium-height 35 MH2 2.3 3.5t van with 130hp on tap and in entry-level Standard trim. More upmarket Tecnico and Sportivo trim levels are available too.



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