Fiat Ducato Review

The Fiat Ducato van has become Fiat’s flagship van in recent years.  The Fiat Ducato has been extremely popular throughout Europe for many years and is growing in popularity with UK buyers.  One of the reasons for this is the Ducato’s impressive fuel economy. 

At present the Ducato van is built as part of a joint venture between PSA Peugeot Citroen Group.  They are all built in Italy on the same production line as the Peugeot Boxer and Citroen Relay.  The SEVEL Sud factory is one of the world’s biggest light commercial vehicle factories with a capacity of a quarter of a million vans every year. 

The fuel economy is a huge selling point for the Ducato van.  This van is one of the most economical panel vans on the market today.  This van is capable of returning up to 47.9 mpg with co2 emissions of just 157 g/km.  You can clearly see these impressive results is one of the reasons why the Fiat Ducato van is becoming so popular.

The Ducato van comes with a 6 speed gear box as standard.  There are a number of variations in the Ducato range and this is sometimes confusing.  They range from L1H1 to L3H2 models and a maxi from L2H2 to L4H3. 

MPG and Running Costs

115 bhp 2.0 litre engine returns up to 47.9 mpg with co2 emissions of 157 g/km

130 bhp 2.3 litre engine returns up to 46.3 mpg with co2 emissions of 161 g/km

150 bhp engine returns 44.8 mpg with co2 emissions of 165 g/km

The Ducato vans are front wheel drive.

Service intervals are up to 30,000 miles.

Load Space and Practicality 

The variety of sizes available in the Ducato van range covers all the large van classes.  They start at 8 cubic metres and go up to 17 cubic metres of space. 

The gross weight goes from 3000 kg up to 4250 kg.

Safety and Reliability

Another reason the Fiat Ducato vans are so popular is the reliability of their engines.

The Ducato’s come with a driver’s airbag, ABS with EBD (Electronic Brake Distribution) and ESC (Electronic Stability Control) as standard.

Built into the ESC also includes Roll-Over Mitigation and Load Adaptive Control which are specifically designed to increase the stability of the van.

A hill holder system and ASR Anti-Slip regulation are also included with the van.

Performance and Driving

The most popular option is the 130 bhp 2.3 litre engine.  This has a maximum torque of 320 Nm and is smooth and unflustered on the road.  Even when heavily revved the noise levels are lower than most other vans in its class.

The 6 Speed manual gearbox is well positioned and aids a comfortable driving position.  Overall the Ducato is comfortable to drive with good visibility.

Interior and Cab

There is plenty of storage space in the cab of the Ducato vans.  There is a large glove box, lots of cubbyholes, deep doors pockets and under seat storage.

Fiat have vastly improved the quality of the cabin and switchgear in the Ducato.  These improvements were needed and now put the Fiat Ducato van up there with the best in its class.

Van dimensions

(Width including door mirrors: 2,508mm) 

Load area dimensions

(Width between wheel arches: 1,422mm)

Specifications

• Power: 110bhp – 177bhp
• Weight (GVW): 3,000kg – 4,250kg

• Payload: 800kg – 2,100kg
• Loading height (approx, unladen): 460mm

Rivals:  Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit, Volkswagen Crafter, Vauxhall Movano, Peugeot Boxer, Citroen Relay