New Van Review | Fiat Ducato

Fiat has quietly gone about its van offering for some time now. The brand is probably best known for its small city car, the 500, but they also make a great trade in the commercial sector. It’s a good value, highly-specced alternative to the Ford Transit and Mercedes Sprinter. With a great range of shapes and sizes, there is a Ducato out there to suit your needs.

What makes the Fiat Ducato different?

The Ducato is developed alongside brands that share much of their DNA, such as Citroen or Peugeot. They are now all part of the gigantic Stellantis group. However, the Fiat brand goes to the lengths to differentiate itself by offering extra bits of equipment as standard. This makes it an excellent value proposition. They also have

Let’s face it; a panel van hasn’t ordinarily many exciting features. The Ducato is no exception to this. However, the olive green colour that we had on the test was a little different and made a welcome departure from the standard white you see so often.

Commercial vehicles have to be utilitarian and come at a competitive price. So you are not expecting leather massage seats. That said, the Fiat had a nice finish at our spec level. The seats were comfortable, and there was a noticeable effort to upgrade the materials in the relevant parts you interact with.

What tech features does the Fiat Ducato have?

Perhaps the standout tech feature was the rear-facing camera. The camera is located just above the rear doors. What we liked was that it displays the picture on what looks like a traditional rearview mirror. Visibility is excellent, and we found it worked well in all weathers. Beyond that, when you select the reverse gear, the infotainment screens show a much broader angle view from the cameras. This makes reversing and parking much easier and safer.

The Ducato had an impressive level of interactivity on its infotainment system. You can link in with the Amazon ecosystem and use various apps. It is an excellent standard once you trade up to the Tecnico spec level.

Is there suitable space in the Fiat Ducato?

Plenty of variations, good capacities

The Fiat Ducato has a very long list of variations on wheelbase, roof height and load capacity. The Short Wheelbase model has a nominal payload of 1,142kg, but this stretches up to nearly 1,500 kilograms when you opt for the more significant variations.

Regarding cargo space, the Ducato has an 8m3 cargo volume even in its smaller Short Wheelbase format. This expands to a maximum of 17m3 if you opt for the Extra Long Wheelbase Maxivan.

The Ducato is more comfortable to drive than you would expect. The back may feel shaky when unladen, but this is the case with most commercial vans. Steering is nicely weighted, so you don’t have to work hard when manoeuvring in tight spaces.

The Ducato is an excellent distance van thanks to its cruise control functions. We’ve recently tested a few cars that cost more than this van and still fall short of cruise control. The van will speed you up and slow you down with traffic, and you also have some Lane Keep Assist, thanks to its relatively advanced ADAS.

Is the Fiat Ducato powerful enough?

The Fiat is as fast and powerful as it needs to be. The engine is shared with other brands in the Stellantis stable, so it is a well-tested drivetrain. Depending on which variation you choose, there is a 120hp, 140hp or 160hp version derived from the 2.2 litre Diesel engine. This gives 320Nm, 350Nm or 380Nm, respectively. So there is plenty of power and torque in the Ducato to get the job done, even with a full payload.

The best version of the Ducato is the one that fits you and your business the best. The great thing about the Ducato is the choice available, so most people needing a van will be covered. We would say that there is some excellent functionality and features when you upgrade to the Tecnico package. For us, this jump in price is worthwhile because the van is likely to be in use so much. If you spend a few hours every day in the van, you want it to be as comfortable as possible.

The Ducato performed excellently in the Euro NCAP safety tests, leading to the following verdict:

‘The Ducato has been comprehensively reworked for 2022 regarding safety. Its new AEB system performs well in its reaction to other vehicles but also scores very highly for its response to vulnerable road users like pedestrians and cyclists. Together with greatly improved speed assistance and lane support scores, this leads to a jump from a bronze medal position last year to being the first platinum winner in 2022.’

For more information, visit Fiat Professional