Van Survey
Latest Van News
2013 used van auction values drop in May
Manheim Remarketing’s latest figures show that average used van values dropped by £78 in May compared to April…
Truckman hardtops bring versatility to fleet
Balfour Beatty has fitted Truckman hardtops to 150 of its fleet of Hilux 4x4 pick-ups…
Transporter features in national VW campaign
Volkswagen is rolling out out a nationwide Transporter billboard ad campaign depicting real owners…
Furmanite renews Citroën van fleet
Plant and pipeline maintenance firm Furmanite is sticking with Citroën to replace its 100-strong van fleet…
Most Deserving Business winner revealed
The outright winner of Motors.co.uk’s Most Deserving Business 2013 and a Ford Transit is Fizz Pop Science…
New Van Launches
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2013 - First Drive
New 2013 Sprinter is the first van to comply with Euro 6 and safety features are a high priority…
Ford Fiesta Van 2013 - First Drive
Launched at the beginning of 2013, the new Fiesta Van has been restyled inside and out and gets the new 1.5TDCi engine…
Ford Transit Custom - First Drive
Ford’s all-new one-tonne Transit, the Custom, is a very different proposition to its predecessor…
Show Report: CV Show 2012
What a cracking event the 2012 Commercial Vehicle Show turned out to be, thanks in no small part to Ford…
Mitsubishi L200 4x4 Long-Term Test 1
We have just taken delivery of a Mitsubishi L200 4x4 Club Cab for long-term appraisal…
Euro 5 Switchover
There’s a flurry of activity in the 3.5 tonne panel van market and the reason is the impending October deadline for new vans to meet Euro 5 emissions levels. The good news for operators is that this new breed of diesels are claimed to be significantly more fuel efficient than the ones they replace. Fiat Ducato
Already available in mainland Europe, Fiat’s revised Euro 5 Ducato range is due to hit showrooms in September. The 2.3-litre (130hp and148hp) and 3.0-litre (177hp) diesels have been revised extensively and there’s even a brand new 115hp 2.0-litre, but this will not be coming to the UK as extensive re-engineering would be required for right-hand drive markets. It’s replaced by a 110hp version of the 2.3-litre on this side of the Channel.
Fiat claims a fuel economy improvement of between nine and 14 per cent over the old Euro 4 engines and service intervals for these new powerplants have increased to an impressive 30,000 miles. Further reductions in fuel consumption can be achieved by specifying the Stop&Start system; available as an option with the 130hp and 148hp models. On urban routes it’s claimed that it can represent fuel-savings of up to 15 per cent. Ducato’s cab has also received a significant makeover. There are new colour combinations for the plastic parts of the fascia, which are now more uniform and darker, and the centre console has undergone a complete redesign.
See Launch Report.
Ford Transit
No discussion of panel vans is complete without mention of the Transit. Ford is leaving it to the last minute to announce details of the transition to Euro 5. What is known is that the current 2.2- and 2.4-litre diesels will be replaced by versions of the same global 2.2-litre unit to be found under the bonnet of the new Ranger pick-up, which is scheduled to go on sale in the UK in December. All the new powerplants will feature a Diesel Particulate Filter.Switching to one cubic capacity four-cylinder engine makes a great deal of sense for the front-, rear- and all-wheel drive Transit and expect power outputs to mirror those of the current range. The five-cylinder 3.2-litre will be retained, having been re-engineered to meet Euro 5.
Undoubtedly, Ford will be claiming significant reductions in fuel consumption when the Euro 5 Transit is launched to the press in September.
See News Story.
Iveco
Like Mercedes, Iveco has been taking Euro 5 in its stride for a while with its Daily. Like Fiat’s Ducato, however, it sources its engines from Fiat Powertrain Technologies — Iveco is an integral part of the Fiat group — and has announced that a new generation Daily will be on sale in the UK from 1 November 2011.On top of a new range of diesels, Iveco has also given the Daily a radical makeover with a new front-end and detail changes to the cab interior and instrumentation.
See News Story.
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
Mercedes is sitting pretty with the Sprinter. It was well ahead of the game, updating Sprinter and taking it to Euro 5 over two years ago.
See Review & Buyers’ Guide.
Nissan/Renault/Vauxhall
Launched last year, the all-new Renault Master (see Review & Buyers’ Guide) and Vauxhall Movano (see Review & Buyers’ Guide) — Nissan will replace the Interstar with the NV400 in October (see News Story) — are currently available with either Euro 4 or Euro 5 diesels. The former will be dropped from the ranges, except for Nissan, of course. It will introduce the NV400 with a full line-up of Euro 5 diesels.
PSA Peugeot Citroën
Citroën and Peugeot will be announcing full details of the Euro 5 Relay and Boxer engine line-up closer to the October deadline. A new 3.0-litre diesel has already broken cover (see News Story), which is hardly surprising as it’s the same unit as found in Fiat’s version of the same vans, the Ducato.
Volkswagen Crafter
Having taken the Transporter to Euro 5 when it introduced the current range at the beginning of 2010, VW waited until the end of July this year to launch heavily revised versions of its big brother, the Crafter. 
Along with a facelift and detail changes to the cab, the predecessor’s 2.5-litre five-cylinder diesels have been replaced by a range of four-cylinder 2.0-litre powerplants, derived from those found under the bonnet of Transporter; and the Amarok pick-up for that matter. There are four power outputs on offer; 109hp, 136hp, 143hp and 163hp, although the 143hp won’t be available until November.Previous generation Crafter’s diesels were Euro 5 rated, but required regular top-ups of AdBlue to achieve compliance. This is not the case with the new engines. It’s one of the reasons why VW claims it has managed to reduce servicing and maintenance costs by up to 25 per cent.
Continuing with the good news, it also reckons that they are up to 33 per cent more fuel efficient than their predecessors and consequently have a roughly similar drop in CO2 emissions. These figures are improved further on the CR35 BlueMotion models thanks to a longer final drive ratio, Stop/Start, battery regeneration courtesy of energy recovery during braking and cruise control.
See Launch Report and News Story.
 |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |
Manufacturer Quick Link
D-Max towing capacity raised to 3.5 tonne
Isuzu has announced a 500kg increase in D-Max’s towing weight, taking it to 3.5t…
On-the-spot fines for careless drivers
Middle/outside lane hogs and tailgaters to face on-the-spot fixed penalty fines for…
VOSA targetting light commercial operators
The warning came at the second Van Excellence conference organised by the Freight…
CV Show 2013 LCV Highlights
For those people who didn't manage to make it to the 2013 Commercial Vehicle Show here…
Vans of the Year Awards 2013
It's that time of the year again when we sit down to decide which, in our opinion, are…
