Fiat Ducato Euro 5 European Launch

Now in its fifth generation and celebrating its 30th anniversary, Fiat Professional’s Ducato has gone Euro 5. The engine line-up has been reworked completely and Fiat has also taken the opportunity to make detail changes to the cab’s interior.

New Engine Line-up

There are four new fuel-efficient, low emission MultiJet ll common rail Euro 5 turbodiesels; the least powerful is a brand new 115hp/280Nm 2.0-litre unit. Next up comes a 130hp/320Nm 2.3-litre, closely followed by a 148hp/350Nm version of the same powerplant. A 177hp/400Nm 3.0-litre sits at the top of the line-up. All bar the 2.0-litre come with a six-speed manual gearbox; it gets a five-speeder.

For the UK, however, the 2.0-litre is being replaced by a 110hp version of the 2.3-litre. Apparently the whole of the Ducato’s front-end would have had to be redesigned to accommodate it in right-hand drive. It does mean that all the new Ducatos available in the UK when they reach these shores in September will have a six-speed gearbox.

Fiat’s version of sister company Iveco’s AGile automated manual gearbox, Comfort-Matic, can be specified as an option on 3.0-litre models.

There’s a claimed fuel consumption improvement of between nine and 14 per cent over the current Euro 4 engines and service intervals for these new engines have increased to an impressive 30,000 miles.

Active Options

Fiat’s selectable Stop&Start system is available as an option on the 130hp and 148hp models. This cuts the engine when the vehicle is stationary and in neutral, and restarts it automatically when the clutch is depressed. On urban routes it’s claimed that it can represent fuel-savings of up to 15 per cent. We’ve now driven many vans vans fitted with this, or similar systems and it’s a very effective no-brainer.

Speaking of the options list, a quick glance reveals that ESP makes an appearance. It will be standard in certain territories, like Germany for instance, but not we are led to believe, in the UK. VansA2Z is very much of the opinion that it should be fitted to all panel vans as standard. It’s one of the most cost-effective active safety devices around. Naturally and quite rightly, ABS is standard across the board.

If ESP is fitted, Fiat’s new Traction+ can also be specifiedon Ducato. It’s basically a software-driven electronic version of a self-locking differential which maximises grip to the front driving wheels. It’s engaged/disengaged using a dash-mounted button and operates at speeds up to 20mph.

Extensive Model Range

As with the current Ducato range, there’s an impressive selection of configurations to choose from. Gross vehicle weights start at 3.0 tonne and go up to 4.0 tonne and there’s a choice of three wheelbases, four body lengths and three roof heights.

This results in eight different load space options of between 8.0m³ and 17.2m³ and a gross payload potential of between 1,000kg and 2,000kg. Width between the wheelboxes is 1,422mm and the maximum load length and height are 4,070mm and 2,172mm respectively.

As well as a panel van, Ducato is also available as a chassis cab, chassis crew cab and platform cab for the all-important conversions market. Here it offers four wheelbases and five chassis lengths with maximum permitted loads of up to 2,100kg on the front axle and 2,400kg at the rear. Minibuses, Dropsides and Tippers will be offered off-the-shelf.

Cab Upgrade

Ducato’s cab has received a significant makeover. There are new colour combinations for the plastic parts of the fascia, which are now more uniform and darker, but the centre console has undergone a complete redesign.

Glossy black trim encapsulates the new fully integrated sound system and there’s space at the top for a TomTom ‘my port’; a means of plugging into this optional Blue&Me feature. As well as providing sat nav with live traffic information it allows many operations to be performed using voice or steering wheel controls, it also works in tandem with the optional Fiat Eco:Drive Professional platform.

This makes it possible to analyse vehicle trip data such as average fuel consumption, total mileage and suggesting more appropriate behaviour for an economic and sustainable driving style. Something fleet managers might find useful.

On the Road

The updated cab looks fresher and better integrated than it did previously, while still retaining all of its functionality with bags of storage space, but the big news is the engines. They are unquestionably more refined and much smoother than their predecessors.

Some of this can be put down to better sound insulation between the cab and engine compartment, but it’s the re-engineering itself that’s had the most effect. We were able to try out the 2.0-litre and a 148hp 2.3-litre and can report that these are easily among the best diesels we’ve ever driven.

What’s particularly impressive is the low rev response and the width of the peak torque band. The 2.3-litre in particular seems to have a well chosen set of gear ratios, well matched to the torque curve.

As far as ride and handling are concerned, it’s a bit difficult to comment definitively on the former as we were driving the demonstrators on a well surfaced test track, but the latter didn’t throw-up any unwelcome surprises. In fact both the vans we took for a run coped rather well with an 800kg payload on board.

Verdict
Fiat seems to have pulled off what would have been inconceivable a few years ago. The new Euro 5 engines are more powerful, have more torque and longer service intervals than the ones they replace, yet it’s claimed they are more fuel efficient and hence emit fewer emissions. We’re impressed and award Fiat Professional’s engineers 10 out of 10. Make ESP standard and the Ducato would be up there with the best.