£17,585 – £31,155

 Worth considering; especially with the 2.3-litre. 

The product of a long-established joint venture between Fiat and PSA Group, Peugeot and Citroën’s parent company, Fiat’s Ducato is almost identical to Peugeot’s Boxer and Citroën’s Relay.

There is one key difference, however, and that’s in Fiat’s choice of engines. The 120hp/320Nm 2.3-litre diesel is unique to Ducato and is not deployed in Relay or Boxer.

Two other diesels are up for grabs in the Italian load-lugger; a 100hp/250Nm 2.2-litre and a 157hp/400Nm 3.0-litre.

The 2.2-litre is married to a five-speed gearbox while its stablemates are hooked up to a six-speeder. Also available is a Comfort-Matic semi-automatic ’box.

Van load cube ranges from 8.0m³ to 17.0m³ while payload capacities extend from 1,075kg to 1,850kg. Gross weights run from 3.0 tonnes all the way up to 4.0 tonnes.

For your money you get an extraordinary amount of in-cab storage space and a praiseworthy driving position.

Out on the road the 2.3-litre is a willing, lively engine while the 3.0-litre piles on the torque without ever seeming to cease or run out of puff.

Noise levels could stand to be better suppressed, and the unladen ride can be choppy, but we’ve no serious quarrels with the handling.

The big Italian is covered by a three-year/100,000-mile warranty and service intervals are set at 28,000 miles.

Ducato is also sold as a chassis cab and as a chassis double cab — some bodies can be sourced from the factory — and is marketed as a minibus too.

Updated, Euro 5 Ducato will be available from September 2011.