Summary

The Fiat Ducato shares its bodies and engines with the Citroen Relay and Peugeot Boxer and in fact comes off the same production line at the Sevel factory in Italy. There are small differences in specification, warranty and price between the three but essentially they are the same. Engines offered in 1994 were a 1.9-litre diesel offering 70bhp, a 2.5-litre diesel offering 86bhp and a 2.8-litre turbodiesel with 100bhp. In 2002, all engines became JTD common rail versions – a 2.0-litre with 86bhp, a 2.2-litre with 104bhp and a 2.8-litre with 127bhp. There are three wheelbases and four gross vehicle weights of 2.5, 2.9, 3.3 and 3.5 tonnes.

A four-way adjustable driver's seat and height adjustable steering wheel will allow all sizes of driver to get comfortable behind the wheel. A radio/cassette player comes as standard. When the Ducato was upgraded in 2002, better insulation was added so that at 70mph, noise levels were within three decibels of that of an average saloon car. There is a plethora of cubby holes and storage spaces, including cola bins in each door and later models have a removable clipboard, an A4 storage compartment and a mobile phone holder.

The Ducato will perform smoothly, strongly and surely, especially when equipped with a common-rail JTD engine – this is one of the best diesel engine ranges around and powers not only this van but a host of other Fiat cars. Ride and handling are up with others in its class, such as the Vauxhall Movano and Ford Transit, if not quite in the same league as the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Meanwhile, a dash-mounted gearlever proves slick and sure and power steering is nicely weighted to allow just enough 'feel' through the steering wheel

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