SECTOR Light van PRICE TBA FUEL 4.2-5.4l/100km CO2 119-130g/km

Mercedes-Benz seemingly has a car model for every niche sector in the market. With the launch of Citan, the same can now be said of it’s commercial vehicle business too.

A compact city van, available in three wheelbases – Compact, Long and Extra Long – the van offers load capacities of 2.4m3, 3.1m3 and 3.8m3. Payloads are 500kg for the Compact, 650kg for the Long and 800kg for the Extra Long, taking Citan up to the smaller end of the larger Vito range.

Despite the new nose of course, the Citan range is made by alliance partner Renault, alongside the similarly wide-ranging Kangoo line-up. However, Mercedes has made a good job of differentiating the appearance of the van, from the front at least.

There is a new look inside too, with a bluff dash replacing the more organic form of the French van. Anyone who has driven a Renault will recognise the dials in the dash and the rather odd handbrake though, that mimics the engine controls of an aeroplane, but completely blocks the 12V outlet beneath.

Mercedes will offer four engines, including three versions of the familiar 1.5-litre diesel with outputs of 75hp and 180Nm, 90hp and 200Nm and 110hp with 240Nm of torque. There is also a petrol option – a 1.2-litre motor with 114hp and 190Nm on tap. All offer two-year/25,000 mile service intervals.

The two lower-powered diesels drive through a five-speed manual gearbox, while the petrol and the higher-powered diesel have six gears. There are no plans for an automatic or an automated manual box. A BlueEFFICIENCY package is standard on the petrol and optional on all diesel. This incorporates ECO Start/Stop along with battery and alternator management and low rolling resistance tyres for models with up to 650kg payload.

Mercedes says it has tuned the suspension specifically for Citan models to provide sure-footed handling. Perhaps more importantly, ESP is standard on all models, which incorporates Vehicle Dynamic Control, EBR engine friction torque control and ASR acceleration skid control.

A driver’s airbag is standard on van models and a front passenger airbag comes as standard on the Crewbus model, a five-seater based on the Long chassis. Thorax sidebags are also standard on the M1 Crewbus model and optional on all vans. Windowbags are available as an option for the Crewbus five-seater.

Customers can specify a full bulkhead or a folding safety grille, which works with a fold-flat front passenger seat to extend the load area for longer loads. Based on the Extra Long van body, the Mixto is a five-seater with a folding rear bench seat and twin, glazed sliding doors. An optional separator grille keeps loads in the rear.

On the road the Citan drives, unsurprisingly, much like the Kangoo, which is no bad thing. However, the Mercedes does seem to have a slightly taughter suspension set-up, and it proved very quiet and smooth at higher speeds. The steering is direct and accurate, allowing you to place the van with ease in busy urban environments. Appearance is of course subjective, but the bold three-pointed star on the grille will certainly appeal to some buyers and it fits in well with heavier Mercedes vans for those running a fleet.

And that for Mercedes is where it really matters. While the cache of M-B ownership will be attractive to owner drivers, for the first time Citan allows Mercedes dealers to offer a complete fleet solution.

Verdict

The Citan range fills an important gap in the Mercedes LCV range, in a sector of the market that, despite overall van market difficulty, continues to expand rapidly across Europe.