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By
EWAN KENNEDY
19 February 2007
Though Australians still tend to think of Fiats as passenger
cars. Yet it was the Fiat Ducato light-commercial range that led the
return of the Italian marque to this country almost five years ago. Now
there's an all-new Ducato and the importer is making a strong sales push
in Australia.
The new Fiat Ducato has the sort of aggressive styling that’s
all the rage at the moment in European light commercials. Just
look at the big bumper and a tough-looking grille shape that could
almost have come from a large truck. That bumper can not only take
a fair bit of damage in the rush and hustle world of
light-commercials, but also is designed with ease of repair in
mind, because it comes in three sections that can be replaced
individually.
Check out the somewhat surprised looking headlights that almost
look as though the body is giving an Italian shoulder shrug. We
just love that sort of character, especially in a vehicle that
would once have been given a mundane boxy shape.
The scooped design of the front-side window isn’t just there
for show, it makes for excellent visibility when squeezing into
tight loading bays and the like.
Ducato's front compartment is large and practical, with a fair
bit of emphasis on comfortable seats. There are good-sized door
pockets as well as several other useful stowage areas, including
under-seat drawers.
The stylish dashboard shows you don’t need a down market look
just because you’re driving a commercial vehicle. The designers
have aimed for a car-like seating position in the Ducato and have
put considerable effort into reducing noise, vibration and
harshness entry to the cabin.
Air conditioning and a CD stereo are standard, the latter
having the convenience of auxiliary controls on the steering
wheel.
The Europeans pay more attention to safety than some of the
commercial vehicle designers in Asia. Witness the fact that new
Ducato comes with power door mirrors, a driver’s airbag and
four-wheel disc ABS brakes in all variants. With a second airbag
and anti-skid control being fitted on some of the more expensive
models.
The all-new Fiat Ducato comes in an impressive range of models.
Vans come in three wheelbases, three lengths and two heights.
Three different load volumes come into the mix.
The product planners seem to have a special attraction to the
number three, because that’s how many engines are in the range.
All are four-cylinder diesels, two have the same capacity at 2.3
litres, but different outputs – 88 kilowatts and 97 kW. There's
also a big 116 kW 3.0-litre unit.
All engines are mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.
Payloads have been increased over those of the previous Ducato
and are impressive; ranging from 1.5 to 2.0 tonnes depending on
model and engine.
Initially, the new Fiat Ducato will be offered here in a
moderate range of models: Australian buyers can choose between a
$39,450 low-roof, medium-wheelbase van; a $44,990 medium-roof
long-wheelbase van; while $49,990 buys a medium-roof,
extra-long-wheelbase (ELW) van; and a cab-chassis costs $42,990.
Several other variants will join the Ducato range later.
Fiat Ducato is well known in Europe for being the donor vehicle
for motorhome conversion and that has carried across to Australia.
Something like 60 per cent of the original Ducato series in this
country went to the motorhome market.
So it’s no surprise that the importer, Ateco Automotive, is
paying a lot of attention to this side of the market. No fewer
than eight different motorhome-friendly motorhome versions are
being brought in, using both van and cab-chassis formats.
In the five years that it has only been on the Australian
market, Fiat Ducato has proven to be a strong, hard-working
vehicle that’s pretty reliable. It will be interesting to see
how this new generation takes off with buyers.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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