Citroën have always held a place in my heart van-wise, so when I heard that they were introducing a new van to their LCV range, I thought that it would be churlish to not check it out!
So, say hello to the new 6-seater Euro 5 Dispatch HDi 125 6-speed manual L2H1 1200 Crew Van. That’s right; 6 seats! That’s full crew in there for most projects. And it joins its close relative the Berlingo 5 seat Crew Van in what is a growing sector of the van market.
Not having the chance to actually put the metal to the floor (a test drive, that is), I did get the chance to clamber inside one, and there is plenty of room in there for all those hardhats, boots and overalls worn by the most stylish of workers. And there’s no skimping on safety either to make comfort a priority.
The Dispatch Crew Van has 3 up front - a driver’s seat and a dual front passenger seat - with a second row of seats, incorporating an integral bulkhead tested to ISO 27956 for load shifting protection – for 3 more people with adjustable headrests and three-point inertia reel seat belts. (That’s the seat, not the people)
There’s plenty of room for cargo and tools too, so there’ll be no nipping back too and from the office to pick stuff up that you can’t squeeze in – depending on what you do, obviously!
Marvellous! Twin sliding side loading doors with fixed side windows, or optional sliding ones You can also have glazed rear doors fitted and see out, because the integrated moulded bulkhead has got a central viewing window behind the second row bench. They’ve thought of pretty much everything haven’t they? Even down to a removable carpet on top of the rubber anti-slip floor trim for ease of cleaning.
A few figures now, so bear with me; I’m going a bit corporate speak! Thanks to a clever use of space, a 310mm deep x 1100mm wide aperture allows access to the space under the rear bench seat, giving a maximum floor length of 2,110mm in the rear load compartment. The load deck length in the main part of the load area, behind the rear bulkhead, is 1700mm.
Right; I’m back again. What’s up front for the driver?
The same high standards as the standard Dispatch van, including Trafficmaster Smartnav satellite navigation, Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking, electric front windows, remote central locking, trip computer, RDS radio and CD player.
So, that’s all good for the crew. What do the bosses need to know in order to get one of these down on the list?
- It’s got a newly launched Euro 5 HDi 125 engine, so the Dispatch Crew Van has a combined fuel economy figure of 41.5mpg (6.8l/100km) and CO2 emissions of 179g/km
- It’s got a full Citroen LCV two year unlimited mileage or three year 100,000 mile warranty.
- Payload is 1,067kg
Last words can go to Scott Michael, Citroën’s Commercial Vehicle Operations Manager: “The new Dispatch Crew Van meets operator requirements to further improve efficiency. Duty of care considerations and rising fuel prices are among the key reasons why businesses are increasingly specifying crew vans. With its combination of 1,067kg payload, 6 seats and a large load compartment, the Dispatch Crew Van meets most operator needs in this growing LCV market sector. Most importantly, as the Dispatch Crew Van has a payload of over 1,000kg, it is possible for VAT-registered business customers to reclaim the VAT paid on the vehicle.”
Go get!
