New Zealand Company Vehicle magazine has presented the Fiat Ducato with its 2015 Van of the Year title.
The largest Fiat commercial vehicle beat competition from Japan, Germany and France with the Ducato gathering plaudits for its performance, intelligent design geared to needs of commercial operators, build quality, comfort and list of standard equipment.
“The latest Fiat Ducato has upped the ante by making the default engine a 3-litre turbodiesel that improves on-road driveability and flexibility, especially when heavily laden,” says Company Vehicle editor John Oxley.
“It is also a joy to drive – no wonder so many people choose it as the basis for their camper van,” says Oxley.
“At the same time, it offers a comfortable and safe working environment,” he says.
The big Fiat van has proven to be an outstanding winner for the company.
In the past 12 months its launch in the US market as the ‘Ram Promaster’, achieved significant sales orders – the US Postal Service, alone, bought more than nine thousand Ram Promaster in a single order in October 2015.
The Fiat Ducato is available in New Zealand in three sizes of the van and one cab chassis.
All are powered by the 3-litre 130 kW Turbo Diesel engine specially developed by Fiat for commercial vehicle use, boasting 400 Nm of torque.
With two wheelbases and two roof heights, the Fiat Ducato offers New Zealand users a load capacity of 10, 13 and 15 cubic metres and payloads of up to 2065 kg.
Prices start at $56,990 including GST and plus dealer costs.
