1 Feb 2008
FIAT released its mid-sized Scudo van in early 2008, as the baby brother to the well-established Ducato range.
The product of a wide-ranging joint-venture program between Fiat and the PSA Peugeot-Citroen Group, the French-built Fiat Scudo, as well as its Peugeot Expert and Citroen Dispatch cousins, are mechanical triplets, but have minor differences in front-end design and, for Australia, some unique specification details in order to minimise sales cannibalisation.
This is actually the second-generation Italo-Franco co-op van, with the first ones released in Europe in 1995.
Unlike the French vans, Fiat is overlooking the short-wheelbase version (3000mm) for the long-wheelbase (3122mm) configuration for Australia.
The Scudo uses a PSA-derived 2.0-litre common-rail direct-injection turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine producing 88kW of power at 4000rpm and 300Nm of torque at 2000rpm.
Frugal on fuel consumption and compliant with the Euro IV emissions standard, the engine drives the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. Fuel over the combined urban/extra urban theoretical benchmark is about 7.2L/100km.
Chassis hard points include MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam configuration at the rear. The steering is a rack-and-pinion system with electro-hydraulic power assistance, enabling a turning circle of 12.6m.
Disc brakes are used at either end of the vehicle, with 304mm diameter ventilated discs up front and 290mm solid rotors at the rear. ABS electronics (with electronic brake-force distribution) are also standard. All models have 16-inch steel wheels with 215/60-section tyres.
The tape measure shows the Scudo runs to 5135mm in overall length, 1942mm in height and 1895mm in width.
The payload is 1188mm and the maximum braked towing capacity is 2000kg for all variants.
Load space volume is six cubic metres, translating to a maximum load length of 2584mm, with compartment width ranging from 1245mm between the wheelarches to a maximum 1600mm. Maximum load compartment height measures 1449mm.
Standard equipment includes a driver’s airbag, remote central locking, electric windows, air-conditioning, a CD stereo (with steering-mounted controls), twin barn doors (with demister and rear wipers), twin sliding side doors and tinted windows.
