Mercedes-Benz reveals more Citan details

MERCEDES-BENZ has revealed more information about its upcoming Citan compact van ahead of its world public debut at this month’s IAA Commercial Vehicle show in Hanover.

Aimed squarely at European small vans such as the Volkswagen Caddy, Peugeot Partner, Citroen Berlingo and Fiat Doblo, the Citan is based on the Renault Kangoo and represents Daimler’s first product to emerge from its tie-up with the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

The Citan is confirmed for Australia, where Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific (MBA) corporate communications manager Jerry Stamoulis told GoAuto a late-2013 local launch is planned, although it is too early to indicate which variants will be offered here.

It will be built in 3.94-metre, 4.32m and 4.71m lengths offering load volumes ranging from 2.4 square metres to 3.8 square metres and payloads from 500kg to 800kg.

Barn-style doors that can open at 90 or 180 degrees will be offered on all variants along with one or two sliding doors, while a top-hinged tailgate can be specified as an alternative on short and medium-length variants.

A Mixto variant that seats up to five people, having a folding rear bench seat and glazed sliding doors, while the Crewbus is fully glazed with optional folding tables for rear passengers plus a tailgate with wash/wipe and load lashing rings in the load compartment, which comes with a two-position load cover.

The basic panel van will be offered with either separate driver and passenger seats or a sliding three-seat bench with integrated mesh load compartment partition.

MBA previously confirmed one diesel engine and one petrol engine for the Australian-delivered Citan, and the newly-issued details reveal available drivetrains to include a 1.5-litre turbo-diesel in three states of tune and a 1.2-litre turbo-petrol producing 84kW and 190Nm.

The diesel engine – co-developed by Mercedes and Renault and also used in the new A-Class – comes with 55kW/180Nm, 66kW/220Nm and 81kW/240Nm outputs.

Mercedes says the petrol and most powerful diesel – both of which are paired with a six-speed manual transmission instead of the five-speed units on the lower-output diesels – will become available on the Citan range next northern summer.

Service intervals of up to 40,000km or two years and a toothed timing belt with a 240,000km life expectancy should reduce running costs, as will fuel consumption as low as 4.3 litres per 100 kilometres on the 55kW and 66kW diesel engines.

The low fuel figure is possible on vans specified with the optional BlueEfficiency pack that saves 0.4L/100km through the inclusion of idle-stop, regenerative braking, low rolling-resistance tyres and management of the battery and electrical system.

A gear-shift indicator helps the driver drive in the most efficient ratio on manual variants, although so announcement has been made about whether automatic transmissions will be offered.

Benz claims the fuel figure is class-leading but it is matched by the most frugal Renault Kangoo variant except the all-electric ZE – unsurprising considering the shared technology.

Up to six airbags are available on the Citan depending on variant and its electronic stability control system takes into account the vehicle’s load and weight distribution and avoids wheel lock-up under heavy engine braking.

Official Mercedes-Benz customisations on the Citan include a folding passenger seat that extends load length and various interior panelling options.

A construction site pack comprises a raised ride height, plastic or steel under-body protection, reinforced tyres and Benz is working on further packages specific to each export market.

Compared with the Kangoo, the Citan has a distinctive Mercedes-Benz front and rear styling plus Benz-specific interior design and fabrics.

Mercedes-Benz vans are growing strongly in Australia so far this year, with the Viano up 95.7 per cent, the Vito up 0.9 per cent, the Vito Wagon up 3.1 per cent, the Sprinter up 2.6 per cent and the Sprinter Bus up 27.6 per cent, while 113 examples of the new Valente have sold year-to-date.