Last Updated: 09/07/2009
One giant leap
It’s not hard to see why the Fiat Scudo, and its PSA cousins, walked away with the International Van of the Year title last year. A competent mid-weight with a range of engines and layouts, the Scudo ticks plenty of boxes for the judges. However for me, its biggest selling point was the big step forward that it took from the previous model.Admittedly the original Scudo was a good seller, with sales in the UK doubling in the decade between 1995-2005. But it was never one of my favourites. Even Fiat had high hopes for the new model, expecting a 53 per cent increase in registrations when it was introduced in 2007.
Of course those sort of numbers are long gone, for the moment at least, as the LCV market staggers along with the rest of the economy. However there is good news for potential customers from Fiat Professional, as like so many other manufacturers the company has joined the Government’s scrappage scheme. But rather than simply match the Government’s £1,000 discount when you hand back a 10 year old van, Fiat is going considerably further.
Opt for our test van for example, the Scudo 1.6 MultiJet 90hp Comfort, and you’ll be offered more than £4,500 off list price. The scrappage scheme will donate £869.57 before the VAT against the Scudo’s list price of £14,570. But your Fiat Professional dealer will throw a further £3,705.43 into the deal, bringing the price down to just £9,995.
So what do you get for your money?
As the title suggests the Scudo 90hp comes with a 1.6 litre version of the MultiJet diesel engine, which drives the front wheels through an easy changing five-speed manual gearbox. Okay so it’s never going to set the road alight, but the van has enough power to keep pace with urban traffic and can even hold its own on the motorway, though we would opt for a full bulkhead if you are going to regularly run at higher speeds.
Both of the larger 2.0 litre engines get six-speeds, which would make for a more relaxed cruise, but as a town runabout the 1.6 litre with five is more than enough.
Base model Scudo Business vans have ABS with EBD, power steering, remote central locking, a stereo CD/radio with steering column mounted controls, dual stage driver’s airbag, a height adjustable driver’s seat, high level storage shelf, twin sliding side load doors and that ladder bulkhead behind the driver’s seat.
Opt for our Comfort trim and you also get electric front windows, extra drinks holders in the dashboard, lower cargo area panelling, a 12V power supply in the back and 16” wheels. Our test van also benefited from manual air conditioning (£590) and Bluetooth (£170), both of which were very welcome. That’s a pretty comprehensive specification for just over £10,000 all in.
The van also gets the job done too. In L1H1 layout our short wheelbase van offers 5cu m of loadspace and a full 1 tonne of potential payload. Opt for the more powerful 120hp engine and you can raise that payload to 1,200kg from the same size of van.
Or you can go the long wheelbase route, with 6cu m in the standard roof van and 7cu m in the high roof Maxi version. In both cases the 1,200kg payload is standard.
You can also opt for a 5/6 seat combi version on the short wheelbase and a 5/6 seater long wheelbase with a big load area or an 8/9 seat combi with more limited luggage room.
That’s a pretty comprehensive line-up for a mid-weight van and should offer something for everyone, whatever the size of the business.
Fiat claims just under 40mpg for the people carrying version of the Euro 4 90hp MultiJet motor, so it’s fair to assume a similar result for the van. You’ll also be able to cover up to 18,000 miles between visits to the dealer for the Scudo, which comes with a three year/120,000 mile warranty. All Fiats come with one year of AA assistance too, so if there are any teething problems recovery is covered.
All of which is a pretty good package. Add in that price cut, if you have an old van to part exchange under the scrappage scheme, and you are getting a lot of award winning van for your £10,000.
