The exterior of the Ducato leaves no room for doubt as to its destiny. Nice, but at the same time subordinated to functionality, the body is ascetically "clean", devoid of any unnecessary embellishments. The sheets covering the sides of the body were shallowly pressed to increase their stiffness. The front has an "indecently" large bumper, at the back, lamps with a relatively large surface are the dominant elements, but narrow enough, that they do not limit the size of the loading door.
All car doors are equipped with cartridge handles, which are not only cheap to produce, are still comfortable and allow you to open the door without getting your hands dirty.
Two other things attract attention. First of all, an interesting line of windows, to ensure better visibility, about which later, and atypically located fuel filler.
The fuel filler flap is located on the left front fender adjacent to the mirror. This has the advantage, that the driver frequently changes cars, driving up to the dispenser at the gas station, he doesn't even think for a moment, which side should he position himself. It's a fact, that such a location of the filler will make any possible body repair difficult, even after a minor bruise. The fender is an element, which, apart from the bumper, will feel its effects the most. Those, who are concerned about the consequences of a more serious frontal collision, I want to calm down. There is only the fuel filler pipe on the front, the tank itself is safely positioned under the floor of the vehicle, near the passenger seat.
In the middle of Ducato, the largest of Fiat's vehicles is similar to the smallest products of the concern: One, Six hundred czy Point. The interior has been finished with upholstery to a minimal extent, relatively much of the body sheets were left uncovered. Upholstery coverings are unnecessary luxury in a delivery vehicle and additional kilograms limiting the load capacity of the vehicle, but on the other hand, the unprotected cabin is definitely louder, which ultimately affects the safety and comfort of the driver.
As in the first Punto, in Ducato we are dealing with somewhat "chair-like" seats for the driver and passengers. However, it is standard in a delivery vehicle, justified by the ease of taking up the seat and leaving the cabin by the driver distributing cargo around the city.
Nevertheless, the driver's seat on the new Ducato is comfortable. Closer inspection and conversations with users of these cars allow us to say, that chair over time (kilometers) loses this feature. Because the seat upholstery is easy to wear and tear, when buying a car, we should think about purchasing covers. The high seating position of both armchairs is noticeable, driver approx. 180 cm has little space above the head.
The couch for two passengers is equipped with one external one, three-point inertia belt, and for the passenger sitting in the middle in the lap belt. Ducato MY 99 offers three-point seat belts for all passengers. Traditionally for this type of solution, under the passenger seat there is some space for tools and driver's hand luggage. Other small items can be stored in the pockets in the side doors and a small "glove box", in front of the passenger.
The interior of the cabin is as wide as the windows 1920 mm, which enables a relatively comfortable journey, even if there are three well-formed people inside.
The placement of the gear lever on the instrument panel also contributes to the comfort of traveling. This location makes it easy to move across the cabin and keep it clean.
There is a big plus for the Ducato gearshift. Gear changes are not so easy and precise, even on the Vito. If, as a result of wear of the mechanism, gear changes do not lose their precision over time, then I will be able to consider the Ducato the best delivery vehicle in this respect, which I have been able to ride so far.
Among other things, thanks to the highly placed armchairs, the forward visibility is exemplary, you have to get used to the fact, that the front car is shorter than we initially think (an illusion caused by the shape and size of the instrument panel). The interestingly cut bottom line of the side windows allows for comfortable use of the rear view mirrors, however, those in the "old" Ducato are strongly imperfect. Even though the big ones make you choose, or we see cars far behind, or we control the space in the immediate vicinity of the vehicle. This defect was noticed and removed in Ducato MY 99, introducing dual side mirrors.
The advantage of Ducato is the cargo space. With external dimensions comparable to the Sprinter 312 or VW LT 35 Ducato has her Fr. 1,6 m3 more. Where do these differences come from? The shorter part is intended for the cabin and engine compartment (unfortunately, at the expense of passive safety), front-wheel drive transmission, to run below the floor line, almost perpendicular side walls. It all adds up to the end result – 12 m3 of easy-to-use cargo space, accessible through the wide side door (1240 x 1820 mm) and the rear door (only slightly smaller than the outer dimensions of the car itself), o low floor (550 mm above the ground) and with widely spaced wheel arches (1400 mm).
The sides of the hold to the height 1/3 they are covered with fibreboards, which reduces the possibility of damaging the body sheets. In contrast, the floor was left uncovered. Ten, who will transport cargo in hard boxes with sharp edges, should think about a wood-based floor, preferably with a non-slip top layer. You will definitely decide on such an expense, who would like to transport loads on pallets or with a large unit weight. None of 6 handles for securing the cargo located in the hold will not withstand an emergency braking test with a pallet with cement or a block attached to it.
Ducato drive source 14 The i.d.TD is a Sofim displacement engine 2800 cm3. It is a direct injection diesel, turbocharging and cooling of charge air. It reaches maximum power 90 kW at 3600 rpm and maximum torque 285 Nm at 1800 rpm.
It allows the Ducato to reach top speeds well above those permitted by the highway code (152 km/h) and easy navigation around the city.
The latter, however, can only be realized then, when trying to keep the engine revs high. In the low and medium engine speed range, the accelerator pedal response is slow, the car is laboriously "working out" the speed.
We observed with surprise, that at temperatures of approx. 0° C the engine has problems with warming up, and turning on the heating shortly after it is started and then driving in city traffic means the operating temperature of approx. 55-60°C.
The drive torque from the engine is transferred to the front wheels via a 5-speed gearbox. We have already talked about the quality of gear shifting, when it comes to the selection of gears, the 5th gear draws attention, requiring a minimum travel speed well in excess of 80 km/h.
The suspension of the Ducato consists of McPherson struts and a stabilizer bar (standard for TD engines) front and a rigid axle, suspended on leaf springs at the rear. Such a solution, although dictated by economic considerations, guarantees comfort and good driving of the vehicle. The Ducato confidently maintains the direction of travel straight ahead. Despite the large side space, it is relatively resistant to gusts of wind.
The advantages of Ducato are undoubtedly the shape and dimensions of the hold and a good engine. Do wad
include poor soundproofing of the cabin interior, moderate workmanship of individual elements and rear suspension, which "sits down", even if we don't fully load the car. Of course, the fact must also be taken into account, that Ducato is a representative of the increasingly represented group of vans with a front-wheel drive system, and you know, that such a solution has as many benefits as limitations.
Fiat Ducato