Everyone at Fleet Van has been knocked out by the Fiat Fiorino and its brothers the Citroën Nemo and Peugeot Bipper since they first appeared on the fleet scene in 2008.
We all love this van’s cheeky looks, we admire the hugely comfortable cab, we are astounded at the amount of cargo space available in such a small vehicle and we delight in the Fiorino’s pleasing road manners.
As if that wasn’t enough, Fiat has now launched this van in Euro V format, which means better fuel consumption and fewer noxious emissions.
Our test vehicle features the 95bhp 1.3-litre MultiJet diesel engine (there’s a 75bhp version too) and either are ideal for giving the Fiorino a lively turn of speed.
With a stop/start syste as standard, the van’s official fuel economy figure is a very frugal 61.4mpg.
Go for the lower powered version and it climbs to 65.7mpg, although this figure is calibrated on a rolling road so is unlikely to be replicated in real life.
There’s plenty of plastic padding round the Fiorino to help it cope with knocks and scrapes and inside, the cab is more spacious than you’d imgine for a small van.
The seats are superbly comfortable with plenty of lumbar support, so although the Fiorino is built mainly for urban use, they leave the driver with no aches and pains after long journeys.
The rear sees a nice square load area and there are no few than six load lashing eyes to keep things in place, along with a metal frame bulkhead.
The engine fires up quietly and smoothly and kicks along nicely with 95bhp on tap.
In fact I’d recommend the lower-powered unit for fleet purposes as it will be plenty for most urban needs.
The stop-start system takes a bit of getting used to but it’s definitely worth having for the extra fuel savings on offer.
Verdict
We really can’t praise this van highly enough. Good looks, comfort, frugality and a front-end price of under £11,000 all combine to make a fantastic urban fleet package.