Mercedes-Benz Citan

It’s been a long time since Mercedes-Benz sold a small van — but the company is about to put that right with the launch of the Citan, a joint venture model that’s based on the Renault Kangoo and is billed as an urban delivery van.

The Citan is scheduled to receive its public unveiling at the 2012 IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in Hanover, Germany, in October, but Mercedes has now released some more information about launch models in the Citan range.

Engines

Mercedes’ turbodiesel direct-injection OM 607 1.5-litre engine will be supplied in three different output levels:

• Citan 108 CDI, output 75 hp, torque 180 Nm
• Citan 109 CDI, output 90 hp, torque 200 Nm
• Citan 111 CDI, output 110 hp, torque 240 Nm

The diesel range will be complemented by the turbocharged M 200.71 petrol engine, which has a capacity of 1.2 l:

• Citan 112, output 114 hp, torque 190 Nm

The Citan 108 CDI and 109 CDI are available now; the Citan 111 CDI and Citan 112 variants will round off the range in the summer of next year.

BlueEFFICIENCY

Mercedes’ BlueEFFICIENCY economy package will be standard on the petrol Citan and optional on diesel models. Fuel consumption for the 108CDi and 109CDi in BlueEFFICIENCY guise is 65mpg on the official combined cycle — no doubt real life will  be lower but economy should be impressive nonetheless.

CO2 emissions will be low, too, with the 108CDi and 109CDI — likely to be the most popular models — specified as having CO2 emissions of just 112g/km. Low emissions and fuel consumption in urban work should be helped by the van’s ECO Start/Stop system, which is part of the BlueEFFICIENCY package.

Three sizes

The Citan will come in three lengths; Compact, Long and Extra Long, providing a wide range of load capacities:

• Compact: 1.36m long, 2.4m³, approx. 500kg payload
• Long: 1.75m, 3.1m³, approx. 650kg payload
• Extra Long: 2.13m, 3.8m³, approx. 800kg payload

As well as these panel van variants, the Citan will also come in Mercedes’ Dualiner and Traveliner variants — basically a crew cab and people carrier respectively.

The Citan will complete Mercedes’ range of vans and allow its customers to choose from a full range of van sizes, from 1.8t to 7.5t.

The new Citan looks to be an attractive package and Mercedes-Benz is going to some pains to try and convince would-be buyers that it is a true Mercedes, not a rebadged Renault.