Fiat Ducato

The cabin of the Fiat Ducato is easily one of the bests among all the commercial vans on sale in the UAE. The overall layout and design of the components feel very much car-like, making it a pleasant place to be in. The cabin, like in most commercial vans, has an all-black appeal.

The driver’s cockpit of the Fiat Ducato consists of a three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel and a three-pod analogue-digital instrument console. The corners of the dashboard and the sides of the upper centre console have vertical AC vents which have rounded edges and L-shaped silver accents. The centre console also houses a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a cluster of audio control buttons below it.

The lower centre console gets an open rectangular cavity and a compact-looking panel for the controls of air conditioning. While the left-hand side of the lower centre console has a transmission lever mounted on it, the right-hand side gets a cup holder and a 12V power outlet. It also gets a wide and open glovebox on the co-passenger side and twin cup holders between the front seats.

Commercial vans and cargo trucks generally are not much focused on offering an eye-catching design. However, the Fiat Ducato looks impressive for a commercial vehicle and has an Italian flair in its design.

At the front, the Fiat Ducato has a slanted fascia, the majority of which is covered by the black plastic bumper, which also houses the grille. Here, the grille has a trapezoidal design with horizontal slats in the middle, while it also has diagonal faux air vents on the corners. The upper corners of the front bumper come attached with sleek-looking diagonal headlamp clusters, which offer all-LED illumination – a rare thing for a commercial van. The huge windscreen, which is placed at the same angle as the front apron, makes the Ducato look large from the front.

The Fiat Ducato comes with a traditional boxy and tall stance when viewed from the side. Like in conventional commercial vans, the Ducato comes with closed body panels, small steel wheels and black-coloured pillar-mounted rearview mirrors. The rear profile of the Fiat Ducato also looks pretty conventional with a closed layout in place of the rear windscreen and vertical tail lamps on the side pillars. The Ducato also comes with an offset license plate housing on the left-hand side.

Underneath the large and boxy-looking design of the Fiat Ducato is a sturdy suspension setup, comprising of Independent, McPherson Type with Wishbones, Coil Springs, Telescopic Shock Absorbers, and Anti-Roll Bar at the front and Rigid Tubular Axle and Longitudinal Parabolic Leaf Springs, Telescopic Shock Absorbers and Flexible Side Buffers at the rear. With 215/75 R16 tyres all around, the Fiat Ducato feels stable and sturdy to drive on flat stretches.

Powering the Fiat Ducato is an efficient and durable 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, which claims to produce a maximum power output of 174 bhp and a peak torque output of 400 Nm. The transmission unit on duty is a 9-speed automatic gearbox, which channels the power produced to the front wheels.

The Fiat Ducato is armed with a decent number of safety features like a reverse parking camera and sensors, cruise control, forward collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, electronic stability control, ABS with EBD, dual front airbags, blind spot and rear cross-traffic alert.

Apart from serving its basic purposes like a practical and spacious cargo bay, rugged suspension and a reliable and efficient engine, the Fiat Ducato also surprises with its car-like execution interior layout and list of features on offer.