Rod Chapman•21 Nov 2018

REVIEW

2018 Bikesales Bike of the Year support vehicle: Fiat Ducato

A bike test of this scale demands some serious backup, and Fiat Professional answered the call with this long-wheelbase Ducato…

Taking nine motorcycles to Tasmania isn't usually something done on a whim, and as part of our Bikesales Bike of the Year planning we enlisted a Fiat Professional Ducato Series 6 van to provide backup and support.

Actually, the Ducato – a long-wheelbase, medium-roof example – served several purposes. It carted all our luggage, saving us the task of strapping bags down on bikes; it was our photo van, giving resident snapper Stu a base from which he could work his magic; and it was there as backup should any of the bikes suffer a crash or mechanical breakdown (as one eventually did – more on that later…).

Being on a tight three-day schedule meant we couldn't leave anything to chance – had we not had a support van a stricken bike spelt major delays and major headaches.

Made in Italy

Fiat's Italian-made Ducato has been around for many years but this latest generation appeared in late 2014. Sold under the 'Fiat Professional' banner alongside its smaller LCV (light commercial vehicle) siblings, the Scudo medium van and Doblo compact van, the larger Ducato comes in a variety of wheelbases, roof heights, GVMs (gross vehicle mass) and body styles.

We of course used an fully enclosed Ducato van to provide us with a safe, secure and weatherproof storage area for bikes and gear, but the Ducato is also available as a bare cab/chassis – the latter a popular choice among the RV set as the basis for a motorhome.

Fiat might not offer the same number of model variants as some rivals, but it has a solid stable of options that will tick most boxes for most operators. This LWB model is only available in a medium-roof format with Fiat's Multijet2 180 engine – a 2.3-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel producing 130kW and 400Nm – but our test vehicle sports an optional six-speed 'Comfort-matic' automated manual transmission($2900) instead of the standard six-speed manual, and an optional reversing camera ($890).

Standard inclusion span rear parking sensors, electronic cruise control, basic air-conditioning, a full bulkhead with sliding viewing window, a 5.0-inch multimedia touchscreen with Bluetooth connectivity, and a two-seater passenger bench, each spot with full three-point seat belts.

Space and carrying capacity

With a wheelbase of 4035mm, an internal volume of 13 cubic metres and a payload of 2145kg, our Ducato support vehicle had all the carrying capacity to meet all our needs, and then some. The load bay floor is quite low, at 535mm, while the load bay height of 1932mm means most can easily stand in the back without bumping heads.

There are 15 sturdy tie-down points located throughout the load bay, plus two interior lights. In our test vehicle, access is via the single nearside sliding door or the two barn-style rear doors, the latter opening to a full 270 degrees.

The test vehicle's load-bay compartment is a fairly Spartan affair, with a painted steel floor and mid-height protective plastic panels, but no protection for the upper half of the side walls and no grab rails to aid entry or exit.

The glazed rear door windows do at least give you some vision out the back, although the centre passenger headrest does obstruct this to a degree.

That said, this Ducato is there to do a job and it did its job well when, on the final day, stone damage to our Yamaha MT-09SP's radiator saw the bike spewing coolant and relegated to the Ducato.

We carried a bike ramp and so getting it into the back was easy, as was tying it down due to the numerous anchor points. The size of the Ducato means it could easily carry two or even three bikes in the back and still have room for our luggage, spares and supplies.

Importantly, it measures over 1400mm between its wheel arches and around 1200mm wide at its side aperture, so there are no problems in fitting a couple of standard Australian pallets, either.

Cabin comfort

It's a thoroughly pleasant thing to drive, too. The interior is the usual mix of hard-wearing plastics and synthetic flooring, and while the fit of the various panels isn't quite in the passenger-car league, it's still thoroughly acceptable for its workhorse role.

The cloth seating is comfortable and the driver's seat features six-way adjustment and an adjustable armrest. The fairly basic steering wheel does have integrated controls for audio and communication but it is only adjustable for reach, not tilt.

Despite this, finding a comfortable driving position poses no issues. All the various controls are within easy reach and vision is generally good – the split standard/spot mirrors offer a clear, distortion-free view to the rear but the A-pillars are reasonably wide and, together with the plastic shrouding around the quarter windows, the three-quarter forward vision isn't perhaps as good as it is in some rivals.

Performance and drive

Engine response is strong and torquey right where you need it, namely from around 1500rpm to 3500rpm, and although it will rev higher there's little need to explore these upper reaches. Certainly, with 400Nm on tap the Ducato is decidedly brisk when empty and it took the weight of the Yamaha and our gear in its stride.

The automated manual transmission takes some getting used to. Shifting gears isn't exactly rapid and each shift spells a brief pause in momentum which may irritate those used to a true auto. However, it does encourage a more considered approach to driving and this could spell benefits in terms of fuel efficiency, even if Fiat claims the same 6.7L/100km Combined Cycle figure for both transmission choices.

In any case, that figure seems decidedly optimistic: over the course of our entire trip, which ran to about 1100km, the Fiat returned 11.4L/100km – still a very healthy figure, we think, for the load, the size of the vehicle, and the 'spirited' driving involved…

With its 90-litre tank, that's a safe working range of well over 700km. A 125-litre tank is available as a factory option ($490).

This transmission also offers a manual sequential mode but, after playing with it a bit, I was happy to stick it in auto and let it do its thing. The ratios available through the transmission seem appropriately spaced and it down-shifts readily to aid braking, which is a help especially on descents.

Cruising along at 100km/h in sixth sees the tacho spinning at 1900rpm.

Ride and handling

Dynamically the Ducato performs well enough, which is to say you can find its limits when pushing on along a winding road (as was often the case for us in Tasmania), but it's totally composed when driving at a more regular pace.

The steering is neutral and the steering box is quite short, with just 3.1 turns lock to lock, but this large, front-drive model has an appreciable turning circle of 14.4 metres, making it a bit of a handful in tight confines.

Safety

As a commercial vehicle the Ducato hasn't been rated by ANCAP and, while it misses out on the latest primarily passenger-car tech like radar cruise control, blind spot monitoring and lane departure warning, it still has the basics covered.

As such, the Ducato comes with electronic stability control with antilock brakes, switchable traction control, rollover mitigation and load adaptive control, plus a hill holder and airbags for the driver and both passengers.

Cabin features

With its steel bulkhead, life in the cab is good. Engine noise is nicely suppressed, with just a bit of road noise being the main intruder. The bulkhead also means that not only is the cab quieter, avoiding the 'boom' of the cavernous load bay, it's also far more efficient in terms of heating and cooling. Both work well, although the temperature and fan dials could be a little sturdier in their feel and more positive in their operation.

Ingress or egress is simple thanks to the broad foot step and wide-opening front doors, and while our test vehicle had no A-pillar grab handles it did have three overhead handles inside the cab.

Pairing a phone is relatively simple and the multimedia system is easy enough to use. The voice command system works well too, although the 5.0-inch multimedia screen isn't huge by today's standards and can be difficult to read in direct sunlight (a nuisance in particular when trying to view the reversing camera).

The location of the manual park brake on the right-hand side of the driver's seat isn't ideal and the only cup/bottle holders are located low, at the bottom of the centre stack, but the Ducato still packs in plenty of practicalities like a dash-top clip-board holder, deep door pockets, an overhead shelf and a variety of auxiliary power options (one 12-volt socket and two USB ports).

The cruise control is complemented by a speed limiter and there are two comprehensive trip computers, which can by cycled through on the central digital display between the analogue speedo and tacho. There's a range-to-empty feature but it seems to fluctuate readily, and once you dip below 50km (to empty) the estimate disappears completely.

Other odds and ends? The speedo favours the typical Euro calibration, with the numbers '10', '30', '50' etc emphasized over '20', '40', '60' and so on, but we like how the cab and the load bay can be locked or unlocked remotely via the key fob.

Summing up

Fiat Professional's Ducato isn't without the odd minor foible, but it's still a solid commercial proposition that comes competitively priced and backed by a comprehensive three-year, 200,000km factory warranty with complimentary roadside assistance. Service intervals are pegged at every 24,000km or 12 months, whichever comes first.

It's a smart, competent and capable light commercial that did everything we asked of it on the 2018 Bikesales Bike of the Year test, while it has the potential to do a whole lot more.

2018 Fiat Professional Ducato Series 6 specifications:

Price: from $49,890 plus ORC
Engine: 2.3-litre Multijet2 180 in-line four-cylinder turbo-diesel
Power: 130kW (180hp) at 3500rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1500rpm
Emissions: Euro 6
Transmission: Six-speed Comfort-matic AMT
Configuration: 4x2
Front suspension: Independent MacPherson strut
Rear suspension: Parabolic leaf spring
GVM: 4250kg
Fuel capacity: 90lt
Brakes: Four-wheel disc with ABS and electronic brake force distribution
Safety: Electronic Stability Control with ABS, traction control, Roll Over Mitigation, Load Adaptive Control; driver and dual passenger airbags
Warranty: Three years/200,000 kilometres
www.fiat.com.au