This year’s Commercial Vehicle Show promises to be the best yet with a host of new product launches
Peugeot‘s new Partner is to make its worldwide debut at this year’s British Commercial Vehicle Show. Available with a cab that seats three abreast – although you wouldn’t want to be the one in the middle – it’s produced in two different lengths, with either 3.3 or 3.7cu/m of load space. Payloads range from 625kg to 800kg.
As Peugeot and Citroen are sister companies, and the Partner and Berlingo are virtually identical, don’t be surprised to see the new Berlingo on the Citroen stand. It too will be taking its global bow.
Kangoo times two
The NEC will witness the UK debut of Renault‘s new Kangoo Van and the short-wheelbase version of the standard model, the Kangoo Van Compact.
The latter offers a 2.3cu/m load area and can shift 500kg of cargo. Its larger stablemate boasts a 3.0cu/m cargo box and allows you to transport from 650kg to 800kg depending on which derivative is selected.
Buyers can opt for 70, 85 or 105PS 1.5dCi diesels or a 1.6-litre petrol lump at either 90 or 105PS. Both engines are married to a five-speed manual gearbox, with the most powerful of the diesels supplied with a six-speed. Neither of the 105PS options are available in the Compact.
ABS is standard across the range and both vans can be specified with TunePoint. It allows the cab’s occupants to listen to their own music collection via three ports for connecting USB flash sticks, MP3 players and iPods.
Based on the Scenic platform, it will be a few months before either Kangoo goes on sale in Britain.
Moving up the weight scale, Renault will also be introducing new Traffic and Master special editions under the Navigation banner. Goodies include air-conditioning, colour satnav and rear parking sensors.
Light vans
The Kangoo Van Compact has Citroen’s Nemo, Fiat‘s Fiorino and Peugeot’s Bipper in its sights, and all three will be on display on their respective manufacturer’s stands. The results of a joint venture between PSA (Peugeot and Citroen’s parent), Fiat and Turkish maker Tofas, each one of the Turkish-built trio shares the same basic design, offering a 2.5cu/m cargo area and the ability to carry 610kg.
The big difference lies in their diesel engines. The Bipper and Nemo take a PSA-sourced 1.4-litre HDi generating 68PS while Fiorino gets a 1.3-litre Multijet JTD engine from Fiat generating 75PS.
