Here’s a guest blog from our friends in the UK. With Fiat relaunched in the U.S. maybe these vehicles will be available soon. Read on:
In the current economic climate, business owners and tradesmen are constantly trying to find ways to keep costs to absolute minimum. One way to cut back on the cost of your vehicle is to ensure it is as fuel efficient as possible. Most manufacturers are now aware that this is something their customers are looking for and so are always trying to improve and one manufacturer that is a step ahead of the rest is Fiat.
The Fiat Ducato and Fiat Ducato Conversion are two vans from the range, which excel economically – but how do they shape up on the green front?
Green Features
The Fiat Ducato is one of the most popular commercial vans in the UK and continues to help the fight against rising fuel costs and CO2 emissions with a couple of great features.
First up is the Start&Stop technology that has started to make an appearance in many new vehicles. The idea behind the device is that the engine is automatically turned off when the van comes to a stop. All of the functions within the van, such as radio, windscreen wipes and climate control, stay active; it’s just the engine which is shut down.
Next is the Gearshift Indicator, which helps save money on fuel by ensuring that drivers are achieving optimum fuel consumption. Did you know that by changing gear before reaching 2,500 revs (for gasoline cars) and 2,000 revs (for diesel cars) you could save 15% on fuel? Avoiding sudden braking and fast acceleration and changing gears smoothly can also reduce fuel consumption.
However, it’s easy to forget all this when you’re in a rush or having a busy day. This is where the GearShift Indicator comes in; constantly reminding you when to change gear to allow the engine to work at its best.
The Fiat Ducato has the lowest fuel consumption in its class too with 40.9mpg combined or 6.9l/100km (34.1 mpg) with Start&Stop technology. This is one of many reasons to consider buying a green van from Fiat but that’s not all as it boasts a number of other money-saving features too.
Maintenance
The cost of running a commercial vehicle are high so as well as offering savings by going green, the Ducato and Ducato Conversion have also been designed to reduce damage. The raised position of the light clusters means damage is kept to a minimum in the event of impact. The bumper is also split into three individual sections, meaning that one part can be repaired if it becomes damaged.