Citroën Dispatches A New Van To Australia
2 April 2008 · posted by Staff
Building on the success of the Citroën Berlingo, the much imitated small van that changed the face of the Australian small van market, Citroën has launched the Citroën Dispatch, an award-winning medium size van that tackles Australia’s largest commercial vehicle sector, offering benchmark space, performance and versatility.
“The Citroën Berlingo has introduced thousands of Australian businesses to the quality design that has made Citroën a byword for commercial vehicle excellence for more than 70 years in Europe,” says Miles Williams, General Manager for Citroën in Australia. “For many of those businesses the Berlingo has been part of their success and it has enabled them to grow and we are responding with a larger van to meet the emerging needs of those businesses. Like the Berlingo, the Dispatch is designed to meet the transport, comfort, safety and budgetary needs of businesses and we are certain that the Dispatch will become another commercial success for Citroën in Australia.”
The new Dispatch is designed to appeal to a wide range of Australian operators and showcases a variety of technological innovations to raise comfort and safety standards and increase operational efficiency. From the wide range of Dispatch versions available in Europe, Citroën has chosen two versions that it believes are ideally suited to the Australian market, with a third version set for launch later in the year. Initially two sizes will be available, the short wheelbase low roof with a five cubic metre load space and a long wheelbase with six cubic metres. The Citroën Dispatch short wheelbase has a payload of 1.0 tonne and, to ensure maximum use may be made of its load space, the long wheelbase has a payload of 1.2 tonnes.
Powering the Citroën Dispatch for the Australian market is Citroën’s 88 kW 2.0 litre Turbo Diesel engine which also offers a load lugging 300 Nm of torque, which, thanks to the standard six speed manual gearbox, it offers strong performance at all speeds. Later in the year the Dispatch long wheelbase will also be available with the 100 kW version of the 2.0 litre engine for heavy duty applications.
The standard equipment offered by the Citroën Dispatch is not only comprehensive; it also tailored to the specific needs of the commercial vehicle user. For example, the Citroën Dispatch not only has remote central locking. Operated from the key, it splits the cab away from the load compartment, so that it’s possible to open the cab and keep the load area locked or, vice versa, while unloading the Dispatch, the cab and its valuables can be kept secure.
Front electric windows are standard, along with AirCon, digital CD audio system with steering column mounted remote controls, ABS brakes, Drive’s side air bag and a double front passenger seat are all standard. The load area is easily accessible through twin ‘barn’ doors, each with a heated window and it’s double rear wipers for maximum visibility. The interior is full of intelligent ideas specifically designed for the commercial user, including generous storage spaces, including a large dashboard ‘well’, folding cup holders, bottle holders in the door pockets, a glove box designed to be big enough for a small notebook computer and power points for mobile phone and GPS units.
But more than that, the overall design of the Citroën Dispatch is intelligent, such as the low step in height at the front from easy access and the low loading height at the rear and side, the comprehensive bumpers and side protection panels and, of course, a wealth of safety features, both passive and active, to ensure safe use at all times. The Citroën Dispatch, when fitted with the optional pneumatic rear suspension can even ‘kneel down’ to ease loading, as well as offering the safety and comfort of self-leveling suspension.
The Citroën Dispatch has a recommended retail price of $34,990* for the short wheelbase and $36,990* for the long wheelbase with the 88 kW engine. Pricing for the 100 kW will be announced when it goes on sale.
The Citroën Dispatch short wheelbase has a payload of 1.0 tonne and, to ensure maximum use may be made of its load space, the long wheelbase has a payload of 1.2 tonnes.