Road safety is important to any light commercial van operator and Citroen already offers Trafficmaster’s Smartnav satellite system in the Berlingo, Dispatch and Relay panel vans.

Under a new initiative with Trafficmaster, Citroen is now offering the Trafficmaster Fleet Director system at a subsidised rate of £19.99+ VAT per month. Fleet Director is a real-time fleet management programme that utilises Smartnav telematics to provide direct communication with drivers and to show their exact whereabouts. This is particularly of interest if a driver is working in a remote place allowing instant two-way communication.

The reporting available from Fleet Director also allows a van operator to improve road safety and help maintain their Duty of Care requirements.

New Citroen Berlingo

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is acquiring 160 Citroen new Berlingo and Dispatch vans. These are going to be the first of the new models in the 500 strong fleet which already features mainly Citroen vehicles.

The RSPCA is standardising the new Berlingo for most of its transport work whilst using the Dispatch for larger animal rescue projects. Both these Citroen vans should have a 5 year or 100,000 mile service life.

With the impending launch of the new SMMT “Van Buyers Guide”, detailing light commercial Co2 emission outputs, Citroen is publicising how green its own LCV range is. Citroen was also the first manufacturer to offer its ultra clean particulate filter on its LCV range.

Citroen offers three sub 120g k/m Co2 emmission LCVs as follows

- The C2 Enterprise van (113g k/m)

- The Nemo 1.4HDi SensoDrive van (116g k/m)

- Nemo 1.4HDi manual 5 speed van (119g k/m)

Their other vans are also offering favourable Co2 emissions as follows

- Berlingo First from 143g k/m

- New Berlingo from 153g k/m

- C-Crosser Enterprise 2.2HDi 156hp DPFS 4×4 van from 191g k/m

- Dispatch from 191g k/m

- Relay from 208g k/m

More van manufacturers will have to start publishing their Co2 figures, enabling customers to see how green their carbon footprint is. Whilst the figures are readily available for cars, vans are more difficult to find and the new SMMT initiative is welcomed.

Citroen has added the new Dispatch XTR+ to their LCV (light commercial vehicle) range. This van has been launched to satisfy the requirements of the public utility companies and uses a multi-plate FAM Reinforced Traction limited-slip differential to give better traction.

The new model is based on the Dispatch 2.0 HDi 120 hp L1H1 van and also offers 30mm raised wheels, heavy duty suspension and revised steering geometry as well as a comprehensive underbody and engine protection.

With a 1200kg payload this three seater van provides an alternative solution to on and off road requirements without the need for a conventional 4 x 4 vehicle.