“It’s a Renault with a star stuck on it!” A lot was said. Since the relationship with the technically identical Renault Kangoo was so evident in the first Citan, there was a lot of criticism for Mercedes. It must be different now. “The new Citan looks like a Mercedes,” promised series director of strategy Dirk Hipp.
From now on, not only the star on the radiator grille should remind us of a Mercedes in terms of optics. Especially in the interior, Citan stands out more clearly from the French. Not least that the Mercedes customer can take advantage of the various expansion stages of the Mercedes MBUX multimedia system. The range ranges from a simple version with a radio setup to a full program with a 7-inch touch screen and a well-known voice assistant that reacts to the song “Hey Mercedes”.
Developed from the start
For the Mercedes technicians, it was important that the Citan also feel like a car with the star. That is why the new Citan, regardless of whether it is a Tourer passenger truck or a commercial version truck, should distinguish itself not only visually from its French brother, but above all when driving. And it was possible because this time German engineers were involved in the development from the very beginning and were able to set their own priorities when tuning the chassis. Citan should drive like a car.
It starts with the chassis and ends with the assistance systems. With Mercedes’ high-topped station wagon, the driver can count on the assistance of Active Lane Departure Warning and Active Brake Assist, which recognizes pedestrians and cyclists, among other things. The Electronic Stability Program (ESP) plays an important role, stabilizing the car through imperceptible intrusions into crosswinds and also suppressing uncomfortable wheel swings as much as possible.
“The goal when coordinating the driver assistance systems was to implement the Mercedes philosophy of comfortable and harmonious control interventions for a small car as well,” explains Dirk Heep. And he also has a ready answer why the Mercedes Citan, unlike Renault Kangoo, has a B-pillar on both sides. “It is all about developing noise and stiffness. We are aiming for five stars in the crash test.”
I’m a convoy too
Touring cars and vans with a standard length of 4.50 meters will be transferred to dealers from about 25,000 francs from the end of the year. Initially, there is a 1.5-liter diesel with three output levels (75 to 116 hp) and a 1.3-liter gasoline engine with two variants (102, 131 hp) to choose from. Longer versions, the all-electric E-Citan with a 44 kWh battery and a range of 265 kilometers will be added in mid-2022. Like all other models, the E-Citan also has two sliding doors, a lowered loading sill and identical 3.05-meter load space. As a special treat, each Citan can also be converted into a camper with VanEssa units.
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