Mercedes dares the second Citan attempt. After the rather suboptimal debut, which is too much like its technology brother Renault Kangoo, the star brand wants to make the van much more independent.
Swabians are generally known to only make a mistake once. In the case of the last Citan, Mercedes received a lot of criticism, because the relationship to the technology brother Renault Kangoo was all too clearly visible in the high-roof station wagon. “This is a Renault with a star stuck on it”, one often heard when it came to the Citan of the W 415 series. Everything should be different now. “The new Citan looks like a Mercedes,” says the strategic series manager Dirk Hipp.
But looking out means more than the star on the radiator grille, it is of course also about the interior. Here you can make use of the Mercedes MBUX system at various stages of expansion. The spectrum ranges from a simple version with radio preparation to a full program with a seven-inch touchscreen and, if desired, even the well-known voice assistant that reacts to the command “Hey Mercedes”. If you like, you can also have the rim of the steering wheel equipped with controls heated.
The Mercedes engineers are so excited about the future that there are only USB-C ports at the front. “In the second row we still have the USB A version”; Dirk Hipp calms down. For the Mercedes technicians, it was important that the Citan also feels like a vehicle that bears the star. The criticism due to the plastic desert in the interior of the current model is still too present. That is why the Mercedes interior designers paid particular attention to the points of contact with the driver and the other occupants. If you expect a multitude of foamed surfaces and fine leather, you are sitting in the wrong car. However, this Citan cannot hide the relationship to the Renault Kangoo either.
Full equipment is more likely to be ordered from the tourer than from the panel van. Regardless of whether it is a passenger transporter or a packhorse for tradespeople, the new Citan should not only distinguish itself from its brother in terms of appearance, but above all in terms of driving. This was possible because the Swabian engineers were involved in the development from the start and were able to set their own priorities when tuning the chassis, which was already evident in our first tests with a prototype. The Citan should drive like a car. It starts with the chassis and ends with the assistance systems. With the Mercedes high-roof station wagon, the driver can rely on the active lane departure warning system and the active brake assistant, which recognizes pedestrians and cyclists, among other things. The ESP plays an important role, stabilizing the vehicle with imperceptible interventions in cross winds and suppressing inconvenient hobbling of the wheels as well as possible.
“The aim when coordinating the driver assistance systems was to implement the Mercedes-Benz Cars philosophy of comfortable, harmonious control interventions in a van as well,” explains Dirk Hipp and also has an answer ready as to why the Mercedes Citan differs from the Renault Kangoo on both Sides is provided with a B-pillar. “It’s about the rigidity and the noise development.” The interior of the Citan should be quiet and generally safe. “We are aiming for five stars in the crash test,” adds Hipp.
The standard version of the tourer and panel van will initially roll to dealers with a length of 4,498 millimeters at the turn of the year. More length variants and the E-Citan will be added in the middle of next year. Initially, a diesel with three output levels and a gasoline engine with two variants are available. The 1.5-liter diesel will have a spread of 55 kW / 75 PS (Citan 108 CDI), 70 kW / 95 PS (Citan 110 CDI) or 85 kW / 116 PS (Citan 112 CDI). With the 1.3 liter petrol engine, the customer can choose between 75 kW / 102 PS (Citan 110) and 96 kW / 131 kW (Citan 110). In the middle of next year, a longer version and the eCitan with the 75 kW / 102 PS and presumably a 44-kilowatt-hour battery will come on the market, which should then be sufficient for around 265 kilometers.
“The driver of an eCitan should not have any disadvantages compared to the other models”; makes Dirk Hipp clear. So all Citans have two sliding doors, a load space of a maximum of 3.05 meters and a low loading sill that is only 59 centimeters high in the panel van. The wide-opening doors at the rear, which can be locked in the 90-degree position, are also helpful. Thanks to the identical interiors, fixtures can be switched from one car to another. As a special treat, Mercedes has the VanEssa modules up its sleeve with which the Citan can be converted into a camper. Prices start at 23,800 euros for the panel van.
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