Travelling in comfort, arriving on time, making an elegant impression and always moving safely. The demands of people who provide passenger transport services are very clear, and the answers the Ducato gives are equally clear: enjoyable driving, top performance and original styling that evokes dynamism and personality. These are the winning features embodied in the new Ducato Minibus Elegant passenger vehicle that was presented at the Motor Show in Courtrai (Kortrijk), Belgium.

This original vehicle from Fiat Professional, outfitted by Mussa & Graziano of Turin, accommodates 13 or 16 passengers (plus the driver) with flexibility and style, in an environment that is exclusive, comfortable and elegant. This converted Ducato is immediately recognisable from the outside by its special metallic paintwork (Dark Anthracite) which blends perfectly with the sparkling alloy wheels that mount extra-large tyres. Unlike the standard Minibus, which has a 2-flap rear door, Elegant versions have a large ergonomic tilting VTO tailgate for easy access to the luggage compartment, thanks also to a double anatomical handle. The upper part of the tailgate has a large panoramic window, while all the heat-resistant external windows have special smoked glass. The elegance of the rear line is enhanced by the supplementary reflectors positioned on the side pillars and small exterior body-coloured lip, which covers the evaporator of the passenger compartment air conditioning unit.

The new vehicle has the engineering of the Ducato Maxi (Gross vehicle weight 4 tonnes and reinforced suspension), and is equipped with the powerful 160 Multijet Power engine which delivers a maximum of 157 bhp and torque of 400 Nm. The Ducato Minibus Elegant combines the excellent performance of this elastic, smooth engine, with the best devices available in the field of onboard comfort: from an additional climate system to a 12 litre refrigerator (on request), a 2-speed electric fan/extractor on the ceiling, and a 15” LCD colour television that can be connected to a DVD player. The Ducato Minibus Elegant is also equipped with a radio and CD player, a digital chronotachograph (positioned on the oddment shelf in the cab), rear parking sensors, and front and rear splashguards.

The Ducato Minibus Elegant sets off this lavish array of equipment with an exclusive interior environment that has a number of original styling details:

- all the seats are comfortable and ergonomic, and have refined two-tone leather upholstery (amaranth/grey), including those for the driver and cab passenger;
- each seat in the passenger compartment has an adjustable squab, fold-down armrest with wood insert, fold-away equipped squab table, leather finished magazine net and oddment container;
- the vehicle floor is covered with elegant two-tone tufted carpeting;
- the side panels are upholstered in anthracite grey Alcantara;
- the frames of the side windows are made of light grey thermoformed material;
- the side windows have pleated amaranth sliding curtains.

The two longitudinal luggage shelves deserve a special mention; they have a leather insert in the lower part, the same colour as the seats, and incorporate air vents to distribute hot and cold air to each seat, as well as individual loudspeakers and reading lights, just like those on a plane. On the aisle side, the shelves incorporate high-intensity LEDs with a white/blue that guarantee perfect illumination of the passenger area. And finally, the special features of the Ducato Minibus Elegant include an emergency exit hatch on the roof and the generous rear luggage compartment lined with anthracite grey carpeting. From 2008, the vehicle will be available with an electrically operated sliding side door.

Once again the Ducato reveals the great versatility of a model which, thanks to the modular design of the body, has always been able to provide the right solution for all light town and out-of-town transport needs, even the most complex. The range is extremely diversified and offers 2000 variants, if we consider all the bodyshell, engine and engineering combinations, over 300 types of body, 150 options and 120 colours. Plus endless solutions by bodywork-converters specialising in recreational vehicles (campers, autocaravans, motorhomes), special passenger transport (minibuses, schoolbuses, ambulances, vehicles for the disabled) and goods transport (box bodies, insulated cells, armoured vehicles to transport valuables, mobile shops).