The prestigious accolade was presented by panel chairman Pieter Wieman to Fiat Professional CEO Franco Miniero, at the inauguration of “The European Road Transport Show 2007” in Amsterdam.

Fiat Scudo has just been voted International Van of the Year 2008 – scoring 108 out of a possible 140 points – by a panel of journalists from 20 European nations specialising in light commercial vehicles. The prestigious accolade was presented by panel chairman Pieter Wieman to Fiat Professional CEO Franco Miniero, at the inauguration of “The European Road Transport Show 2007” in Amsterdam.

Developed as part of a partnership between Fiat and Psa and built in the French Sevel Nord plant in Valenciennes, Fiat Scudo is designed to respond to today’s urban and intercity goods transport needs in Europe. In short, the new van reconciles car-like performance, agility and comfort with the load capacity, ease of loading and unloading, reliability and productivity of a light commercial vehicle. The Scudo is a genuinely “hard-working car”, as the advertisement screened in recent months claims, which sees sporting stars – from players from the Italian soccer team to Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher – involved in everyday chores.

The panel of the International Van of the Year was particularly impressed by the mechanicals of the vehicle, which were conceived also with passenger transport versions in mind. This means a suspension offering exceptional comfort even when the vehicle is empty in addition to superior agility, handling, driveability, dynamics and safety. This is all thanks to a bodyshell with differentiated rigidity zones, a new braking system with 4 disc brakes, ABS and EBD and a driver side airbag (standard throughout the range). Additionally, depending on the market and version, the Scudo is offered with ESP complete with ASR, front passenger airbag, side bags and window bags and anti-theft systems for the vehicle and load as standard or as optional features.

The award acknowledges the many advances brought to the commercial vehicle sector by the Scudo, such as the innovative optional pneumatic rear suspension which, at a competitive price, offers two significant advantages: it allows the vehicle to enter public multi-storey car parks (by lowering the total height to under 1.90 metres) and facilitates loading and unloading (with a load sill height of just 49 cm). The range also includes long wheelbase and raised roof versions to cater for a wide spectrum of professional applications. Lastly, all vans with divider panel are available with an innovative central storage compartment in the cab ceiling (Capucine), which is accessible from the load bay. This tunnel lets tradesmen (electricians, plumbers etc.) make use of almost the full length of the vehicle, as the passage through the divider panel adds an extra 65 cm in length – 30 cm of which inside the Capucine itself. The panel also commended the low fuel consumption and running costs (with oil changes every 30,000 Km) of the three engines available: the 90 bhp 1.6 Multijet 16v, the 120 bhp 2.0 Multijet 16v and the 136 bhp 2.0 Multijet Power 16v, with DPF as standard. All engines are Euro 4 compliant offering excellent in gear pick-up and elasticity, while the two 2.0 Multijet turbodiesel units are mated to 6 speed gearboxes. The journalists of the International Van of the Year jury remarked on the clever solutions adopted to facilitate loading and unloading: with extra-wide side and rear doors, very low load sill heights and a square, rationally laid out load bay.

So, the Scudo is the right answer for a multitude of applications and jobs, with an extensive range of goods transport versions, passenger transport versions and base versions for conversion and custom outfitting, available with: two wheelbases (3.00 m short wheelbase and 3.12 m long wheelbase); two external lengths (4.80 and 5.13 metres); two external heights (Standard: 1.89 m with pneumatic suspension and 1.94 m with conventional spring suspension – High: 2.20 m pneumatic suspension and 2.28 m with conventional spring suspension); and two load bay lengths (2.25 and 2.58 m). Internal width is 1.60 m; width between wheel arches 1.25 m; internal height 1.45 and 1.75 m respectively with standard and raised roof; 5 m³, 6 m³ or 7 m³ load capacity, depending on the version; and load sill height 56 cm (with conventional spring suspension) or 49 cm (with pneumatic suspension).

In addition to the Van versions, the New Scudo range also includes a wide choice of passenger transport versions (Combi and Panorama) in three different spec levels for different applications and clients. The first (Combi Standard) is the ideal solution for the transport of work teams and their respective tools; the second (Panorama Family) is intended for both large families demanding the comfort and style of an MPV and for people with active sports lives; the third spec level (Panorama Executive) is for executive transfer applications (hotel/airport shuttle bus and chauffeur driven hire).

Lastly, the prestigious International Van of the Year 2008 award is confirmation of the success of the New Scudo in Europe. Approximately 30,000 orders were received during the first nine months of 2007, compared with 16,500 for the previous model during the same period of the year (+82%). The results seen in all major markets have been very encouraging: Italy (8,500 orders), France (4,350), Spain (3,650) Germany (3,600) and U.K. (3,300). The popularity of the Scudo has grown strongly in these markets, with a market share increasing from 5.4% to 7.8%. Sales of passenger transport versions are also up, and they now account for 35% of sales against just 23% for the previous year.