Hi,

agree 100% the old versions of a kangoo had plenty of problems.

The beauty of the Citgan tourer is it comes with a 1.2 petrol and nothing else on the van MPV market comes close to it for rear legroom - it can take 3 adults or 3 kids car seats with ease.

Go via a Broker - a quick look @ Autoebid was some £7,500 off list the MPV version Citan with a petrol engine.

Yes - aware its a re-bagged Renault, there is literally nothing on the car which is Mercedes Benz other than the badges

Correction - Yes you can fit 3 car seats in the back of a Berlingo Multispace, Fiat Doblo MPV, etc but the Mercedes Citan Tourer rear leg room is the greatest of them all - this is its one big selling point.

I have decided not to progress after doing some research into Mercedes servicing charges and part prices. As Renault do not provide the Kangoo MPV in the UK anymore nor do they offer the 1.2 petrol with any of their van range, all spares would have to come from Mercedes and the dealer was honest enough to say they are not cheap!

The Citan Tourer does have some good selling points, but as I am planning on keeping the vehicle for upto 7 years and with Mercedes not willing to offer a manufacturer warranty extension, I do not trust the Renault under pinnings to be trouble free - friends and I have had to many Renault issues in the past to ever go back to the brand.

|Its a shame as the Citan Tourer can be purchased with big discounts, unlike the Ford Tourneo Connect that now only comes in Titanium trim in 1.0 petrol form after Ford dropped the style and zetec trim options.

This makes the Tourneo Connect ridiculously expensive with little discount available, the best I can muster is £2k off which still makes it hidously expensive compared to rival van MPVs and also the paint work in non solid colours is very hit and miss, the Turkish factory does seem to struggle with paint quality.

My local Ford dealer things Ford simply have no interest in the small van MPV market and all orders are now built to order with a very limited UK stock; they would much rather flog a C-max or grand C-max although neither of them offer the same space, practicality or robust interior.

LIkeiwse the VW Caddy maxi which is priced ridiculously expensive at £17k brand new with discount at most brokers.

SO it looks like another citroen berlingo multispace 1.2 puretech at £13.1k or pay an extra £900 for the identical Peugeot Partner Tepee at £14k.

The Fiat Doblo MPV remains the bargain of the van MPV world, one dealer was willing to sell me a base trim 1.4 petrol brand new (although 3 month wait factory order) for £9.8k.

While the 1.4 petrol is actually okay in the Doblo MPV, the Beringo Multispace is a far better finished product and nicer to live with, plus the 1.2 pure tech is a seriously good economical engine.

There is talk again of Dacia wanting to expand its UK range with the Dokker van MPV and the Lodgy people carrier, but while I can see a decent size market for a budget people carrier, I cant see one for a van based MPV unless they also sold the van version of the Dokker as well.

This to me smacks of a perfect example of someone, a, not doing their homework, and, b, with possibly too high expectations.

The Citan is based very heavily on the Renault Kangoo so there is going to be a limited amount of reengineering Mercedes can do to it while still being cost effective. At the end of the day, it is still a kangoo body, but just with a Mercedes grill grafted on the front like the Allegro Vanden Plas(!). The panel gaps would have been as they currently are when your mate bought the car, so if they bothered him that much, why did he buy it?. Same goes for the performance of the 1.5 diesel which will have, at most, 110bhp (or 90bhp), what kind of performance was he expecting with that power in a vehicle of that shape?. Regarding the refinement, while the road tests i have read of the Citan van have not exactly been glowing, one thing they all tend to agree on is that it is the most refined van in its class. This is a practical, no nonsense MPV based on a small van, so expectations should be based on that, not by some ridiculous notion that because someone has but a Mecedes badge and grill on the front of a Renault it will somehow magically transform into a Mercedes Benz!. As for the faults, i'm guessing these will be the same as per the Kangoo, so the Citan will be similarly affected.

As for the dealer's snobbishness with the Dacia comments, personally i'd sooner have a Duster than a a Mercedes A class, never mind a Citan.

Yes,

they only sell the Citan van and Citan Tourer at van dealerships

Not many citan tourer's about, they havent real advertised it nor pushed for the motability market.

Edited by daveyK_UK on 08/05/2018 at 19:18