New Fiat Talento panel van replaces long-serving Scudo ~ station of gear

New Fiat Talento panel van is named after a coin and borrows Renault Trafic and Vauxhall Vivaro tech

2016-03-25 10:00

A new panel van called the Fiat Talento will slot into the Italian manufacturer’s commercial vehicle range between the bigger Ducato and smaller Doblo when it goes on sale in May. It’s a joint venture model that shares Renault Trafic tech, and the model’s arrival will mark the end of the road for the current Fiat Scudo. The Scudo was the offspring of an earlier Fiat joint venture with the Peugeot-Citroen group and is itself a rebadged Peugeot Expert.

Now Fiat has struck a new van deal with Renault, which already builds Trafic vans rebadged as the Vauxhall Vivaro and Nissan NV300. While they’re all similar under the skin and from an engineering point of view, the Talento looks a bit different at the front thanks to more complex grille treatment.

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In the only picture released so far, the effect is to give the Talento quite a sporty feel – and the newcomer will need all the help it can get in a market place full of other stylish rivals like the Ford Transit Custom and VW Transporter. Fiat says: “The grille is designed to wrap around the headlights and form a mask that together with the bumper and the grid conveys a solid and striking appearance, while offering a functional element of protection at the same time.”

Details of pricing and specification will be announced soon, but for now Fiat has confirmed the new Talento will make use of all the powertrain and configuration options from the Renault Trafic line-up. That means we can expect to see panel van, people-carrier, crew can and flatbed options, as well as the same range of turbo and twin-turbo diesel engines with power outputs up to 143bhp.

In case you were wondering, the new Fiat van is named after an ancient coin – the Talent, or Talento in Italian.

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Chris Rosamond

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