Mercedes-Benz Citan – Kangoo with a three-pointed star

This is the Mercedes-Benz Citan van that will debut at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover in September. The Citan – coined from the words ‘city’ and ‘titan’ – is an urban delivery van that succeeds the discontinued Vaneo line. In MB’s van lineup, this is the younger brother of the Vito and Sprinter.

The Citan is based on the Renault Kangoo, which makes sense. The Kangoo is one of Europe’s leading small vans, and the duo will take on usual segment suspects such as the Volkswagen Caddy, Citroën Berlingo and Fiat Doblo.

By the way, Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler has an ongoing partnership with Renault-Nissan that will also see Renault provide small car engines to Mercedes/Smart, in exchange for Merc powerplants for Nissan’s Infiniti. Both parties will co-develop the next-gen smart fortwo/Renault Twingo and are already jointly building engines in the US.

The Citan will be available in three different lengths: 3.94 m, 4.32 m and 4.71 m. There will also be a five-seat Citan Mixto with folding rear seat bench, wire mesh partition separating the load compartment, and two sliding doors. The Mixto is based on the longest body. The third basic design is the Citan crewbus, also a five-seater based on the long wheelbase van.

There are also three different weights ranging up to a maximum permissible gross vehicle weight of 2,200 kg. As an alternative to the standard tail doors, is also offering a wide-opening tailgate. Optional roof rails boost flexibility as does the optional ladder hatch for the panel van to facilitate the transportation of extra-long items.

Three turbodiesels (from 75 to 110 hp) and a 115 hp supercharged petrol engine are the engine choices. All oil burners have a particulate filter as standard, while the petrol comes with a BlueEfficiency package as standard – it includes start/stop, battery and generator management and low rolling resistance tyres. Five and six-speed transmissions send power to the front wheels.