Citroen Dispatch Van Review

Our Review of the Citroen Dispatch

The Citroen Citroen Dispatch is a tight and compact van but still manages a good payload of 1000kg for the 1.6 litre model. The previous incarnation of this vehicle competed with the smaller end of the panel van market, as it commanded a unique position of being able to carry a slightly larger payload than most of its competitors, but not enough to impede on market dominated by Vauxhall and Volkswagon.

The new Citroen Dispatch however, has raised its game and offers a load space of 5m3. Where as a commercial drivers choice was between a Transporter or a Vivaro, the Citroen Dispatch provides them with another option. The Citroen Dispatch is not as high as the Vivaros or the Transporters of similar payload capacity, and stand at just 1942mm which can be reduced to 1894mm if pneumatic suspension is fitted. This enables the L1 to fit neatly under car park height barriers. Where a Vivaro competes however, is that the turning circle of the Citroen Dispatch is nearly a metre greater than its Vauxhall counterpart.

Nonetheless the inner city courier is probably more likely to appreciate the ability to access more places to deliver than the ability to corner a little more succinctly, and this seems to be the Dispatch's L1 true strength. The cab is lower than both the Transporter and Vivaro and though visibility is somewhat reduced, jumping in and out of a cab to do deliveries is significantly easier. It is not hard to see the average driver appreciating this after their 70^th drop of the day.

From an equipment point of view the cab offers a CD stereo and a Smartnav satellite navigation system as standard. The CD controls are controllable form the steering wheel and a drivers side airbag comes as standard. Citroen states that the Citroen Dispatch can seat three but two is a more realistic figure given the positioning of the dash mounted gear stick and leg room for the middle passenger.

Another strength of the Citroen Dispatch is that it can do an impressive 39.1 miles per gallon which many other commercial panel van manufacturers struggle to match.

All in all the Citroen L1 is a good enough to compete with the established Transporters and Vivaros of the world, and is small enough to be an ideal courier vehicle without being too small to be a contender.