The year 2006 brought a lot of news. The PSA Group went on a commercial offensive presenting renewed versions of their popular vans. After the presentation of Citroen Jumper and Peugeot Boxer, it was the turn of the new Fiat Ducato III. Fiat Centro Stile was responsible for the vehicle design. The main challenge faced by the designers was to improve aerodynamics compared to the previous generation. They managed to achieve Cx = 0.31, which is a great result for a large-size delivery vehicle. However, this was only the beginning of the changes that the new generation of Fiat Ducato brought with itself.
The most important visual changes covered the front of the vehicle. The shape of the lamps and their location changed. They stopped to be placed parallel to the low dummy front bumper, and were placed at the height of the bonnet, hooking almost on the windshield of the vehicle. The headlights were much larger than those of earlier generations. The front bumper was also enlarged, which plastic part “built” the sides of the front grill. For the first time in the history of this model, white direction indicator lights were built into the side mirrors. The focus was also on maximizing loading capacity. In the current offer, the largest version of Ducato III available on the European market has 17 m3 load space and a load capacity of 2.2 tons. Diversity is still a key element, which is why there are various versions with a maximum length of 6.36 m and an optimal wheelbase of 4.35 m.
The Italian manufacturer completely gave up petrol units. The Ducato III was only available with 2.2 liter and 2.3 liter diesel engines. In mid-2009, the 3.0 engine (CNG) was presented. The van had a subsidiary gasoline tank with a capacity of 15 liters. This version met with great interest on the Italian market, where it’s still available.
In 2014, Fiat decided to make a facelift of Ducato III, which introduced cosmetic changes to the vehicle. They mainly touched the shape and size of the front lights, which were adapted to the latest safety requirements. It should also be emphasized that this model is being developed with each subsequent year. New security systems and more ecological solutions are being implemented year after year.
Fiat Ducato is one of the cheapest bases for campers and other individual van projects. Good parts availability, low prices, practical solutions. All this meant that many versions of the Ducato III get laurels in competitions for the best motorhome building base of the year. Three out of four motorhomes sold on our continent are based on Fiat Ducato.
