The latest version of Ireland's best-selling small van, the Ford Fiesta Van, has just been launched in Europe and will go on sale here in January.
It brings a great deal of practicality, style, and fun to the light commercial vehicle segment.
Based on the new Ford Fiesta car which arrives in Ireland this month, the Fiesta Van derivative is designed to meet the needs of professional or personal use customers and will be available in Ireland from late January 2009.
The new Fiesta Van sets out to exceed the needs and expectations of commercial customers. With its compact exterior footprint, practical load compartment area, and low cost of ownership, the Fiesta Van is the ideal choice for urban express delivery, service fleets, and artisans - thanks to its combination of van practicality and car-like styling and usability.
The new Fiesta Van is particularly stylish, thanks to the kinetic design of its three-door passenger car body, in which the rear side windows are replaced by body coloured solid panels, and the rear passenger seats are removed to provide space for a clean and step-less load box area.
"For decades, the Fiesta Van has been a favourite in Ireland and I am sure the enhanced style and practicality of the new model will ensure it continues to top the small van charts in this country," said Eddie Murphy, chairman and managing director of Ford Ireland. "In today’s tough economic circumstances, the new Fiesta Van has the right mix of cost efficiency, toughness, versatility and all in a very stylish package."
The load box volume is targeted to exceed 1,000 litres in volume, with a maximum useable load length of up to 1292mm, as well as a maximum load box width of 1,278mm (1,004mm between the wheel arches ) and heights of up to 936mm. The roomy load area is shielded from the driver compartment with a standard half-high bulkhead. Standard solid DIN-compliant tie-down hooks and an optional upper DIN bulkhead extension make sure that this compact city-friendly van is fully compliant to the DIN cargo retention regulations all over Europe. The new Fiesta Van is available with a well balanced choice of engines offering commercial customers excellent fuel economy and low cost of ownership.
Engines available include the 1.25-litre Duratec 16V petrol unit (82 PS/60 kW ), a frugal 1.4-litre Duratorq TDCi turbo diesel (68 PS/50 kW ), and a top-of the-range 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi (90 PS/66kW ) turbo diesel with standard closed-loop coated DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter ).
The fuel economy figures of the Fiesta Van are targeted to match those of the Fiesta three-door passenger car. With a combined fuel consumption of just 4.2 l/100km (67.3mpg ) and an average CO2 emission of just 110g/km, both of the diesel engines offer a value-for-money 'green' proposition and deliver real world fuel cost savings to business customers when compared with older types of diesel powertrain.
The Fiesta Van will go on sale in Ireland from late January 2009 with prices starting from €14,940 (incl VRT and VAT, excl delivery and related charges ).
