Mercedes-Benz may be sitting at a healthy number five in the UK van sales charts, but it has always been hamstrung when it comes to improving its position further – it doesn’t offer a small van.

And bearing in mind small vans make up 45% of the total European market, that’s some problem.

However, things are set to change when the Citan goes on sale in Britain in January 2013 and Steve Bridge, UK van sales and marketing director at Mercedes-Benz, is already confidently predicting that with a full range of vehicles on offer, the German manufacturer will be sitting at number two by 2016.

He said: “At present we don’t have a small van to sell and this puts us at a disadvantage as a lot of fleets want solus deals which include large and small vehicles.

“I predict that by 2016 we will take the No 2 slot behind Ford.”

It’s a brave boast but one which has a ring of truth about it.

After all, in the world of fleet, many operators indeed want to sign big deals with a single manufacturer and at present they may be tempted to look elsewhere if they need a full range of vehicles.

Few vehicle makers have the deep pockets or inclination to design totally fresh vans and so Mercedes-Benz looked for a partner to aid it with its launch into this new sector.

As the company already links up with Volkswagen to produce the Crafter, it would be natural to assume that it would simply rebadge the smaller Caddy.

But, rather surprisingly, Mercedes-Benz has decided to link up with Renault.

The Citan, underneath, is none other than the Renault Kangoo, although admittedly heavily modified.

At the official launch in April, we questioned the bosses at Mercedes-Benz over this rather curious move but we came away with distinctly woolly answers.

We travelled to Copenhagen to drive the new van for the first time recently and in an interview with van marketing director Bernd Stegmann, he revealed more details.

Stegmann said: “It is true that allying ourselves more closely with Volkswagen would have been the obvious thing to do, but there are two main reasons why we did not.

"We do not believe that mirroring our two van ranges too closely is a good idea ultimately – we need to maintain distinct offerings if we are to both be successful.

"Also the Caddy is eight or nine years old now whereas the Kangoo is just three years old and we wanted a newer vehicle to sell.”

So did Stegmann think that buyers would be put off by seeing a three-pointed star on what is essentially a Renault product?

“Not in the least,” he said.

“There are a lot of van ranges which are the same – Citroën, Peugeot and Fiat for example.

"But a lot of people who buy vans don’t even realise that they are basically the same as other models and anyway we have heavily modified the Citan from the original and we are convinced that buyers will be impressed.

"They come to us because they want a three-pointed star and that means quality and reliability – they will get both with Citan.”

What’s on offer

The name Citan is derived from the two words “city” and “titan” and the van is built very much for the urban world.

One thing that Mercedes-Benz dealers in the UK pride themselves on is the way in which they not only sell vans to fleet customers but also offer advice too, so no doubt anyone wanting vehicles for longer hauls will be steered towards the bigger Vito and Sprinter.

But the Citan will be offered in a wide range of variants.

There are three wheelbases (Renault has stopped importing the short wheelbase Kangoo into the UK), four engines, including a petrol version, and a range of other options that should satisfy most fleet needs.

Bosses admitted that as they are entering a completely new sector, they are unsure as to which will be the biggest sellers so they have stressed that the range may be honed over the coming years.

Our bet is that the petrol model will be deleted as few fleets opt for this nowadays, unless adapting vehicles to run on LPG. There is no news as yet as to whether or not Mercedes will offer an electric version to mirror the Kangoo ZE.

The Citan will come off the Renault production line at Mauberge in northern France but at some stage, the Merc versions will peel off in a different direction for the Germans to tweak and twiddle with.

Mercedes-Benz staff will be on hand at the factory to make sure that all Citans come up to their exacting standards.

Gone is the front end of the Kangoo, to be replaced by a more Merc family look and gone too are the dashboard and seats, replaced by German items.

The engines are basically Renault ones – nothing wrong with that as they are all rock solid performers – but the engineers at Mercedes-Benz have made minor tweaks to make them more responsive and to offer better fuel consumption.

There have also been major changes to the suspension set-up to make the van better in the ride and handling department.

Diesel engines are all 1.5-litre units offering 75bhp, 90bhp and 110bhp, while the petrol engine is a 1.2-litre unit with 114bhp.

The two lower-powered ones only will be available at launch time. The higher-powered diesel unit and petrol engine will be available later in the year.

Mercedes-Benz claims its adjustments to the engine mean class-leading fuel economy figures of up to 65.7mpg on the combined cycle.

The three wheelbase models will offer from 2.4 cubic metres to 3.8 cu m and payloads of 490-810kg. There will also be a five-seat crew-cab version.

The Citan will also have 25,000 mile servicing intervals and a three-year unlimited mileage warranty, once again beating the opposition.

Thanks to the fact that Mercedes-Benz also sells big trucks, Citan buyers will be able to take advantage of 24/7 servicing – something that the others, apart from Iveco, can’t match.

Final spec and prices have yet to be announced but standard specification is expected to be high.

The Citan will come with Electronic Stability Control as standard, along with ABS and air-conditioning.

Behind the wheel

Being an old cynic with many years behind me in the industry, I raised more than one eyebrow when Mercedes-Benz announced that it had got into bed with Renault to produce this new van.

Merc has always prided itself on being a premium manufacturer and – being blunt about it – Renault is not in that league.

However, my doubts were well and truly vanquished at our first test drive in Copenhagen, where a range of different models was on offer to drive.

The Citan is a curious mix of Gallic chic and brutal Teutonic practicality and although the two might not at first appear to sit well together, the whole lot actually looks rather funky.

You certainly won’t mistake the Citan for a Renault with its massive three-pointed star on the front.

At the end of the day Bernd Stegmann is right – most fleet buyers aren’t bothered who originally made their vehicles. What they want is value for money, reliability, low running costs and good residual values.

And there is no reason to suppose that the Citan won’t offer all these things.

Climbing aboard, this van could just as well be a brand new model, with figure hugging and very supportive seats and a massive chunky dash that look as though it came from a 44-tonne Actros.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that curious handbrake from the Kangoo that features something akin to a spade handle on the end.

It’s annoying as it is right next to the 12 volt power take-off so if you have a sat-nav unit plugged in, the wire gets all tangled up with the brake lever when you try to use it.

On the plus side there’s a handy overhead parcel shelf and two coffee cup holders in the centre console.

In the back Mercedes-Benz offers a choice of barn doors or tailgate at no extra cost and a plastic load liner is slated to be standard spec, along with two side sliding doors.

There are also 10 load lashing eyes (a record in the sector we reckon), including four on the sides of the van where they are most useful, in addition to six slotted in the floor.

It all feels pretty well screwed together, although we did feel that the side sliding doors lacked that quality “thwunk” when slammed shut that emanates from the rival Volkswagen Caddy.

We tried long wheelbase versions in 75bhp and 110bhp guises and we reckon that the smaller engine is the fleet choice, especially if this van is to be used predominantly for urban use. Why would you need any more power?

It is on the road that the Germanic tweaks and twiddles come in to their own.

This van handles and feels like no Kangoo we’ve ever tested.

It’s whisper quiet and has ideally balanced power steering, slick gearchanges and pin-sharp handling that makes it a sheer pleasure to drive.

Verdict

We’re looking forward to a real power struggle in this sector next year as the Citan faces opposition from a brand new Ford Transit Connect, not to mention the new Vauxhall Vivaro/Renault Trafic plus the established Volkswagen Caddy, Citroën Berlingo, Peugeot Partner, Fiat Doblo Cargo, Vauxhall Combo et al. Let battle commence.