There are nine versions of the Fiat Doblo available, nine! The standard Fiat Doblo starts at €36,850.00 and comes with a choice of 1.2-litre petrol, two versions of a 1.5-litre diesel and an electric e-Doblo version with a 136bhp electric motor and a 50kWh battery under the cargo floor. I had assumed when offered the van I’d be getting the brand spanking new electric version, which I firmly believe is a game changer for van drivers who day after day get stuck in stop/start congested traffic in towns and cities across the country. Never is this more true than during the winter when deliveries are at their peak.
Special mention : Sliding side doors, space, easy open rear doors, third seat combining table/cup holders, hard wearing plastics that are easy to clean
Needs work : Interior is basic, infotainment could do with an upgrade, adding always on rear view camera functionality to the rear view mirror.
| BHP 130 | Diesel / Manual |
| 0-100 km/h in 12 seconds | Road Tax €333 |
| Price: €36,850.00 | Boot space 790 litres short wheelbase/1,050 litres |
What I did get however were the keys to the tried and trusted Doblo diesel, in manual. The diesel will always be the friend of a professional driver whose days are long and their loads heavy. The manual is no matter to this driver as they sit on long motorway journeys at a steady 100kms with their full loads, and this Doblo would do a fantastic job at both tasks. Once at its destination it would be easy to load/unload due to its wide opening doors which allow access to a washable load platform that also has 6 load retaining hooks.
The infotainment is basic, it does come with Apple Carplay/Android auto which syncs quickly and easily once you hook it up via USB. The 10” UConnect touchscreen houses the infotainment and system settings, sat-nav is also standard and for some reason you get a place to store and look at photos, handy for design specs perhaps? I’m not sure but maybe someone out there has used this feature and can let us know. There are lots of cubbies dotted about the Doblo’s interior, from two covered cubbies across the dash, an overhead tray and two cup holders on either side of the dash. You can place your mobile phone in a space under the dash but if you have it hooked up to the infotainment using the USB, the cable will likely end up wrapped around the 6 speed manual gear stick. You also get a handy tray set into the middle seat which easily folds up and down and the tray slides side to side to reveal two more cup holders. It’s a good spot to be able to write up site notes before heading off.
All versions of Doblo come with split rear doors. Normally, these open to a safety locked 90 degrees, but can be untethered to fully open at 180 degrees. The standard Doblo has a sliding side door on the left hand side making quick access from a footpath easy. The longer Crew Van versions come with two sliding doors on each side. The Doblo range comes with either a 109bhp 1.2 PureTech three-cylinder turbo petrol engine which would be good for light city centre or local duties. For something that is constantly fully loaded, you’ll be looking at the two 1.5-litre BlueHDi diesel engines. Both come with the six-speed manual gearbox, but there is an eight-speed EAT8 auto in the more powerful BlueHDi model. Payload is up to 1,000kg with certain petrol and diesel models, and you can also tow up to 1,200kg.
Parking and manoeuvring around a city is made easy with light steering and the Doblo also has a reasonable turning circle. On longer journeys sitting at 100km/h some wind noise from the front pillars and the door mirrors enters the cabin, but that’s the same for the majority of these vans. The 1.5 BlueHDi’s six-speed manual gearbox makes the most of the power on offer, and there’s no lack of urge to help haul heavy payloads.
The driving position is very upright, if you happen to be short of leg, then moving the seat forward will result in space to adjust the seat angle. However if you’re tall the standard fit bulkhead behind the front seats will reduce your ability to adjust the seat black to a comfortable position. You’ll need to pick the Primo model to get the most supportive driving position because it has driver’s seat height adjustment and lumbar controls. You do get rake and reach adjustment for the steering as standard.
Big windows and mirrors allow for a decent view out of the front, the reversing camera is a god-send as obviously rear visibility is reduced to the wing mirrors. It would be great to see them add rear camera to rear view mirror functionality to help increase visibility and maybe this is what Euro NCAP need to include instead of features such as lane assist which cause more issues than necessary on badly designed roads such as the ones we have in Ireland.
