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Fiat's longest-running modern-era van was the little Fiorino that sold between 2008 and 2024. A few rivals shared its design but none had its impressive diesel engine. If the carrying capacity suits and you need a small van from this era, it's worth a look.
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History
Things have come a long way since compact vans were either superminis with blanked out windows or used a small car chassis with a metallic cube bolted on the back. The latter approach was characterised by the two earliest versions of Fiat's little Fiorino LCV, the Fiat 127-based MK1 design of 1977 and the Fiat Uno-based design of 1988. For the third generation version of 2008 though, the model we look at here, Fiat produced a properly modern purpose-built city van. It was also sold in an MPV-like passenger-carrying form (the Qubo).
With 2.5 cubic metres of loadspace, the Fiorino van had nearly as much cargo capacity as buyers could find in Citroen Berlingo or Fiat Doblo-sized vans in the next class up, yet the same nimble manoeuvrability that was offered by small car-derived vans on sale in this era, like those based on Ford's Fiesta or Fiat's own Grande Punto, with their feeble one cubic litre luggage bays.
Though this design was shared with Peugeot's Bipper and Citroen's Nemo vans, it was very much Fiat's own, based on the underpinnings of their Grande Punto supermini. Plus it was unique in offering the Italian marque's slightly more powerful 1.3-litre diesel Multijet engine, despite more affordable pricing. Plenty of reasons then, for the International Van of the Year accolade showered upon this model at launch. UK sales went on much longer than those of this model's Citroen and Peugeot clones, not stopping until 2024.
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What you get
The Fiorino was designed with the urban environment very much in mind and was decently screwed together at its Turkish factory. The wheels are pushed to the corners of the vehicle to maximise interior space and manoeuvrability, while keeping the van compact and wieldy. The substantial wrap-around bumper protects against parking knocks and expensive components like the headlamps, bonnet and radiator are set well back to lessen the chance of them coming to harm.
The interior of the Fiorino will feel a little confined to those familiar with full size compact vans but there's reasonable space for driver and passenger. The driving position is upright and affords a good view of the Fiorino's surroundings with the seat and the steering wheel offering a good range of adjustability. Cab stowage space for oddments is less generous than in models from the next class up but with 12 compartments to choose from, there should be room for most of the essentials. This plusher model even has a folding dashboard desk.
Will this van cope with the kind of use your business will need? At first glance after all, it looks pretty small. At 3,864mm long and 1,589mm wide, this is a compact van with a footprint tinier that most superminis. Despite this however, there's a 2.5m3 load volume to play and a payload capacity of 610kg. That volume can be increased if you've a version fitted with the optional folding passenger seat which flops down to increase capacity to 2.8m3. That improvement may not sound like much but it increases the available load length from 1,523mm to 2,491mm which is really handy when you're trying to cram longer items inside.
The load bay is accessed through asymmetrically-split rear doors on the standard model with the slimmer of the two mounted on the offside. They can be pushed through 90° and through 170° if you release the easy-to-unlatch door stays. A sliding side door is available on plusher versions, with a second sliding door residing on the options list. The apertures behind these side doors are narrow (1041mm high and 644mm wide), so large items may have to go in through the rear (where the door aperture is 1,060mm high and 1,140 mm wide). Here, there's a low 527mm loading height and 1,064mm between the wheelarches. Load bay width is 1,473mm, while maximum height is 1,205mm.
Around half-a-dozen load tie-down rings are there to secure loads but if you forget to use them and your cargo slithers forward, then you'll be protected by a restraint frame that angles backwards into the cargo area. The doors are lined to half their height but you might want to additionally consider ply-lining to protect the rest of the cargo area against minor scrapes and scratches.
The Fiorino should prove extremely economical to run, particularly in Multijet diesel form where you can expect 61.4mpg on the combined cycle and 123g/km of CO2, a big improvement on the 40.4mpg and 165g/km figures achieved by the petrol version. Service intervals are generous at 20,000 miles.
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What to look for
The Fionaro has earned a decent reliability record, helped in no small part by its reliable engines. Known issues with the 1.3 Multijet diesel include timing chain failure and rattles, turbocharger failure, DPF blockage and EGR Carbon Build-up. Many will have been used as town runabouts, so check for slipping clutches. We've come across other issues with trim rattles (the driver's door handle has been known to easily break) and problems with the heating and ventilation system. Check for upholstery damage caused by child seats in the back, typical supermarket dents and scrapes, DPF filters on the diesel versions and ensure all the electrical functions work as advertised as these can be expensive to fix. The Fionaro isn't bad on consumables like brake pads and most people should be able to park it without nerfing the extremities.
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Replacement parts
(approx prices, based on a 2020 Fionaro 1.3 diesel - ex-VAT - autodoc.co.uk) As with most Fiat models, spare parts are reasonably priced and very plentiful. Front brake pad sets sell in the £16-£50 bracket - rear pads sets are from around £17-£55. Front brake discs range in the £40-£110 bracket (rears are priced from around £34). An air filter is in the £4-£20 bracket, a fuel filter is around £11-£60 and an oil filter is around £4-£12. A wiper blade is in the £11-£31 bracket. A water pump is in the £24-£70 bracket. You'll pay in the £45-£165 bracket for a starter motor.
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On the road
What lies under the bonnet is key to why operators might choose the Fiorino instead of the Peugeot and Citroen models that share its platform. Fiat installed its acclaimed 75bhp 1.3-litre Multijet oil-burner rather than the 70bhp 1.4-litre HDi diesel used by its French partners. The unit is extremely compact and lightweight, giving rise to excellent fuel economy, and with 190Nm of torque - 30Nm more than its HDi rival can muster - it feels strong as well. With its maximum torque produced from just 1,750rpm, the Fiorino has plenty of grunt at low speeds, introducing a punchy element to its performance that's perfect for darting in and out of traffic
This van's extra pulling power comes into its own around town, meaning that you're less likely to feel the need to row the thing along with its chunky 5-speed gearbox lever. If you want to avoid the need to do that completely, there's a 'Comfort-Matic' semi-automatic transmission version. The petrol engine variant also used Fiat's own powerplant, a 73hp 1.4-litre petrol unit, but it's hard to understand why you might choose it unless your business mileage is so small that you can't make up the diesel's small premium with savings at the pumps. The Fiorino grosses at 1,700kg which ensures that it is subject to car speed limits instead of the more onerous ones imposed on commercial vehicles exceeding the two tonne breakpoint. Plus you could tow a braked trailer grossing at 600kg.
For urban use, operators will be pleased to find that all Fiorinos have the accurate power steering and tight turning circle that's needed when space is tight. That means just 2.8 turns lock-to-lock, enabling a 10.0m kerb-to-kerb turning circle rising to 10.5m wall-to-wall. On the open road, body roll is well controlled, as are noise levels, but the ride is a bit choppy on uneven surfaces. You'll find ventilated disc brakes at the front, drums at the rear, and ABS and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution are both standard features, though ESP stability control sadly wasn't.
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Overall
You may find that your business could function quite happily with a van like this Fiorino, rather than the slightly larger mid-sized Citroen Berlingo/Fiat Doblo-sized compact LCV that you might otherwise have chosen.
Commercial drivers able to live with this Fiat's versatile 2.5 cubic metre loadspace will in return get lower running costs and lots of extra manoeuvrability. It's a trade-off that some will be only too happy to make, with the Fiorino well-suited to the trials and tribulations of getting about modern towns and cities. This design is the best of its kind and with its Multijet diesel, the Fiat version has one of the best engine options you could choose. What's not to like?
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