A run for your money - Citroen Relay launch report - van - Brief Article - Product Announcement

Fresh from its debut outing at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Amsterdam, the new range of Sevel vans is currently on sale in the UK. Citroen's new Relay range is available with two additional engines, a revised frontal appearance and an improved cab interior with much higher levels of equipment as standard.

It is interesting to note the addition of a 2-litre 110bhp petrol unit as well as a 2.2-litre diesel to the original 2-litre and 2.8-litre common-rail units. Unlike its Sevel sisters Citroen has not offered a petrol engine in the Relay since the days of cross-ply tyres and, far from being the school minibus and motor home option that it once was, the spark-ignited affair is intended to spend most of its time hooked up to LPG, making local authorities look efficient. For those operators in the real world Citroen has also increased the Relay's diesel line-up.

The three diesel engines are all of HDi persuasion, having their fuel fed by common-rail and their performance boosted by varying degrees of turbo charging. Outputs range from 86bhp and 193Nm of torque in the 2-litre, through 104bhp and 240Nm of torque in the new 2.2-litre, to 127bhp and 300Nm of torque in the 2.8-litre HDi.

The 2.8-litre also benefits from extended service intervals of 20,000 miles as does the 2-litre petrol engine. The 2- and 2.2-litre HDi engines require servicing every 12,500 miles. All new Relays naturally carry a three-year/100,000 mile warranty with six-year anti-corrosion cover.

The most noticeable exterior changes of larger front bumpers and complex surface double optic headlamps are backed by a strengthened body shell, with particular attention paid to crew safety in the event of an impact.

Within the cab, all new Relays, except the crew cabs, have central locking, electric windows and electrically adjusted and heated mirrors. These are worthy of note as the switch has four, not two, positions, allowing the joystick to adjust the small wide-angle mirrors as well as the main surfaces.

The seats, designed by Isri, are a big improvement on the previous short, flat pews and the increased crew comfort from a long wheelbase and high roof was apparent as we drove the 2.8-litre HDi. However, the pedals are still offset to the left and the fascia-mounted gear change is as notchy as it ever was. First and third ratios are also very close together in the gate.

The 2.8-litre HDi pulls like a train from 1500rpm and when unladen it will lug along at little more than 1000rpm on a flat road in fifth. It bodes well for 3.5-tonne work but I'm not sure if I'd fancy the 86bhp unit, even at 2.9 tonnes.

On the motorway sections we found the road and engine noise subdued compared to the old model, and Sevel finally seems to have stopped a Force 10 whistling in between the windscreen pillars and the leading edge of the cab doors.

The new Relay is much improved, but then it needed to be. The cab comfort is better and higher equipment levels are welcome. Some fundamentals such as the gearshift and offset pedals don't compare favourably to the German opposition, but then there's always the price issue ...

DRIVER'S LOG

LIST PRICE: 12,300 [pounds sterling] to 19,530 [pounds sterling] (+VAT)

ON SALE: Now

ENGINE: 2.0 HDi, 2.2 HDi, 2.8 HDi, 2.0 petrol

TRANSMISSION: Five-speed manual

GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT: 2900kg, 3300kg, 3500kg

PAYLOAD: 1110kg to 1635kg

VOLUME: 7.5 to 14[m.sup.3]

COMPANY VAN RATING: 8/10

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