Mercedes-Benz has unveiled its mini MPV, the new Citan Crewbus. The seven-seater Crewbus is based on the Renault Kangoo and is built as part of the Daimler-Renault Alliance. The Citan Crewbus is modelled on an extra-long variant of the Citan and gets an added third seat row as compared to the earlier variant which seated five passengers.
Now, the third seat is foldable and also detachable as per space requirements. Currently the Citan is only sold in Europe but the makers plan to expand to sales to include Asia, China and the Middle East.
The new top-of-the-line diesel model is the Citan 111 CDI. The engine develops 110bhp from a displacement of 1.5-litres. Maximum torque is 240Nm, making the Citan 111 CDI equally strong on pulling power. The Citan 111 CDI is a lively performer, accelerating from 0 to 100kmph in 12.3 seconds. It comes equipped with the optional BlueEfficiency package including the Eco start/stop function as a standard feature.
The other engine option is the Citan 112. It comes with a 1.2-litre engine that is good for 112PS. Both the Citan 111 CDI and the Citan 112 are equipped with a six-speed manual transmission as standard. The 112 on the other hand takes 11.7 seconds to go from 0-100kmph and reaches a top speed of 173kmph.
This crewbus is intended for commercial passenger transport, commercial transport of personnel and/or cargo, as well as mixed private and commercial use.