Young pretender has a lot to live up to

Old stager still has a lot of life left in it, says Alan Anderson

The Talento has been with us for five years. It’s another badged Renault Trafic which has also served Vauxhall and Nissan well but with so many changes to company ownerships, and with Fiat also merging of the giant French (Peugeot Citroen) PSA Group, the Italian’s alliance and reliance with Renault has to come to an end.

The consolation will be some good deals to clear out old stock before a new replacement comes on stream.

Recently the Talento gained the new Renault 2-litre diesel engine replacing the old 1.6 unit boasting 120bhp, 145bhp and 170bhp yet with enhanced economy, reduced CO2 emissions as well as better power and torque. Ours was the base 120bhp tune but even in the heavier long wheelbase body provided, via a six-speed manual gearbox, quite adequate performance, helped by maximum torque which kicks in at 1500rpm; the equivalent Transit provides 265lbft admittedly but it says much for the design that even in its advancing years, the Fiat drives as well as any of its newer rivals.

Trims are labelled Standard, SX, Tecnico and Sportivo and features central locking, power windows and mirrors, Bluetooth, DAB radio with steering wheel controls and a height adjustable driver seat.

Our test van was the SX adding air con, an uprated radio, automated wipers and lights, as well as a leather trimmed steering wheel and essential parking sensors – while it’s good to see a hard working van wearing wheel trims instead of easily kerbed alloys.

If you want a sportier look go for the £28,545, Sportivo with its exterior adornments. The base LWB van costs just 24,895 by the way.

From a practical standpoint the Fiat is up there with the best and while the Talent range is more select than a Traffic (having no high roof options for example) in long wheelbase form it offers a commodious 6m3 of cargo space, accessed easily via large twin rear and side door.

Similarly the comfy, if oddly coloured, cabin has oodles of space and there’s an optional ‘office’ facility where the fold-down passenger seat conItalian verts into a useful table with a detachable clipboard holder.

Comparing prices sees the usefully undercutting the French rival by up to £700 – and look out for other sales incentives) but against this their warranties differ, the Fiat having one less year although it runs for 120,000 miles where with a Traffic the limit is 100,000 miles.

On the other hand, Fiat operates its special Professional operation where specific warranties and maintenance needs can be tailored accordingly but the standard servicing intervals are set at two years or 25,000miles.

Despite the Fiat’s age, the current van stacks up well against any newer rivals and is eye-opening cheaper than many of its immediate alternatives. Make no mistake, the new Talento has some big boots to fill if it wants to continue to live up to its name.