Ducato scoops another Motorcaravan award

The Fiat Ducato has made it two out of two after scooping the Which Motorcaravan Base Vehicle Winner accolade for the second year running.

The popular Ducato, which went on sale in the UK at the end of 2006, took the same title in the 2007 Which Motorcaravan awards, and has clearly shown that its blend of sure-footed roadholding, lively performance and smart cab design has had a long-lasting appeal among the awards’ judges.

Which Motorcaravan is the UK’s leading motorhome buying guide. Its road testers, who judge the awards, drive dozens of motorhomes every year, so emerging as the winner is a tough task. The Fiat Ducato base vehicle is designed specifically for the motorhome market and the award this year is for the entire Ducato base vehicle range, not a specific engine.

“It’s the vehicle you’re most likely to be driving when you take delivery of your next new motorhome,” says Which Motorcaravan. “Unlike any other commercial vehicle manufacturer, Fiat takes its motorhome market extremely seriously, to the extent that its latest Ducato now actually has an offshoot range of base vehicles designed specifically for the motorhome conversion market.

“As an all-round package, the rest currently have no answer. The Fiat’s firm ride, for one thing, has a hugely desirable pay-off: exceptional handling. (It) is never anything other than utterly planted and utterly safe, something that must surely be a benefit of that wider-track chassis.

“Its extraordinarily good turning circle (via the reach-adjustable steering wheel) is class-leading, too, and all-round visibility is much improved thanks to the enormous new windscreen.”

Fiat is currently market leader in Europe and the UK for the supply of base vehicles to the motorhome industry. The UK motorhome market is one of the largest in Europe, and motorhome travel is among the fastest growing leisure activities in the UK.

“To be Base Vehicle Winner once is great news, but to get the award for the second successive year is even more satisfying,” says Gerry Clarke, Director of Fiat Professional UK. “We have been delighted with the Ducato range, which we think is superb, and I’m very pleased that Which Motorcaravan thinks so too.”