For more than 25 years Promobil has been considered the barometer of trends, developments and success in the motorhome industry in Europe. In presenting its “Best Motorhome Base Vehicle 2016” title to the sixth generation Fiat Ducato, this German magazine has placed the Italian Fiat well ahead of its German rivals and it has so for the ninth consecutive year, providing further confirmation of the Ducato’s domination of the motorhome base vehicle sector.
Fiat’s success in this burgeoning leisure market has come about because the Italian commercial vehicle maker has not seen the motorhome market as an afterthought to its commercial vehicle business.
Rather it has designed into the Ducato features that specifically benefit the motorhome builder, it has developed a range of Ducato versions built specifically for the motorhome converter and it backed this up with a car-like driving experience and an enviable reputation for durability, reliability and a long service life.
Compared to some its long and narrow rivals, the Ducato is wider and shorter, which makes for a spacious interior, both for motorhomes and for loading and unloading in its commercial vehicle role. The entire drivetrain of the Ducato is contained at the front, leaving space at the back for all the essentials of the motorhome design and for a low floor.
The self-shifting gearbox was designed to with a shift pattern specifically matched to the needs of motorhome drivers and this, along with the stability control and ABS, were developed with test vehicles with the load and weight distribution of a motorhome. As well as Ducato vans, the Ducato is available as both a cab chassis and cowl chassis with the strong, lightweight and unusually low height AL-KO chassis.
This focus on the needs of the motorhome designer and owner has made the Fiat Ducato a worldwide award winner and a sales leader, with more than half a million Fiat Ducatos used worldwide as motorhomes. The Ducato has even moved into the last bastion of motorhome ownership, with the launch of the Ducato in the USA – or Ram ProMaster under which name it is sold in North America – it started winning awards within weeks of its US launch as some of the biggest names in motorhomes in North America started using the Ram ProMaster as a motorhome base vehicle.
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