Fiat offers greater safety technologies in Ducato van range

Fiat Professional has recently posted a release on the benefits of their new safety system, ESP (electronic stability programme), which now come standard in their entire range of Ducato vans, chassis cabs, combis and minibuses. The ESP was introduced back in April this year and comes in anticipation of any possible changes to commercial vehicle legislation and includes all Fiat Ducato models except the back-to-back cab range.

What exactly is ESP (no it’s not the ability to see dead people, i.e. a sixth sense)? Fiat defines it as an important safety device which uses information supplied by various sensors to check whether a vehicle is cornering safely or not. If the ESP computer believes the vehicle is going to skid, it brakes the appropriate wheel or reduces engine power.

The programme also includes and incorporates other technologies to make it work, such as Load Adaptive Control (LAC) which identifies the size of the load and the vehicle’s centre of gravity to enable the systems to work at peak effectiveness. Hill Holder makes starts on slopes easier by holding the brake on momentarily after the driver’s foot has released the pedal. Hydraulic Brake Assist (HBA) increases braking pressure under emergency conditions. Anti-Slip Regulation (ASR) acts on the individual brakes and/or temporarily reduces the power delivered to the engine in order to counteract the effects of one or both drive wheels skidding while Motor Schleppmoment Regelung (MSR) ensures torque remains at the wheels following a sudden downshift on an incline.

Did you catch all of that? Wait, there’s more. Fiat have also explained the new safety system within the Ducato van called the Traction+ system , a traction control system that improves the vehicle's handling on difficult terrain. It uses the engine's ESP computer to simulate the behaviour of a self-locking differential. When one of the driven front wheels spins on a slippery surface or over poor terrain, the brakes are applied to that wheel as simultaneously engine torque is transferred to the wheel with better grip.

The benefits of the Traction+ are; lower kerb weight, lower loading height and less expensive maintenance costs than a traditional 4x4 system. But this optional feature will set you back an additional cost of about £150.  Definitely a unique selling point to set it apart from the competition and well worth it if you drive your Ducato van in poor grip terrain.

For more details on Fiat’s new safe, efficient and environmentally-friendly transport solutions for businesses and fleets, please click here.