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THE 100 CLUB
With a 160bhp unit in top spot and a 120bhp mid-Ranger, it would be easy to overlook the 100bhp entry-level engine in Citroen’s Relay Range. It would also be a mistake. Steve Walker reports

Can a driver really get away with just 100bhp to propel his large panel van? You could certainly imagine the stereotypical tea swilling, Sun worshipping white van man feeling a little emasculated with a mere century of horses to get him and his gutbuster breakfast physique from A to B. After all, there are superminis out there with way more power and a lot less bulk to shift. The entry level Citroen Relay models set out to prove that 100bhp is plenty but will buyers and operators be convinced?

First, let’s remind ourselves that historically, 100bhp has not been an inconsequential power output for a commercial vehicle and even in the large panel van sector, it’s a far from piffling amount of grunt. The old Relay produced just 86bhp in entry-level form and its great rival the Vauxhall Movano campaigns with an 82bhp entry-level option. It’s only in the context of the ever more powerful vans and passenger cars which have been materialising over recent years that 100bhp starts to appear even slightly weedy. The question is whether the average light duty van operator actually needs an engine like the Relay’s 160bhp 3.0-litre lump or the 184bhp 6-cylinder unit that can be specified in the Mercedes Sprinter. We took to the road in the entry-level 2.2-litre 100bhp Citroen Relay to find out. The Relay’s 100bhp powerplant bears little comparison to the kind of 100bhp diesel units found in compact passenger cars and just to prove it, let’s compare the two. With its sizable 2.2-litre capacity, the Relay’s lump is in a far more relaxed state of tune than a typical supermini engine. The 1.6-litre HDi diesel that Citroen will sell you in their C3 produces an impressive 110bhp but, crucially, it’ll give you 181lb/ft of torque at 1,750rpm while the Relay’s engine makes its 184lb/ft maximum torque available all the way from 1,500rpm to 2,800rpm. The panel van engine is designed to be tractable across a wider section of the rev Range, giving it the gumption to cope with heavy loads, steep inclines and devilish combinations of the two without drama or frenzied cog crunching on the driver’s part.

"The 100bhp HDi powerplant complements the smaller Citroen Relays in some style…"

Out and about in the 3.0-tonne short wheelbase, standard roof Relay (the 30 L1H1, for those familiar with the van’s less than obvious model designation structure), the 100bhp 2.2-litre engine makes a solid first impression. The van was without any cargo to hamper its progress but it pulled strongly and smoothly from low in the rev Range just as the pancake flat torque curve suggested it would. The five-speed gearbox fitted to these models (you get six-speeds with the more powerful Relays) aids smooth progress, slipping neatly enough between the well-spaced ratios and motorway speeds in fifth don’t have the engine working overly hard. Engine noise is well suppressed; unfortunately it’s the creaking and road roar emanating from the loadbay that do a lot of the suppression. Fit the optional bulkhead that separates cabin and cargo area and you’ll have a more refined van. Whether the 100bhp engine is powerful enough will be down very much to the kind of usage that individual operators have in mind. The model we tested is capable of accommodating a 1,155kg payload but if your Relay is to be regularly burdened with that kind of weight, the 120bhp or 160bhp engines will be better equipped to make composed progress. Equally, if frequent long distance motorway trips are on the agenda, the bigger engines will be more relaxed companions and the variable power steering that accompanies them makes the Relay less of a handful at these velocities. The standard steering set-up on the model we tested was extremely light, combining with the Relay’s excellent turning circle to make parking and manoeuvring in busy areas a doddle. At higher speeds, it didn’t really inspire confidence when slight changes in direction were called for. The Citroen Relay is available in over 70 different bodystyles with gross vehicle weights extending up to 4.0 tonnes but the largest panel van you’ll find with the 2.2-litre 100bhp engine fitted to it is the 3.3-tonne medium wheelbase, high roof. Whichever Relay body operators choose, they’ll be getting one of the most practical and thoughtfully designed loadspaces in the class. The loading height of 560mm will help keep the chiropractors from your door while the whole area out back is uniformly shaped with limited wheel-arch intrusion. Quality in the cabin might not be up with that of some rivals, notably the Mercedes Sprinter and Volkswagen Crafter, but the overall design is more user-friendly with a multitude of storage options available to lose that vital piece of paperwork or Ginsters Buffet Bar in. All Relay models feature Trafficmaster satellite navigation and vehicle tracking as standard and this will be a major selling point with its traffic update and speed camera warning facilities also included. Be warned, however, that these add-ons are only offered with a one month subscription where you get three years use of the sat nav and tracking technology thrown in. Thoughtfully, the manufacturer has also laid-on a comprehensive options list so that it’s quite possible for user choosers or generous bosses to really go to town. All models feature an overspeed warning to help drivers stay within the limit but there’s also an optional speed limiter that makes breaking it impossible. Automatic headlamps and wipers are also standard but there’s a reversing camera, climate control, Bluetooth connectivity and all sorts of other technological titbits to consider as options - if you have the spare cash. Given free reign and the company chequebook, most van drivers would opt for as much power as the manufacturer in question sees fit to offer in a panel van but is it really necessary? On the evidence of this test, when operating mainly in busy urban areas with a modest payload in tow as many operators do, it’s not necessary in the Relay. The 100bhp HDi powerplant complements the smaller Citroen Relays in some style, keeping costs down with minimal drawbacks in terms of on road performance. Parting with cash unnecessarily is something that all good companies are loath to do and Citroen’s entry-level panel vans will be more than adequate for many.

Facts At A Glance VAN: Citroen Relay van Range ENGINES: 100bhp 2.2HDi MAX PAYLOADS: 1,055kg-1,390kg LOAD VOLUMES: 8m3-11.5m3 GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHTS: 3.0t, 3.3t

IS THAT REALLY THE RELAY?
Citroen have put notions of large panel vans being dull firmly to bed with the adventurously-styled Relay. Steve Walker reports…

The panel van market has traditionally been a tough place to operate and that’s certainly the case at present. The smallest difference in cost, capacity or specification can be enough to swing that big order or have buyers walking away in their droves and the fierce competition isn’t eased by the top manufacturers joining forces to sell alternatively-badged versions of the same van. Despite these difficulties, Citroen have managed to keep their Relay up amongst the frontrunners and the current model could have the legs to kick home down the finishing straight once the manufacturer’s famous special offers materialise.

It wasn’t so long ago that panel vans were the dullest-looking things imaginable. Rather like with washing machines, the various manufacturers had hit on a basic shape that worked and, come hell or high fuel prices, they were sticking to it. Telling the leading contenders apart without recourse to the badges on their grilles was like picking Wayne Rooney from a line-up of strategically shaved gorillas. Then, suddenly, somebody cottoned on to the fact that not all panel vans were purchased by a cold-hearted fleet manager with a calculator. Many of the people making the buying decisions, particularly in the burgeoning user chooser market, had an emotional investment in the vehicle they selected and a van that could differentiate itself from the pack with bold styling had a distinct advantage. So it is that today’s panel van sector is a far more exciting place to explore with the protagonists taking markedly divergent styling directions. The trend is definitely more towards the bold than the beautiful but you couldn’t call them boring and Citroen’s Relay is a case in point. Where to begin? The Relay has the kind of front end which draws your gaze this way and that. There are those headlamps, mounted out of harms way just below the windscreen, that curve upwards to points like the horns on one of Desperate Dan’s cowpies. Then check out the grill low down within in the line of the bumper. In a look lifted from the manufacturer’s passenger car line-up, its Citroen double chevrons are reduced to upward kinks knocked into parallel chrome bars. From the side, there’s a double bubble effect where the bulge of the bonnet meets that of the deep bumper to create a heavy swage line that extends down both flanks just above the wheelarches. Conventionally-styled this van is not.

"The Relay is designed to be rigid and this produces benefits across the board"

Of course, there’s only so much free reign that the pen men can be allowed where a panel van is concerned. The rear end must retain capacity and functionality, so the Relay gets the traditional boxy back to balance out its unorthodox frontage. There’s obviously a wide Range of body sizes available - four lengths, three wheelbases and three heights, if you’re counting - and these allow a Range of load volumes that extend from 8 m3 up to a truly sizable 17 m3. The Relay can manage some seriously hefty cargos as well, with gross vehicle weights extending up to 4 tonnes. In addition to the various loadbay options, there are window van models, single or double cab options and combi minibuses as well as the usual factory-built conversions using the chassis cab and platform cab derivatives. A great deal of emphasis has been placed on rendering the Relay as user-friendly as possible. The loading height can be as little as 53cm, depending on the model, and this can be reduced by a further 7cm if you specify the optional air suspension. The double rear doors open to 180 degrees and an optional modification is available to allow 270 degree opening, access is via a wide non-slip step and there are even further steps cut into the bumper at the front so you can climb up to clean the windscreen. Inside the cab, the design is less dramatic than that of the exterior but it is thoughtfully executed. There are no less than ten storage compartments including a lockable glovebox with room for a laptop, big door pockets, under-seat spaces and an overhead shelf. This Relay even retains the dash-top clipboard that proved popular in the previous model; it flips up to hold delivery notes or maps within the driver’s eye line but seems flimsier than before. All Relay models feature Trafficmaster satellite navigation as standard and this will be a major selling point. Thoughtfully, the manufacturer has also laid-on a comprehensive options list so that it’s quite possible for user choosers or generous bosses to really go to town. All models feature an overspeed warning to help drivers stay within the limit but there’s also an optional speed limiter that makes breaking it impossible. Automatic headlamps and wipers are also standard but there’s a reversing camera, climate control, Bluetooth connectivity, satellite navigation and all sorts of other technological titbits to consider as options - if you have the spare cash. Panel vans have been getting increasingly powerful in line with their increasingly individual aesthetics and the Relay has not been left behind. Buyers select from three engine options, each utilising the manufacturer’s HDi common-rail injection technology. The entry-level 100bhp 2.2-litre HDi is the only one fitted with a five speed manual gearbox with the 120bhp 2.2-litre unit and the Range-topping 160bhp 3.0-litre both getting 6-speed transmissions. Models featuring these two more powerful engines also receive variable power steering to aid low speed manoeuvring. The Relay is designed to be rigid and this produces benefits across the board in terms of road manners, on-board comfort and safety. The van rides on independent McPherson strut suspension at the front with load carrying duties at the rear taken care of by single leaf springs. There is also the option of double leaf rear suspension for operators planning on carrying big loads or the pneumatic self-levelling system. All models get ABS with brake assist but ESP stability control with its hill start assist function is optional on some versions. The driver’s airbag is standard with the passenger, side and curtain bags found only on the options list. The Relay handles very neatly, remaining composed in the corners and smooth on the straights, refinement could be better and the interior materials aren’t quite up with the class best. The way the Citroen Relay looks will doubtless come as an initial shock to operators used to the unadventurous visuals that characterised the previous generation of panel vans. They should grow accustomed to it, however, especially with the Relay’s Peugeot Boxer and Fiat Ducato sister vehicles sporting the same eye-catching facade out on the roads. A panel van market where the leading protagonists show a bit of character has got to be a good thing and the Relay certainly ranks amongst the top dogs.

Facts At A Glance VAN: Citroen Relay van Range ENGINES: 100bhp 2.2HDi/ 120bhp 2.2HDi/ 160bhp 3.0HDi MAX PAYLOADS: 1,000kg-2,000kg LOAD VOLUMES: 8m3-17m3 GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHTS: 3.0t, 3.3t, 3.5t, 4.0t