Extra wheelbase inches enable Mercedes to fit a third row of seats in its minivans
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by Chris Chilton
2 hours ago
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by Chris Chilton
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Mercedes launched its current Citan small commercial van in 2021, and its posher T-Class minivan brother in 2022, but so far both have only been available with one short 106.9-in (2,716 mm) wheelbase that’s limited their practicality.
But that’s about to change with the addition of a longer wheelbase version of the Renault-Nissan designed platform that also underpins the Renault Kangoo and Nissan Townstar. And our spy photographers captured the stretched Mercedes vans on their way to winter testing in northern Sweden.
Both the Citan and T-Class will offered with the longer wheelbase. For Citan panel vans the extra length will significantly increase the carrying capacity, while the T-Class will benefit from an available third row of seats, enabling it to move seven bodies instead of only five.
But blurring the lines between the Citan panel van and T-Class passenger minivan is the Citan Tourer, which is essentially a T-Class minus some of the frills. Our spy shots appear to show a mixture of long-wheelbase Citan Tourer Base and Citan Tourer Pro models – the base versions marked out by their plain black plastic bumpers and simple hubcaps – on the rear of a car transporter, along with three short wheelbase T-Class vans at the end nearer the truck cab.
Comparing the profiles of the T-Class vans and longer Citans we can see that with the standard wheelbase length the rear wheel arch cuts into the bottom corner of the sliding door. But on the stretched vans the door ends before the wheel arch, illustrating these models’ additional sheetmetal between the axles.
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We’re unlikely to see any major mechanical differences between these new longer vans and the shorter versions already on sale. That means they’ll be offered with a range of 1.3-liter petrol and 1.5-liter diesel engines from Nissan and Renault, plus a 121 hp (90 kW / 122 PS) electric option in the eCitan and EQT when European sales start later this year. Like the shortie version, the Citan won’t be coming to America.
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