Mercedes-Benz Citan
Tested model: Citan Panel Van 1.3 litre, 96 kW petrol
Applies to: W420, from 2021
The Citan Panel Van is well equipped with standard-fit passive safety equipment such as airbags. The ADAS is high-functioning and performs well in Euro NCAP's tests, offering a five-star level of safety. The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system uses radar-camera fusion technology to detect other vehicles and vulnerable road users such as pedestrians and cyclists. Performance is excellent when approaching a stationary or slower-moving car, with collisions avoided at all but the highest test speeds, where there is still good mitigation of the impact speed. The system performs equally well whether the target vehicle is straight in front of it or offset to one side or the other, and there is good reaction in the scenarios where a vehicle turns across the path of the approaching van. With a pedestrian target, the system performs well in all scenarios, including those done in night-time conditions. The Citan Panel Van struggles a little in tests where a cyclist emerges from behind an obstruction but performs well in all other scenarios involving a cyclist.
The lane support system includes lane departure warning, which signals to the driver when the van is drifting out of lane, and emergency lane keeping, which intervenes more aggressively in certain critical situations to prevent the van from leaving the road. The system performed well in all tests, and includes blind spot monitoring to help the driver not to pull out in front of an overtaking vehicle.
The Citan Panel Van uses a camera and digital mapping to identify the local speed limit and provides the information to the driver, allowing the limiter to be set accordingly. The limiter is able to maintain the set speed to within 5 km/h.
A seatbelt reminder is standard for the driver and front passenger seat, and the Citan Panel Van recognises steering behaviour which is characteristic of fatigued driving, alerting the driver to the need for a break.