Citroen Dispatch - Technology Focus
There was a time when any review of the technological features contained within a panel van would have run out of subject matter soon after examining the electric motor that drove the windscreen wipers and the hinge that stopped the sun visor from falling off. Today, its a different story with top commercial vehicles sporting all manner of gadgetry as a matter of course. Citroens Dispatch is one of the most tech-laden vans on the market and our long term test of one provided a golden opportunity for us to get a bit nerdy with its two, count em, satellite navigation systems.
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The deal is that all Citroen Dispatch Vans have TrafficMasters SmartNav as standard but Citroen also offer an integrated map screen sat nav system as an option. Our Dispatch had the optional arrangement installed but as the SmartNav system comes free, it had been chucked in anyway.
"SmartNav is more than a standard satellite navigation package"
This quirk of fate presented the perfect opportunity to assess both arrangements side by side. It isnt just the cost that separates them but as ever, it is a crucial factor. Where SmartNav comes as standard with the Dispatch in a package that includes a three-year subscription to the navigation service and to the stolen vehicle tracking service, the optional system comes at a premium of just over £1,000. This is the point where fleet managers nationwide form a distinct bias towards SmartNav.
The reason why the Dispatch is able to bring us the SmartNav system as standard is that SmartNav isnt your average satellite navigation system. In the small blue touch screen mounted on the top righthand corner of the Dispatch fascia what you have is a real time interface with the TrafficMaster control centre. You programme in your destination as you would with an integrated system then SmartNav connects to the remote TrafficMaster computer which supplies the route. This enables the TrafficMaster to incorporate real time traffic updates using information gleaned from the average speeds of SmartNav users as they traverse different sections of the road network.
The dispatch package includes a 3-month subscription to this service which advises you of delays and gives you the option of re-routing to avoid them. SmartNav is more future proof than most of its rival products as the software can be upgraded remotely by TrafficMaster. The screen is the only on-board component acting as a link to the mapping and processing computers back at TrafficMaster HQ. The lack of any expensive on-board computers or mapping CDs also helps to keep the costs down and means that fleet operators are not forced to invest in expensive on-board technology that isnt valued highly by the used market.
The question is, how well does it work? Citroens NaviDrive on-board system provides the competition in our Dispatch and theres no doubt that its large full-colour map screen is easier to follow than the SmartNavs small monotone display. It offers individual graphics to indicate the direction to turn or the correct exit take off roundabouts but youre largely reliant on the voiced instructions. One drawback to NaviDrive is that the mapping CD has to be inserted in the CD player in the Dispatch for the system to work. Navigating with NaviDrive and listening to your favourite music is not an option.
Where SmartNav excels, it in its use of live traffic updates. TrafficMaster monitors average speeds across the entire UK road network and can detect delays feeding the information back to its customers. When a delay is detected on your route and theres a faster alternative, the SmartNav system offers to recalculate to avoid it. This has the potential to save businesses significant amounts of time but we found that its also handy when youre stuck in traffic.
SmartNav constantly adjusts your ETA based on the road conditions ahead so you always know roughly how much longer the journey is going to take. This can be brutally depressing when your arrival time spirals out of control as you sit motionless staring at the rows of brake lights snaking off into the distance but at least you know. SmartNav is less effective when it comes to dealing with human error. Take a wrong turn and the system can become flummoxed, clamming up completely while it connects to headquarters to re-programme the route.
It usually sorts itself out again in time but without a map screen showing you how to get back on track, youre forced to wait while it gets its act together which isnt always convenient. In the final toss-up between SmartNav and the integrated NaviDrive system a number of factors must be considered. If it comes down to the basic act of route guidance, that is getting drivers to destinations in the simplest way possible. The NaviDrive system with its large map screen and button operated control interface, just about shades it.
The SmartNav option takes a bit too long to react when you foul up its route with a wrong turning and it lacks a map of any kind, although the touch screen controls are reasonably intuitive. This isnt the whole story though. SmartNav offers a whole extra dimension with its real time traffic updates and its ability to steer you around the worst hold ups. It also warns you when youre approaching a fixed position speed camera at a speed in-excess of the limit and it has the integrated Trackstar stolen vehicle tracking system.
SmartNav is more than a standard satellite navigation package and its free with the Dispatch. Although we can see the logic in some operators paying the £1,000 premium of the NaviDrive system that covers the basics better, SmartNav does a decent job for a lot less. You get three years use of the navigation and tracking services with SmartNav but the standard package on the Dispatch only includes three months of live traffic updates and one month of speed camera alerts. Having tried them, we think most owners will want to continue the subscription once the initial period has expired.
Theyre what set SmartNav apart.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
VAN: Citroen Dispatch L2H2 120 ENGINES: 2.0HDi 120bhp DIMENSIONS: length/width/height 5135/2194/2276mm LOAD VOLUME: 7m3 GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT: 2,963kg
