2002 Fiat Scudo ELX 1.9 turbo diesel from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Overall a good van

Faults:

Nothing other than general wear and tear such as new brakes, the odd suspension part, and oil changes. If I'm being really picky the interior trim didn't hold up too well, but nothing broke off as far as I remember.

General Comments:

A van that was used more or less from new as a works van and lead a hard life carrying heavy loads. I found it to be a generally comfortable van to travel in and to drive it was OK, however it was very slow especially when loaded, which is my only complaint. Reliability was good however and did not cause any breakdowns, contrary to most other reviews about this van.

Compared to my previous vans (Ford Transit, Vauxhall Astra-max, etc) the interior quality does not hold up as well, and feels pretty cheap, but I don't think Fiat put too much effort into this vehicle when designing the interior.

I liked driving the Scudo for the most part, and was really at its best on long motorway drives; as I mentioned acceleration was not its strong point, however it cruised along just fine when up to speed, and was very economical.

The van was sold on back in 2007 at 5 years old; who knows if it's still going. But overall when I had the van it proved to be a good reliable van the few years or so as a works van, and did not breakdown and got the job done. Don't see too many about anymore though, but I'd buy one again if I found a good one with low mileage, since this one went on to over 100,000 miles without serious issues.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th August, 2016

22nd Aug 2022, 14:48

Mine was very similar - solid reliable van if that is all you want to get the job done. I do miss these vans, not many left now from this generation.

2002 Fiat Scudo 1.9d from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Watch this space

Faults:

Just picked up the van, having previously test driven it in town. Struggled to get 70mph on motorway (less on slight incline. Checked the handbook and it states 85mph. As its only done 27k I'm disapointed with the performance. Is this normal performance or is there a problem?

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 5th May, 2006

6th May 2006, 10:55

It might loosen up a little more as the mileage increases, but you have simply got a very slow car. I think the bhp is around 65, and the weight is something like 1200 kilos. Unless you have the turbo diesel, which should be more than adequate, I don't think there is a problem with the car.

9th May 2006, 11:43

The van gave up the ghost on Monday after 3 days of ownership. I travelled about 3 miles and couldn't get above 20mph, and noticed smoke coming from the exhaust. Luckily it was under warranty, and the dealer was very helpful, sending a driver out to me with a courtecy van.

They phoned me today to tell me that they had to change the exhaust as the catalytic converor was clogged. Hopefully when I collect the van on Thursday it will be OK (fingers crossed)

14th May 2006, 14:28

Well, got the van back on Thursday, and its running fine. Not knowing much about vehicles, I'm a little confused as to why a catalytic converter would need to be changed after 27k.

21st May 2007, 12:18

On the exhaust problem. I had an old Honda Civic (I know it's a PETROL CAR) that began to suffer from loss of power particularly on motorways. I thought I had dirty feul/ blocked filter / dodgy feul pump and tried all sorts to fix it. This problem popped up about 2 years and 25,000 miles after a new exhaust was fitted.

Driving over the mountains one morning to work and managed to pull my back box off on rough roads. Got lots of noise etc. but picked up the box only to find the inside rotting to bits.

Got a replacement and the difference in power was unreal.

If your exhaust is even partially blocked it can trap moisture in the engine, muck up your compression ratios, prevent exhaust gasses from escaping and all of these can make it difficult for the engine to fire up (diesel AND petrol alike). Sounds like the scudos come with dodgy exhaust systems...