Other Citroën reviews
New price range:
£11,793 - £15,273
View great savings on a new Citroën Nemo
Used price range:
£3,780 - £5,658
Compact size, easy to park, diesel fuel economy, decent cabin quality
Not especially suited to motorways, noisy at higher speeds, petrol engine is best avoided
The Nemo is Citroen's compact but practical van and the sister to the near identical Peugeot Bipper and the Fiat Fiorino. All three were developed together and are even built at the same Fiat factory. The Nemo offers compact dimensions, a spacious load area and a decent payload. It's ideal for multi-drop work in urban areas plus it can accommodate a Euro pallet between the wheel-arches (with a couple of centimetres to spare each side). A new Euro 5 compliant 1.3-litre 75bhp diesel engine with stop/start has been introduced and it offers an improvement of around 4% in fuel efficiency over the previous 1.4-litre diesel on the combined cycle and a 10% improvement on the urban cycle. The previous engine wasn't ideal on the motorway, but the new engine is much more refined and not nearly as vocal. Overall this is an impressive well-put-together van that's ideal for small independent traders.
The Nemo has good space for a driver and passenger up to about six feet tall and the cabin is a user-friendly environment with good forward visibility. The controls are light, clearly marked and easy to use. A CD stereo comes as standard, as well as a driver's airbag. The LX is available with a wider range of options than the X, including air conditioning, cruise control, rear parking sensors and the steel bulkhead. Enterprise spec includes air-con, bluetooth and rear parking sensors as standard, and buyers can opt for extra Trafficmaster Smart Nav for just under £500. The materials used feel robust and hard wearing while the driving position is good with a very car-like feel.
Small dimensions help the Nemo feel nimble on the road and even with a few sacks of gravel in the back it proves agile and responsive. The steering is light and the Nemo corners neatly, making it ideal for negotiating town traffic. The previous 1.4HDi engine was pretty noisy at 70mph on the motorway and with relatively high revs but the 1.3HDi is refined and relaxed when cruising. Citroen offers an automatic version of the diesel LX model for a modest £400 premium. Although it is an automated manual gearbox with an electronic clutch and no clutch pedal, so doesn't change up as smoothly as a traditional automatic, it carries no fuel consumption penalty.