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The Volkswagen Transporter was also marketed in North America as "Volkswagen Eurovan".

"Eurovans" is a common name applied^[1] to nearly identical large MPVs resulting from Sevel, a joint-venture of PSA and Fiat, and manufactured at Sevel Nord factory in France, near Valenciennes. The first eurovans were sold as Citroën Evasion (Synergie), Fiat Ulysse, Lancia Zeta and Peugeot 806. The present, second generation, saw the renaming of all but the Ulysse to Citroën C8, Lancia Phedra and Peugeot 807 respectively.

The eurovans differ little technically and visually, being a prime example of badge engineering. The eurovans share mechanicals and body structure with Sevel light commercial vans, Citroën Jumpy (Dispatch), Fiat Scudo and Peugeot Expert. They are more technically related to PSA than Fiat vehicles, as PSA governs the Sevel Nord part of the joint-venture.

[edit] First generation

First generation

Also called	Citroën Evasion (Synergie) Fiat Ulysse Lancia Zeta Peugeot 806
Production	1994-2002
Platform	FF Sevel Nord van

Eurovan side view

The full car was finished in 1992, but would have to wait another two years until full production. The first generation eurovans were introduced in 1994. They were similar in dimensions to their main competitor, Renault Espace, although they had a longer wheelbase. They were thus smaller than American vans, like the Chrysler Voyager, which is also a popular model in Europe. In contrast to the Espace and like American minivans they had sliding rear side doors, a trait they share with their commercial siblings. In spite of the fact that the Voyager also came in the "Grand" versions with elongated body and wheelbase (and the Espace followed suit in 1997), the eurovans only came in one size.

The Eurovans were almost identical, the differences consisting in different grilles, lower tailgates/taillights, wheel covers/alloy wheels and exterior and interior badging, as well as different trim levels. In October 1998, the eurovans were mildly facelifted.

Inside, the gear lever was mounted on the dashboard rather than on the floor, and the handbrake is on the door side of the driver's seat, which allowed for the elimination of central console and opened up a passage between the front seats. The seating configurations included two fixed seats in front and three individual removable seats in the middle row, along with optional two individual removable seats or a three-seater bench in the third row.

[edit] Model peculiarities

[edit] Citroën Evasion (Synergie)

The Evasion was badged Synergie in the right hand drive markets of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, presumably due to the existence of the English word "evasion" which is pronounced differently from the French and has different connotations (the word means 'getting away from it all' in French but 'escaping' or 'avoiding' (esp. by subterfuge) in English). However, the car retained the Evasion name in New Zealand.

[edit] Fiat Ulysse

The Fiat was named after Ulysses, the Roman name for Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey. Ironically, one of Ulysse's competitors is Honda Odyssey. Fiat Ulysse is the only eurovan which has retained the same name in the second generation.

[edit] Lancia Zeta

Following the traditional naming theme, Lancia named its variant with the, previously unused, Greek letter Zeta. With its big chrome grille, the Lancia served as the "premium" eurovan, not available with base engines and exceptionally well equipped, with prices up to 20% higher than corresponding versions of other eurovans.

[edit] Peugeot 806

The 806 was named according to Peugeot's trademarked "x0x" system, where the first digit indicates model series (vehicle size/class), while the last indicates the generation, with a central zero. The biggest Peugeot series to date was the executive sedan line "60x", so Peugeot chose 8, leaving room for potential other model. The eurovans were launched when Peugeot was replacing the "x05" with "x06" models, so it was appropriately labelled "806".

Belgian racing team Kronos Racing unveiled a highly modified racing version of Peugeot 806 with internals of Peugeot 405 Mi16 touring car in 1995 season. 806 even raced in the Spa 24 Hours competition at Spa-Francorchamps, but did not finish due to engine failure.

[edit] Engines

The first-generation eurovans utilized PSA's XU/XUD engines, regardless of brand. They were later replaced by the PSA EW/DW engine. All were mated to 5-speed manual transmissions, except for the 2.0 16v petroleum engine, which had an option of a 4-speed automatic.

[edit] Second generation

Second generation

Also called	Citroen C8 Fiat Ulysse Lancia Phedra Peugeot 807
Production	2002-present
Platform	FF Sevel Nord van

Dashboard of Ulysse.

The first-generation eurovans were superseded by a new model in 2002. The floorpan, wheelbase and suspension setup were not altered, but all exterior dimensions as well as front and rear tracks were increased. In particular, the increase in length by almost 30 cm greatly enhanced interior capacity. The new eurovans were afforded a much more bubbly, contemporary look, along with a modern-looking dashboard with centrally mounted gauges. The differences are now more pronounced, encompassing entire front fascias and rear sections (including head- and taillights), as well as different interior color themes. The Fiat and the Lancia are slightly wider than PSA vans, and the Phedra is also longer than other eurovans^[2].

[edit] Names

Except for the Fiat Ulysse, all the models have been renamed. The 806 was, as expected, replaced by 807, while Citroën chose to put the minivan in line with its new naming theme, where models were called Cx (x being a number roughly corresponding to the relative size of a given model), hence the Citroën C8. As the new Lancias didn't use Greek letters anymore, the new minivan was called Lancia Phedra, in honor of the Greek mythological figure Phaedra.

[edit] 807 GT

To highlight the launch of the V6 engine, Peugeot presented a design study called Peugeot 807 Grand Toursime at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show. Apart from the exquisite appointment of the 4-passenger interior and some mechanical and visual tuning, the car was essentially a top-of-the-line 807 in a peculiar purple color.

[edit] Engines

The engine range comprised again of different versions of the PSA EW/DW engine, paired with either 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic transmissions. Additionally, top-of-the-line versions came with the PSA ES V6.

All diesels were PSA's HDIs, but billed JTD by Fiat as well.

[edit] See also

• Timeline of Citroën vehicles
• Timeline of Fiat vehicles
• Timeline of Lancia vehicles
• Timeline of Peugeot vehicles

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official C8 UK site
• lanciaphedra.com
• Eurovan2, a site devoted to eurovans
• - UK owners blog relevant for Synergie enthusiasts
• Citroen C8 at Citroenet
• Citroën C8 crash test
• C8 links Citroën World