Eurovans

The Eurovans are a family of large MPVs from the Citroën, Peugeot, Fiat and Lancia marques, produced at the jointly-owned Sevel Nord factory in France. It was launched in March 1994, and production ceased in November 2010 for the Fiat and Lancia models, but continues for the Citroën and Peugeot siblings.

The Eurovans differ little technically and visually, being a prime example of badge engineering. They share mechanicals and body structure with the Sevel Nord light commercial vans, the Citroën Jumpy (Dispatch), Fiat Scudo and Peugeot Expert.

First generation (1994–2002)
The first generation Eurovans were introduced in 1994. They are smaller than American vans, like the Chrysler Voyager, which is also available in Europe. In contrast to the Toyota Previa 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 removal of middle 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.

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, apart from the 2.0 16v EW petroleum engine, which had an option of a 4-speed automatic.

Citroën Evasion
The Evasion was badged Synergie in the RHD markets of both the United Kingdom and Ireland. However, the car maintained the Evasion name in New Zealand. In 1998, the Citroën Evasion got a slight facelift including a larger logo and a restyling of the front grille and rear bumper. The Citroen brand was sold in Mexico with a headquarters in Detroit.

Peugeot 806
The 806 was named according to Peugeot's "x0x" system, where the first digit indicates model series (vehicle size/class) and the last indicates the generation, with a central zero. The largest Peugeot series then available was the executive saloon 605, so Peugeot chose 8, potentially leaving room for an in between model. The Eurovans were launched when Peugeot was replacing the "x05" with "x06" models, so it was appropriately labeled "806".

Fiat Ulysse
The Fiat was named after Ulysses, the Roman name for Odysseus, the hero of Homer's Odyssey. This could have been problematic as Honda used the Odyssey name for their minivan, but the Honda Odyssey was only sold in Europe in its first generation and then named Honda Shuttle. The Ulysse range received a facelift in 1999.

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.

Second generation (2002–present)
In 2002 the second generation of the Eurovans was launched. The 807 itself was launched in June, followed by the C8 in July. The floorpan, wheelbase, and postponement were not transformed, but all exterior dimensions-including front and rear tracks- were increased. The increase in length of almost 30 cm greatly enhanced interior volume. The new Eurovans were afforded a much more bubbly, contemporary look, along with a modern-looking dashboard with centrally mounted gauges.

The differences between the various versions were more marked, surrounding full front fascias and rear sections (including head- and tail-lights), as well as different interior colour themes. The middle and third row seats now had fore/aft sliders to increase flexibility and also adjustable backs. As with the first generation, a three-seater bench seat was available in the third row, slotting into the standard third row seat runners, with back-lowering and tilt forward arrangements to increase boot space.

The Citroën C8 and Peugeot 807 also got a light facelift in 2008.

The Fiat and the Lancia were slightly wider than PSA vans, and the Phedra is also longer than other Eurovans.

To highlight the launch of the V6 engine, Peugeot presented a design study called Peugeot 807 Grand Tourisme at the 2003 Geneva Motor Show. Despite the fancier 4-passenger interior and some mechanical and visual tuning, the car was essentially a top-of-the-line 807 in a purple colour.

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. (A six-speed manual option was added in the UK in late 2004). Additionally, top-of-the-line versions came with the PSA ES V6.

All diesels were PSA's HDIs, but allocated JTD by Fiat also.

Citroën C8


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.

Peugeot 807
The 807 replaced the 806.

Fiat Ulysse
Fiat retained the Ulysse name for its second generation. The direct successor is the Fiat Freemont.

Lancia Phedra
As the new Lancias didn't use Greek letters in the 2000s (until the Lancia Delta was reintroduced in 2008), the new minivan was called Lancia Phedra, in honor of the Greek mythological figure Phaedra. The successor is the Lancia Voyager.