Essentially the Citroen Dispatch Combi is a van that has been converted into a large MPV capable of comfortably carrying nine passengers. It is larger than many 8 seater cars currently on the market, and this nine seater is as big on the inside as it appears on the outside. Due to its size and carrying capacity, the Dispatch Combi is only a valid consideration if you genuinely have a need for a large vehicle for your family, friends or group outings. If you only regularly carry seven or even eight passengers then other vehicles would perhaps be more suitable, such as the Ford Kuga, S-Max, SEAT Alhambra or the VW Transporter.
You won’t be short of space with the roomy Citroen Dispatch Combi – this is a large MPV suited to carrying lots of passengers.
Seating Layout & Interior
The majority of the seating is located where the loading bay would be for a traditional van. It has a minibus style arrangement of seats, with the emphasis of the materials used definitely being on durability and practicality over aesthetics. But that is perfectly reasonable, the Citroen Dispatch Combi should be rugged to withstand heavy use. Despite this the interior isn’t ugly at all, it just lacks some of the finesse and level of luxury that other smaller family cars or people carriers have.
One bugbear that has been reported for this vehicle is that the rear seats can be a pain to remove. If you need the extra space for transporting large items every now and again then other cars allow you to more easily remove the rear seats. You need a lot of elbow grease to do this in the Combi.
Comfortable Handling & Drive for a Large MPV
Citroen have always been adept at providing a comfortable and easy ride. The air-suspension system allows for automatic and instant adjustment, smoothing out the bumps and corners. In terms of handling you do get the feeling that this is more of a van than a family car, however it scores somewhere between the two, providing an adequate quality of handling, but not quite with a refined car-like ride. If you are in need of the full nine seats however, you only really have a few alternatives, and between this and the Peugeot Expert Tepee, they beat minibuses and vans hands-down.
There are a few different engines that you can choose from for the Dispatch Combi. Neither are powerhouses necessarily, but they do give satisfactory performance, and of course this benefits the fuel efficiency of the vehicles, providing a good MPG – desirable whether this is a family car or a regular group ‘taxi’. The 136 HDi diesel engine is probably the one you want to choose, as it is the most capable at hauling the car around when fully loaded with nine passengers and luggage. It delivers 134 BHP so helps to deliver an impressive 38.9mpg. For such a large vehicle this is a healthy mpg that adds to the practicality of using the vehicle for frequent daily journeys.
The sliding doors are a handy and convenient feature that makes entry and exit easy in tight parking spots.
Conclusion for the Nine Seat Citroen Dispatch Combi
You would have to be in need of a very large car for the Dispatch Combi to be the perfect choice for you. But if you are, be in no doubt that this vehicle is perfectly capable and adept at what is was designed for – for carrying large amounts of passengers and luggage with ease, and at a low cost. It is very practical, and the sliding doors on each side just add to the convenience of the model. In terms of cost it delivers a good MPG resulting in low ongoing costs, and the basic model is available for an on the road price of £23,250. You get a lot of vehicle for the money, and is a cheaper alternative to some of the smaller more luxurious people carriers out there.