Toyota, Peugeot and Citroen reveal new van-based MPVs

Platform-sharing alliances are alive and well in the van sector, and the latest products to emerge from of PSA Peugeot Citroen's partnership with Toyota are this trio of vans - the Toyota Proace, Peugeot Traveller and Citroen Spacetourer.

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Very few details have been released but we'd expect van versions of these models these to eventually replace the older Proace, Peugeot Expert and Citroen Dispatch when they make it to market. The models shown here are people-carrier versions, with three rows of seats - but they will be available as people carriers for private buyers or minibus-style shuttle versions for commercial use.

Toyota says it's new Proace will offer a competitive product in the mid-size commercial, shuttle and combo segments of the van market, and by extension so will the Citroen and Peugeot models. The vans will face up against the likes of the Vauxhall Vivaro and Renault Trafic (which also share a platform) as well as against the Volkswagen Transporter, Mercedes Vito and Ford Transit Custom.

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Due to the common platform underpinning them, these vans do all look fairly alike, with simple slab-sided styling, though the 'suggested' wheel arches add some visual drama. Up front they feature their parent company's family face, though the rears are near enough identical apart from badging. Underneath the vehicles share technical features and equipment, as well as powertrains - which we'd expect to be evolutions of the 2.0-litre diesel featured in the current models.

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Absent from the release was a Fiat Scudo offering as the companies have parted ways. Instead, Fiat's new Scudo will be based on the Vauxhall Vivaro/Renault Traffic platform when it arrives in 2016.

What do you think of these three new vans? Let us know in the comments below...