THE Citroen Nemo van may have been painted in the wickedly named Malicious Red but it turned out to be one of the most friendly small commercials around.

This Nemo may have been relatively small but it had one of the longest model designations I have seen - Enterprise 1.3HDi 75hp Stop&Start Euro 5.

In fact the designation says much of what this van is all about.

Enterprise means that it has a higher spec than most including a nearside sliding side load door (this vehicle had another optional slider on the offside), and enhanced load security with programmable central locking.

The 1.3HDi diesel boosts power to 75bhp and provides a major increase in peak torque to 190Nm at 1,500rpm.

All new HDi75-powered Nemos benefit from Stop&Start technology, which further improves fuel efficiency and cuts CO2 emissions in urban driving.

The new Euro 5 compliant engine takes the reins from the old 1.4HDi which was the UK's most economical van and was a hard act to follow.

In manual transmission form the new model delivers some noteworthy gains.

It's 55.4mpg urban cycle fuel consumption is an impressive 11.8% better and the story continues with a much better 65.6 combined fuel consumption.

Who would have thought a few years ago that a workaday van would be reaching towards 70mpg?

With CO2 emissions at a low 113g/km this van in also cleaner and features an efficient self-regeneration diesel particulate filtering system.

The Nemo Euro 5 also features additional load volume with the Hdi75 models gaining a 50kg payload increase at 660kg.

The load volume has been upped by the use of its ingenious Extenso folding/sliding passenger seat which comes as standard.

In addition to increasing the load volume it lengthens the deck alongside the driver by 970mm to 2,493mm. The back is easy to fold horizontally onto the seat cushion and the whole seat lowers to give a level slide from the load compartment floor.

To enable the seat to be utilised the passenger side of the cage bulkhead can be hinged to the side to give the driver complete protection from the load.

And on the road the Nemo is surprising. Anyone might be forgiven for thinking that the Nemo is just a purpose built urban delivery system, but this is far from the truth. The Nemo is just as at home on motorways as it is in busy town streets.

Its upright driving position with good seat adjustment range aids relaxed driving and the responsive engine certainly makes it plain that in the world of vans Nemo is travelling business class.

£12,891

: 1,248cc, diesel engine driving front wheels via five-speed manual gearbox

97.6mph

15.6 seconds

65.6

660kg

113g/km

2yrs/ unlimited mileage or 3yrs/ 60,000 miles