M200

The Citan was a rebadged Renault Kangoo, a product of the alliance Daimler signed with Renault-Nissan in 2010, and its petrol option was as French as the bodyshell. The M 200 is Renault's H5Ft, sold elsewhere as the Energy TCe 115: 1,192 cc, a single turbocharger, direct injection, twin overhead camshafts with variable timing on both, stop-start, and an iron-carbon coating sprayed onto the cylinder walls to reduce friction. It was assembled in Spain, met Euro 5 at launch, and was the only petrol engine the Citan ever had.

It was also the rarer choice, since most buyers took an OM 607 diesel — itself another Renault unit. The reputation is Renault's too. The oil spray nozzle that lubricates the timing chain clogs with soot on short urban journeys, which is precisely the duty cycle a small delivery van lives on, and because the injectors spray into the cylinder rather than the port, nothing washes the intake valves and they coke up. Owners are told to change the oil every 10,000 km and to take that literally. Production ended in 2021 with the first-generation Citan.