Many self-employed trades people want a van that can double as their family transport at the weekend to avoid the expense of running a car too. They may also fancy one that will make a positive statement about themselves and their business and will hopefully be fun to drive.
It is a market Peugeot seems to be attempting to tap into with the introduction earlier this year of a fancily specified Sport version of its six-seater Crew Van. It boasts a body kit that includes side skirts, a front lip spoiler and a distinctive rear spoiler, sits on 18in black alloy wheels, and is decorated with stripes and Sport decals which we suspect may not last too long in service.
Inside you will find attractive-looking Sport-branded ‘eco-leather’ seats.
Customers can choose between a 136hp electric model or a 180hp 2.0-litre diesel engine with 400Nm of torque to play with and married to an eight-speed automatic transmission. We opted for the diesel.
Interior and loading
There’s no lack of onboard kit what with dual-zone climate control and a Peugeot i-Connect infotainment system with a 10in touchscreen and satellite navigation along with wi-fi and voice assist. It takes a while to fathom out i-Connect’s foibles, but we got there or thereabouts eventually.
The controls for the heating and ventilation system, including the air conditioning, and the on/off/volume switch for the DAB radio are separate from the touchscreen.
Further features include an excellent reversing camera with a bird’s eye view supplemented by front and rear parking sensors, an electric parking brake, cruise control with a speed limiter and a pair of USB ports plus a 12v power socket. Present too are wireless smartphone charging, keyless entry and start, and electrically-adjustable exterior mirrors that fold in automatically.
You benefit from a reasonable amount of storage space. The rollcall includes a lidded bin on top of the dashboard, a lidded but not lockable glovebox with a parcel shelf below it, and big bins in each of the front doors.
The quartic steering wheel is offset to the left, which is annoying. At least it is heated, as is the driver’s seat – something we always applaud as fully paid-up
softies – and both the wheel and seat are height-adjustable.
Most passengers will want to avoid the front middle seat because room for your right knee is restricted by a moulding bulging out from the dashboard.
Access to the rear seats is by means of a sliding door on each side of the body with dark tinted windows that don’t open. No USB ports for the rear seat passengers to use, which is a disappointment, but at least legroom isn’t too restricted.
If you pull up the back seat cushions you will find storage spaces. They’re useful places to stash tablets, smartphones and other items you’d rather not lose to the light-fingered.
Onboard safety devices include Intelligent Speed Assistance, Lane Keeping Assist and Advanced Emergency Braking System. Among the other safety packages on hand are Blind Spot Detection, Flankguard, which should hopefully stop you walloping bollards and lampposts, and Hill Start Assist
Twin unglazed rear doors which can be swung through almost 180° if you release the stops open onto a 3.2m3 load area. Divided from the passenger saloon by a full-height, glazed bulkhead, it is equipped with four floor-mounted cargo tie-down points and in our case was almost completely timbered out.
Those aforementioned black alloys on our demonstrator were shod with Passion (!) CW-20 225/50R 18C tyres made by Nankang. Yet another tyre manufacturer we’d never heard of, but apparently they’re based in Taiwan and very much involved in motor sport.
Performance and drive
With 180 horses under your right foot there’s no lack of get-up-and-go. The sporting Crew Van rockets away from rest, can easily maintain the maximum motorway speed and strong acceleration makes overtaking (where it is safe to do so) a doddle.
All that punch is delivered smoothly, with the auto box showing no signs of jerkiness or hesitation.
The ride and handling are far less impressive, especially when unladen, with the former proving choppy on all but the smoothest surfaces, and the latter requiring a lot more tightening of the steering before it can be classed as a satisfying experience. Even a modest amount of weight in the back (a 150kg test load in our case) improves both these aspects of the vehicle’s on-road behaviour however – and light commercials usually have a load on board.
Fuel economy? Respectable, but not outstanding, although ours might have been better had we not been so keen to exploit all the performance that’s on tap.
In-cab noise levels could be suppressed more effectively. Maybe the manufacturer should take a look at installing something similar to the noise cancellation system Ford fits to the plug-in hybrid Ranger?
A Sport version of the standard Expert van is also available but is of course only a three-seater. While the crew van might be a sensible bet for the self-employed with a family, an employee looking to run one as a company vehicle might be wise to obtain a ruling on its BIK (Benefit In Kind) status first.
If HM Revenue & Customs decide to treat it as a car rather than a light commercial, then up will go your monthly tax bill.
Solution? Opt for the electric version instead – and your bill should come back down again.
| Model | Peugeot Expert Crew Van 2.0 BlueHDI 180 S&S AT8 Sport |
| Price (ex VAT) | £45,445 |
| Price range (ex VAT) | £28,890-£49,545 |
| Insurance group | TBC |
| Warranty | 3yrs/100,000 miles |
| Service intervals | 2yrs/32,000 miles |
| Load length | 2,017mm |
| Load width (min/max) | 1,258mm/1,636mm |
| Load bay height | 1,397mm |
| Gross payload | 1,260kg |
| Load volume | 3.2m3 |
| Braked trailer towing weight | 2,500kg |
| Engine size/power | 1,997cc/180hp @ 3,500rpm |
| Combined fuel economy | 35.8mpg |
| CO2 | 208g/km |
| Key rival | Ford Transit Custom Double-Cab-in-Van Sport |
| Verdict | Plenty of performance and worth a look if you want to cut a dash in the high street. If you’re self-employed, it means you won’t have to run a van and a car too. |
| Score | 6/10 |
