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There's a danger that Peugeot outlets might question the usefulness of the new 207 van in today's light commercial market, especially given that the new, and arguably more practical, Bipper light van is on its way.
However, that would be an error. Car-derived vans such as the 207 still have a role to play. Not all drivers need to shift heavy or bulky items, while some like the idea of owning a LCV that doesn't dominate the domestic driveway.
Based on the three-door version of the 207 car, the van is available with three different engines: a 75PS 1.4-litre petrol, and two HDi diesels, one a 68PS 1.4-litre and the other a 90PS 1.6-litre.
Access to the 1.1cu/m load box is by means of a top-hinged rear door, with an aperture that is 910mm wide and 650mm high.
The cargo bay itself is well protected to half its height from minor scratches by a mixture of carpet and plastic mouldings while a tailored rubber mat covers the floor.
Six load tie-down points are provided, but anything that isn't lashed down and slides forward
should be stopped in its tracks by the heftily built half-height bulkhead.
The spare wheel nestles in a well beneath the floor. While that's good news from the security viewpoint, it also means unloading part of your cargo if you need to change a wheel.
For such a small van it has a roomy cab, but the storage facilities are meagre. There's a bin with a drink holder in each of the doors, but the big glovebox lid conceals a compartment that is so disappointingly small as to be virtually useless. The cup-holders on the inside of the lid are well-nigh useless, too, but at least the lid is lockable. There's also a useable cup-holder to the rear of the handbrake lever, a narrow shelf above the glovebox, plus one beneath the radio and CD player, and a deep cubby-hole to the right of the height- and reach-adjustable steering wheel.
With 90PS on tap our demonstrator wasn't lacking in performance while a decent gearchange made it easy to exploit the horsepower on offer.
The van nips away smartly from rest, accelerates strongly through the gears and finishes up as a more-than-respectable motorway express. It rides well, too.
On the downside, noise could be better suppressed and while the steering's electric power-assistance is supposed to be speed-related, it doesn't tighten up sufficiently when pushing through a bend. As a consequence there isn't enough feedback from the road - a criticism we've regularly levelled at electric systems - and that spoils the handling.
We can forgive these drawbacks given the engine's frugality - we averaged 60mpg - although it's a shame that the baby of the Peugeot line-up is on offer solely in white.
So check out Peugeot's 207 by all means, but don't forget to investigate the Vauxhall Corsavan and Ford's Fiesta Van too.
BusinessCar magazine ©2019
Business Car Magazine © 2020 | Business Car is part of NS Media Group.
