Peugeot Rifter
The Peugeot Rifter takes a bit of defining. It’s more than an estate car, it’s not really a people carrier and it’s not an SUV. You’ll struggle to pigeonhole this vehicle explains Motoring Editor Ian Strachan.
But that’s its strength rather than a weakness. The Rifter combines the advantages of an estate with the interior versatility of a people carrier and the practicality of a van – on which it’s based.
Despite being based on a commercial vehicle – the Peugeot Partner – this tall, roomy and supremely practical car still looks good. It looks solid, with a purposeful stance on the road. You can see its van heritage in the boxy shape and rear sliding doors, but inside you get premium features and a fair degree of comfort as well as impressive load-lugging capacity.
Inside, because of its height, the Rifter – available in long or short wheelbases – feels big, and it is. Fold the three-way split rear seats down and you have a massive 3000 cubic litres of space. This car will eat up the weekly trip to the tip, with bags of space to spare.
You get a nice airy cabin – a bit like driving a small greenhouse -and great all round visibility. The large tailgate opens to reveal a low loading height to save your back muscles.
Driving position is good – quite high if you raise the driver’s seat – and instruments are large, simple and clear, using Peugeot’s i-cockpit instrumentation layout.
Despite its height this car still handles well. Cornering is crisp and positive and the ride is soft without being too wallowy.
I drove the diesel powered Rifter with a 1.5 litre BlueHDiengine pumping out 101 horsepower. It’s not the quietest diesel engine in the world, but neither is it the most sluggish. Inside the car it feels refined, with good flexibility and power whenever you need it. Fuel consumption is good – 65.7 miles to the gallon in mixed driving.
Standard equipment on the Allure trim level which I tested includes rear parking sensors, air conditioning, DAB radio with MP3 compatibility, USB port and Bluetooth controlled from an eight-inch touch screen, leather steering wheel, remote central locking, automatic stop/start, electrically adjustable heated door mirrors, lane keeping function, cruise control, front fog lights with cornering function, sliding rear doors (good in tight car parks), all round electric windows and hill start assist.
My car was also fitted with an advanced grip control function (£650) enabling you to choose driving surfaces with a simple dial knob.
The Rifter gives you a lot of car for your cash – which is just £21,489 for this specification. My test car also came with metallic paint (£545), smartphone charging plate (£100) automatic climate control (£250) and satellite navigation with TomTom Live (£650). The range starts at a competitive £19,909.
