A smooth and slick Expert

Peugeot’s Expert van hides a car-like secret under its exterior, and that makes it one of the best vans on sale today, writes Damien O’Carroll.

Vans are great. There – I said it. I love a good van, even though I have no actual practical use for one. Aside from parking in loading zones, a good modern van is great fun to drive and Peugeot’s new Expert takes that even further, thanks to a very car-like secret under its sheet metal. Quite literally, in fact.

Outside

The Expert looks like pretty much any other van really – it is white and square – with a Peugeot grille and badge on its nose. What did you expect?

The Expert is also sold in Europe as (deep breath) the Citroen Jumpy, Citroen Dispatch, Citroen SpaceTourer, Fiat Talento, Toyota ProAce, Opel Vivaro, Vauxhall Vivaro, Opel Zafira Life and the Vauxhall Vivaro Life, so you really only have that whole grille/badge thing to differentiate a lot of different vans.

Here, however, it is the only vehicle from that vast range on our roads, and when you look at it (which no-one ever really does with white vans), it does offer a different aesthetic to other medium vans on the road.

Our test unit, medium wheelbase/medium length (you can also get a medium/long combination) had a delightfully truncated ‘‘wheel at each corner’’ look to it. Plus those steel wheels are very cool. . .

However, if you’re not into the whole steel wheels/black bumper base-spec thing then Peugeot New Zealand offers a ‘‘look pack’’ on the Expert for $2800 that adds body coloured front and rear bumpers, side rubbing strips and exterior door handles, as well as LED daytime running lights and 17-inch alloy wheels.

Inside

Inside the Expert is again very much what you would expect, with a comfortable and wellequipped cabin (as all medium vans have these days) that is functional and hard-wearing.

There is a lot of hard plastic present (again, it’s a van) and the build quality is a bit suspect in a few areas, but generally it is pleasant, comfortable and very sensibly laid out – a staggering achievement for a French car. . .

Up the back, of course, there is lots of space.

The Expert packs 5.3 cubic metres of cargo space (or 5.8 if you go for the clever Moduwork seat setup that lets you turn the passenger seat into extra space), with an overall load length of 2.5 metres (or 3.6 with the trick seats).

Autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, a 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, blind spot monitoring, a reversing camera with front and rear parking sensors and dual side sliding doors and 180-degree opening rear barn doors all come standard.

Under the bonnet

The Expert comes to New Zealand with a single engine and transmission combination – a 110kW/370Nm turbo-diesel fourcylinder engine hooked up to an 8-speed automatic.

If you are tempted to complain about the lack of choice there, don’t – this is exactly the engine/transmission combo you would want in the Expert even if other options were available.

The diesel engine is fantastically torquey and flexible across its entire rev range and is a delight to power around town with. The transmission is equally delightful, with a smooth and slick operation that is most definitely car-like. . .

On the road

Here is where we get to the Expert’s car-like secret that I alluded to at the start – the Expert actually sits on the PSA Group’s EMP2 platform that sits under, well, every car in the current Peugeot lineup.

That means it shares its underpinnings with the 308, 508, 3008 and 5008. Which is a damn good lineup to share your underneath bits with.

This really does mean that the Expert is extremely car-like on the road and this is particularly noticeable around town.

The van had a nicely nimble and responsive nature that really only the Ford Transit Custom comes close to replicating.

It also boasts an impressively comfortable and composed ride, even unladen which, when combined with the comfortable seats, makes for a commercial vehicle you would be more than happy spending long hours in.

Verdict

With its excellently car-like nature, the Peugeot Expert is a thoroughly impressive van either around town or on the open road.

The interior might lack the flair and impressive quality of Peugeot’s car and SUV range, but what it does pack instead is still more than adequate for a commercial vehicle.

While the Ford Transit Custom has traditionally been our favourite van (with the Renault Trafic coming a close second) the Expert might just have tipped the balance its way – it is well-equipped, incredibly easy to drive and is cheaper than the Transit too.

Although that all depends on how Ford responds to the current medium van onslaught – Mitsubishi has dropped its new Renault Trafic-based Express van right into the middle of things, starting at an extremely competitive $39,990, which has no doubt been what prompted Peugeot to drop the Expert down to $39,990 (plus GST, it must be noted).

There certainly are deals to be had in the van world at the moment. . .

DAMIEN O’CARROLL/STUFF If the black bumpers and steel wheels don’t do it for you, Peugeot offers a ‘‘look pack’’ that adds alloys and painted bumpers.

There’s plenty of room, and importantly, anchor points back here.