Peugeot EXPERT VAN RANGE
Peugeot Demonstrated Their LCV Expertise In Creating The Latest Expert Panel Van. Now Its Up To The Nations Businesses To Decide If Its Up To The Job. Steve Walker Reports
For a van thats been around since October 1995, its remarkable that the Peugeot Expert still feels as fresh as it does. Obviously, the intervening years have brought a succession of revisions and upgrades designed to keep the vehicle up to speed with competitors but even by commercial vehicle development cycle standards, the Expert has been on an extended tour of duty. In the end, we must look in admiration to the men with the pens in the design studio who originally conceived the Expert. The cheese wedge profile (slightly blunted by the latest facelift), simple but effective interior and uniformly usable load bay make this a most agreeable small panel van.
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Key events in the Experts history other than its 1995 launch include the introduction of the 2.0-litre HDi diesel engine in early 2000 (the added refinement, economy and performance from this common-rail unit were a big plus) and the 2004 model year facelift that has resulted in the chunkier-looking Expert we see frequenting showrooms today. This facelift has taken the edge off the Experts distinctive wedge-shape, preferring instead an augmented grille with more prominence given to Peugeots prancing lion. The headlamps became larger, clear-lens installations with integral indicators, the bonnet was reshaped and the bumper was deepened, wrapping around the vans corners.
Rearward of the windscreen pillars, things on the current Expert are much as they were, aside from beefed-up side rubbing strips to help counter those minor parking knocks.
"its a neat, value-orientated commercial vehicle package thats functional and good to drive."
The Expert was always a nice-looking van and whether these styling revisions are an improvement or not is probably a matter of opinion. What they do do is freshen the vehicle up in a manner that should bring more attention from prospective buyers and even if thats their sum contribution, we can say theyve been a success. The Expert range pans out in familiar fashion. There are two diesel engine options, the 2.
0-litre HDi and a less cutting-edge 1.9D, along with two panel van payload categories and the Combi minibus. The different payload options are necessitated by the different power outputs available from the two engines. Therefore, the 71bhp 1.
9-litre powers the 815kg Expert and the 110bhp 2.0-litre HDi takes care of business in the heavier duty 900kg version. Gross vehicle weights are 2.2t and 2.
3t respectively, while the load volume is 4 cubic meters whichever model you choose. Access to this load space is through two sliding side doors, one on each flank, or via the hinged double doors at the back. All the portals open suitably wide and this range of loading options makes finding a parking space from which you can gain access to your cargo that little bit easier. Choosing between the experts two engine options comes down to the three Ps power, payload and price.
Theres no escaping the fact that the 2.0HDi is the more enjoyable model to punt around town. Its 250Nm maximum torque comes on stream at 1,750rpm to dwarf the 125Nm available at 2,500rpm in the 1.9D.
This equates to more power readily available at lower engine speeds for greater urgency off the line and more composed uphill travel with a load on board. For many van buyers, however, and particularly those without the slightest intention of ever tarnishing their Armani office wear by driving the model they purchase, price is the ultimate determining factor. These individuals will like the 1.9D because it costs nearly £1,500 less than the HDi and someone else will be driving it for them.
The 1.9D is a perfectly agreeable engine, especially if you never envisage your load carrying requirements approaching the Experts payload capacity, its just considerably less modern than the HDi and this technological inferiority shows. Even punters with a vice-like grip on their pennies may be drawn in the direction of HDi ownership if they consider that this engine can return 43mpg on average compared to 36mpg from the 1.9D.
In days gone by, designing a van was a simple exercise in playing to the cost-cutting instincts of the office bound desk-jockeys who held the company purse strings. These were people who would never know, and didnt much care, whether there was somewhere to store a thermos flask on board or if a good CD stereo was included on the spec list. In fact, if it meant cutting a few quid off the list price, theyd prefer that there wasnt. Increasingly today, the people who buy vans are the people wholl actually be driving them.
Be they small business operators or workers choosing a van on their firm to avoid exorbitant company car tax. These user-choosers are the new group of buyers that manufacturers are keen to get their claws into and this is part of the reason why the current Expert has received a number of improvements in terms of specification and interior comfort. The seats have been thoroughly re-designed and raised for a higher driving position, plus they all now get three-point safety belts and a drivers airbag. A writing surface with built-in cup holders can be folded down from the centre
seat back and theres a large overhead shelf for stowing tools or other paraphernalia out of harms way.
The basic dash layout remains unaltered and although the sweetly damped slide-top ashtray is almost enough to make you take up smoking, the lever-style ventilation system controls are showing their age. Steps have also been taken to reduce noise and vibration in the cab, making for a more pleasant driving environment. The
Peugeot Expert has always been a competitive small panel van package and in its current form, it remains so. The upgrades to safety and general specification are welcome and the designers have done an accomplished job in crafting a front end to give the van a new lease of life in the style stakes.
Its a neat, value-orientated commercial vehicle package thats functional and good to drive.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
VAN: Peugeot Expert Van range ENGINES: 71bhp 1.9D / 110bhp 2.0HDi PAY
LOAD CAPACITY: 815kg-900kg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Ladder frame bulkhead / Drivers Airbag / Three-point safety belts.
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