Thursday, 28 February 2008

The perfect compact van

The Peugeot Bipper is a new compact light commercial vehicle aimed at strengthening Peugeot’s rejuvenated range of commercial vehicles. The Bipper is designed for professionals looking for a vehicle which is easy to drive and can be parked easily. It is available with a choice of two engines a 1.4 litre 75 bhp petrol or a 1.4 litre HDi diesel engine developing 68 bhp and emitting only 119 g of CO2 per km. The HDi diesel engine is also available with an optional electronically controlled manual gearbox and offers greater convenience to drivers using the vehicle in busy urban areas especially couriers who spend many hours in their van, this gearbox will be a huge benefit to them in terms of reduced driving fatigue and reduced fuel consumption and emissions.

Thanks to the asymmetric hinged rear doors and sliding side doors, the Bipper is also very easy to load and unload, even in the narrowest of spaces. Inside, the cube-like load area has been designed to offer a generous usable space. The effective floor load length is 1.52 m, with a maximum interior height of 1.18 m. The width between the wheel arches is 1.05 m, giving a total usable volume of 2.5m3. With all this available space, the Bipper can transport a payload of up to 610 kg.

Inside, comfort and convenience take pride of place. Modern, bright and functional, the interior has been designed to be easy to use. It is robust and comprehensive with a four dial instrument panel, a multifunction display, warning lights and a centre console. The latter also houses the ventilation or air conditioning controls, the radio and the hands-free phone kit, depending on which options are chosen.

An important factor when choosing a commercial vehicle is the running costs. The Bipper has been designed to keep these costs to a minimum. It has extended service intervals requiring a service only every 20,000 miles or 2 years, regardless of engine type. The timing belt is replaced every 140,000 miles or 10 years on the diesel engine, and 90,000 miles or 10 years on the petrol version.