Peugeot has been making both cars and commercial vehicles for more than a century. The latter have always occupied an important position in the range. In total, more than 5 million units have been produced since Peugeot was founded.The “Expert” range of commercial vehicles made its appearance in the autumn of 1995 as one of the pioneers of the compact van market segment. In 11 years, two generations of the Peugeot Expert have been launched and more than 300,000 Experts have been produced. Today, this third generation Expert, again developed by PSA Peugeot Citroën in partnership with Fiat, marks a turning point for Peugeot, thanks to the improvement in standard equipment levels, performance and the greater versatility offered by the new vehicle ranges.
The new Expert has been designed around all the strengths of the current model, namely, handling, ride comfort and driving position and introduces equipment levels similar to those found in a modern car.The new Peugeot Expert van, is now available in more versions (two wheelbases and two roof heights creating a total of three versions) and with increased load capacities in terms of volume and weight while still maintaining low running costs.A new long wheelbase and high roof version is offered making it possible to carry a volume of up to 7 m3 and a payload of 1200 kg. A new and real innovation to be found on the new Expert is the pneumatic rear suspension. It makes it possible to lower the overall height of the van, enabling it to enter underground car parks. It also improves loading and gives the vehicle a constant ride height whatever the load. A manual control can be used to adjust the load height when stationary. Because of its square shape, large load area and clever internal storage, it can easily accommodate a “Euro- pallet.
The body structure has also been strengthened and now includes deformable areas designed to reduce impact damage in the event of a collision and thereby lower repair costs. The driving qualities of the vehicle and the excellent road holding of the new Expert are strengthened by a new range of engines. There are three HDi diesel engines a 1.6 litre HDi 90 bhp , 2.0 litre HDi 120 bhp and a 2.0 litre HDi 136 bhp and one petrol engine 2.0 litre 16V 140 bhp. The power trains now only require servicing at 20,000 miles instead of 10,000 miles. These engines also help to protect the environment as they comply with the Euro 4 emission standard.
Particular care has been taken with regards to the security of both the occupants and the load area. The driver can lock or unlock the rear load area independently of the passenger cab, either remotely by using the three button remote control key or from the driving position. Great attention has been paid to the comfort of the occupants. The architecture of the new Peugeot Expert allows a driving position closer to that of a modern car than of a commercial vehicle, but also benefits from a generous amount of light and a strong feeling of space created by the forward position of the windscreen. Finally, the interior is both functional and robust and available in several different trim levels.
In days gone by, designing a van was a simple exercise in playing to the cost-cutting instincts of the office bound accountant who held the company purse strings. These were people who would never know, and didn’t 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, they’d prefer that there wasn’t. Increasingly today, the people who buy vans are the people who will actually be driving them be they small business operators or workers choosing a van on their firm to avoid exorbitant company car tax.
