Peugeot Rifter review

The Peugeot Rifter is the French firm's MPV with an SUV plan. You see, if you want to combine the practicality of an MPV with something that has the convenience of a small van, you can buy 'light activity vehicles' such as the Ford Tourneo Connect, but you’ll have to abandon any idea of style – it seems that’s for SUVs only.

So Peugeot has given us the Rifter – the replacement for the popular Partner Tepee – a more robust and distinctly beefed-up look, with a minimal front overhang, a sharp vertical front end and further styling touches that add an element of on-trend design to the equation.

In fact, the Rifter – like the Citroën Berlingo and Vauxhall Combo Life, with which it shares its underpinnings – was designed from the ground up to carry people and not just cargo. It carries over, and in many cases improves upon, the immense practicality of the Partner Tepee, with its sliding rear doors, three individual and easily folding back seats, flat boot floor and large rear tailgate with virtually no loading lip.

There's also electric rear windows, roof bars, rear lights that wrap stylishly around the tailgate and the ability to open the rear screen independently of the hatchback. To further the Rifter’s hopes of attracting SUV buyers, there’s even an option to choose a longer-wheelbase version with seven seats.

In addition, the Rifter offers more driver aids than its predecessor and now features technologies such as automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise control.

So, take a look at our review over the next few pages and you can see if the upwardly mobile Rifter is the one for you.

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