Peugeot has updated its voluminous e-Rifter van-based MPV to give it new styling inside and out, and more electric range.
The most obvious changes are on the outside, at the front. The e-Rifter gets a new grille, and new LED headlights with a distinctive, three-block light signature. The grille kinda mimics that signature but with a more sweeping shape. There are definite overtones of the recently-updated Peugeot 508, but obviously, the e-Rifter is the cousin who works on building sites and drinks lots of creatine milkshakes...
Leisure activities
The e-Rifter is being marketed as the solution for those who want a practical car for "weekend leisure activities - trips with friends, sporting and cultural activities, video games, photography, music - and everyday requirements such as family travel with children, pets, etc."
There are some striking new paint options for the e-Rifter too, including Sirkka Green and Kiama Blue, while inside, there's a new dashboard, which is supposed to be of higher quality than before, with a new ten-inch touchscreen in the centre.
There is new upholstery for the seats, which are finished a new light grey fabric, and there's the 'Zenith' roof with its airline-style overhead storage lockers. There's a new compact steering wheel, which gets both leather trim and heating, while that ten-inch screen includes an improved parking assistance system with 12 sensors distributed between the front and rear, as well as a 'VisioPark' 180-degree camera system now equipped with a high definition reversing camera. There's also wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connected navigation and information systems, wireless phone charging, and three USB sockets (two Type-C, one Type-A). Oh, and a 230-volt socket too.
The connected navigation, which uses over-the-air updates for its TomTom software, can automatically route you via the best charging points when you're on a longer journey, while smartphone connectivity gives you a virtual service record, phone-to-car route planning, and remote central locking.
Massive boot
As before, you can buy the e-Rifter in two lengths, both of which have the option of either five or seven-seat cabin layouts. There's a standard 4.4-metre length, or a stretched 4.7-metre version. The middle row of seats in both e-Rifters is split into three individual seats, so they're perfect if you're trying to fit multiple child car seats, and they fold flat into the floor when you need to open up the cargo space. Twin sliding side doors are standard, and they can be optionally electrically activated. Meanwhile, at the back, the tailgate features a rear screen that opens by itself - handy if you're just chucking in something small, or if someone's thoughtlessly parked hard up against your back bumper.
That loadspace is massive, incidentally. Up to the parcel shelf in the standard 4.4-metre version, there's a whopping 770 litres of space, expanding to a massive 4,000 litres if you go for the 4.7-metre version and fold down all of the seats.
You can maximise your carrying space further by using all of the storage areas in the cabin, which add up to an extra 186-litres of space depending on the spec, and thee front passenger seat folds flat too, if you need to carry a long load.
More range
The e-Rifter has a 50kWh battery, and a 100kW (136hp) electric motor, so it can manage the 0-100km/h sprint in 11.2 seconds. Peugeot has tweaked the battery's management systems and added a standard heat-pump heating system, significantly boosting the car's one-charge range - from 280km in the previous version to a much healthier 320km now. There's also an improved brake energy regeneration system, and the e-Rifter can - optionally - charge at up to 11kW on AC power, or 100kW on DC, which means you can get a 0-80 per cent charge in 30 minutes. Actually, almost as impressively, you can fully charge it in 15 hours from a standard 16-amp three-pin socket at home, which means you can potentially get away without fitting a home charger.