Car derived vans are an affront to buyers’ intelligence, not to mention their needs as van users/drivers. Removal of the rear seat, panelling of the side windows and fitment of a bulkhead doth not a van make. The Peugeot 206 Van may not be as dire to drive as a Tata Loadbeta but then it’s not as entertaining. True, at Security Installer we’re an inch or two taller than the average but while we may find comfort behind the wheel of, say, a 1950s-designed Mini, the 206 Van turned out to be a right old pain in the backside. We are in good company. A What Car contributor recently wrote: “When I first drove the 206 I thought I would get used to the driving position which, as I’m over six foot tall, led to a kind of slumped over the wheel feeling. Sadly I didn’t. The more miles I covered, the more I realised how … much I wanted to be able to cover long distances without backache.”
The ‘cab’ interior is as stylised as the 206 Van’s sexy body, lots of sweeping curves and rounded corners. Here there are pluses: – the radio cassette sits at an accessible height and sound levels can be adjusted via a steering wheel stalk – and minuses: rain drips in through an open window, the noisy wipers sweep for left hand drive, the seats offer little thigh support and the H&V is slow to de-mist.
Access to the rear, offering a load volume of 11.3cu m and a payload of 525kg, is via a hatch which rises sufficiently high to avoid scalping, and features a useful wash/wipe facility. The load area lip, about 2ft off the ground, is at bumper level but, as the hatch doesn’t incorporate the rear light clusters, the opening width of 1.1m is less than it could be. What use can you make of 1,280m of length, 1.168m of width and 0.922m of height? There’s insufficient room to swing a cat, although four (insubstantial) tie-eyes will limit the movement of a kitty’s carrier. In case you’ve not secured your load, the solid half height bulkhead with mesh above will protect. Feeble illumination for the load area is better than none.
The 206 Van is powered by a 1.9 litre, indirect injection, normally aspirated diesel engine, as found in its larger sister, the Partner, and produces 71bhp at 4,600rpm. Lighter than the Partner by 155kg, it’s little wonder the 206 flies, even up to 100mph. However, correct gear ratio selection is paramount to maintain momentum. Predictable front wheel drive road manners match the 206 Van’s performance but ride quality is marred by a firmness whatever the surface, where each road wheel and its suspension can be felt and heard to be working. In What Car parlance that’s agricultural, to Security Installer it’s unacceptable. Road roar from the uninsulated load area is dire. No sir, 206 ain’t our baby. Simply put, there is too little to praise, too much to criticise. We feel each 206 Van should come, supplied as standard, with a trained masseuse. Until it does (never) we’ll have to look elsewhere.
Crisp Italian
Despite its crisp Italian looks, the new shaped Fiat Punto hasn’t the dynamics to win many hearts. Its ride is abysmal, horrid, indefensible … no matter what the road surface, no matter what the speed, no matter the state of your glutinous rear. Add an indescribable and hateful noise drumming around Punto’s miniscule load area and you’ll yearn for a Hyundai Pony. Just GB pound 9,500 to you mug. Sorry, sir.
That said (and a lousy ride and unbearable low speed noise are more than sufficient reasons to deter serious consideration) Punto is endowed with a sprightly and economical diesel, assertive braking, a spacious, hard wearing and attractive interior and a box shape load space. It also features Dualdrive electronic power steering which, at the touch of the ‘City’ button on the dash, reduces to a minimum the effort needed to manoeuvre and park. Now that makes sense.
Punters for the Punto may choose between a 1242cc, 60 bhp petrol engine or a 1910cc, 60bhp diesel, both offering a top speed of 96mph and a combined consumption of 49.6mpg. As tested, the Punto diesel gave plenty of get up and go for the traffic light drag and ample cruising ability for the outside lane of the motorway. Front wheel drive, a wheel at each corner and well weighted power steering accentuated Punto’s ability to sweep speedily, albeit roughly, along rural roads and country lanes. New Punto’s load capacity of 510kg is an increase of 60kg above its predecessor, derived from an increase of 10mm in the overall height to 1480m. Internal height is increased to 940mm, and overall dimensions are up by 40mm in length to 3.8m and 35mm in width to 1.66m. The load compartment is 1.3m long and 1.37m wide at their maximums.
Accessed via a hatch, which is pulled up from a mucky recess just above bumper level, the load area is trimmed to half its height and features a PVC lined loading deck. There’s minimal wheel arch intrusion and a flat floor, although not flush with bumper level. A protective partition separates load and cabin areas. If you’re thinking that one button, sharp styling and a very lively diesel can save this baby Fiat from the same depths that Peugeot’s 206 Van has plummeted to, you’d be very much mistaken. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: use your head and buy a van that has been designed, developed and manufactured for its purpose, like the Berlingo, Partner or Kangoo. Car derived vans are next to useless.
* Peugeot Motor Company, Sales & Marketing, Aldermoor House, PO Box 227, Aldermoor Lane, Coventry CV3 1LT. Tel 0345 565556
* Fiat Auto (UK) Ltd, 266 Bath Road, Slough, Berks SL1 4HJ. Tel 01753 511431.
