Peugeot Boxer (2013 - ) van review
a large and practical box on wheels that has excellent road manners.
Peugeot Boxer 335 L2H2 130 van review
By John Fife
£23,570 (+VAT)
Verdict 4.3 out of 5
“If beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, then the beholder of the Peugeot Boxer will need to be very open minded. Mind you when it comes to those nutty entries in the annual Turner Prize for modern art which features unmade beds, old sheds and dead dogs, then the Boxer is indeed a thing of beauty. But that’s not really the point. This is a large and practical box on wheels that has excellent road manners and a willingness to adapt to anything from load carrying to providing the basis for a mobile workshop or motorhome.”
Pros
Good comfy cab
Huge loadspace
Willing HDi engines
Cons
Handbrake position
Over-windscreen shelf
Cup holders!
1. Exterior
There’s plenty of flat tinwork on the front, sides and back of the Boxer that make it ideal for the vinyl sticker maker to design and apply a customer’s graphics pretty easily, while also accommodating the needs of a ‘vinyl wrap’ artist to apply a full colour/design scheme without causing too many problems. As far as looks go, it’s more ‘Jaws’ than ‘James Bond’ but that also means there are no awkward angles and shapes. Even so, the bodywork is well protected with a huge plastic front bumper and noseguard while an equally large slab of plastic at the rear protects the corners and edges, and also provides an integral step into the back. And just to complete the protection package, there are a couple of plastic scuff guards along the flanks. There’s plenty of glass up front providing good all-round visibility on the move and when parking, and a couple of large two-lens door mirrors.
Our rating: 4
2. Interior
It’s a big van so it gets a big cab with plenty of head and elbow room. The seats are wide, comfortable and as good as any other van seats in the business. The new-look dashboard with its piano black centre panel has a variety of cubby holes while the doors each have a very useful single shallow and one deep pocket. The central storage dropdown box will accommodate a laptop computer and has a built-in USB connector. The pop-up clipboard on the top of the dash is handy for travel directions and lists, but the French just don’t do cup holders. There is only one on the dash and two in the drop down desktop in the middle seat. Not ideal if a crew of three needs a break in a lay-by greasy spoon.
Two things I don’t like are the handbrake position and over-windscreen shelf. Unusually, the handbrake is sited on the floor between the driver’s seat and the door. That requires an awkward reach and the occasional rasp of knuckles on the door furniture. Similarly, taller drivers will have to get used to the projecting over-windscreen shelf. First time users may well graze or bump their foreheads a few times before they learn! Once you get used to these little foibles, it’s an excellent cab.
Our rating: 4
3. Practicality
It’s a front wheel drive van, so the cab sits quite high off the deck and has a sufficiently big step to accommodate most sizes of feet and styles of entry and exit, whether you step in head first to the cab, or step up, twist and reverse into the driver’s seat. And not only are the doors quite large, they open wide which is great for getting in and out, but watch out when opening into traffic or on to pavements! And since there is no rear driven axle, the loadfloor is relatively low. It’s also lower than many of its rivals, no doubt helped by the fact that the Boxer runs on 15 inch wheels whereas many other big vans use 16 inch rubber. The square shape means square loading doors and both the sliding side door and rear barn doors make the most of the interior space and access. This is as big a van as you can get without going down the special bodywork route, which means that at more than 2 metres wide in standard spec it is wider than most other vans of this size. I can park a Transit at the side of my house – but not a Boxer.
Apart from the built-in step on the rear bumper, the door handles highlight another thoughtful touch. They might look clunky and agricultural, but the upright style of each handle means it can be opened by either the left or right hand, ideal if carrying parcels and or toolboxes.
Our rating: 5
4. Ride and handling
The long wheelbase and wide track of the Boxer means it is remarkably stable on the open road whether running empty or loaded and that’s also down to the independent front strut coil-sprung suspension with dual rate semi-elliptic springs at the rear. Further enhancing ride quality is the seating. They have a bit more cushion than some of the long distance courier specialists which suits us soft Brits more than the Europeans. The driving position is good too with the multi adjustable seat and steering column providing the finishing touch.
Our rating: 5
5. Performance
The 2.2 litre four cylinder Euro-5 turbo diesel is not the quietest engine around, but it’s well insulated from the cabin. There are three versions of this engine with 110, 130 and 150 bhp while the conversion and motorhome market has the option of a large 4-pot, 3 litre turbo diesel with 180 bhp. The test van had the 130 hp version with 320 Nm of torque and even with two rally car engines, gearboxes and sundry suspension components in the back shrugged off the extra weight with ease coming over Carter Bar on the A68 into Scotland.
Our rating: 4
6. Running costs
Official fuel consumption figures should always be regarded with a healthy degree of scepticism, because fixed laboratory tests have little impact on real world motoring. Peugeot’s own figures claim a combined fuel consumption figure of 37.6, but I struggled to get over 30. Over a week’s mixed driving with minimal motorway work I recorded a figure of 30.2 mpg. That’s still not too bad for this size of van.
Servicing intervals will naturally depend on use, but Peugeot starts with a two year or 25,000 service interval recommendation. The two-year standard unlimited mileage warranty can be extended with a third year option up to 100,000 miles but this is limited to 60,000 miles on ‘converted’ vans and motorhomes.
Our rating: 4
7. Cargo area
The cargo area is pretty wide and flat, and with this being the L2 version had a loadfloor length of 3120 mm (just over 10 feet). At its widest point ahead of the rear arches it is 1870 mm (6ft 1inch) and the internal height is 1932 mm (6ft 4in) which won’t require the wearing of a hard hat for the average driver when working inside! Loading height is also very good at just 530 mm (21 inches) above the floor and makes the job of lifting stuff in and out of the back that much easier. The LWB van has 12 load lashing rings as standard, while the Ex-LWB gets 14.
However, the biggest advantage which the Boxer has over many other vans of a similar size is the payload capacity. Not only does it have an 11.5 cubic metre loadbox, but it can carry up to 1575 kgs and pull a 2.5t trailer.
Our rating: 5
8. Safety
The Boxer comes with ABS and EBA (Emergency Braking Assistance) as standard, but Traction Control and ESP are available as options. There is just the one driver’s airbag as standard with optional passenger airbag, two side air bags and two curtain air bags. There is an automatic fuel supply shut-off in event of accident, but this too is an optional extra. However, there is a warning light on the dash for those attempting to drive off with any door not properly closed. As an added safety/security measure, the inclusion of a dead-locking system on the doors means that it is still impossible to open a door even if the window is broken.
Our rating: 3.5
9. Equipment
Most new vans these days come with a pretty good standard of equipment and the Boxer is no exception. Remote control locking and an engine immobiliser are par for the course and Peugeot includes the facility to open or lock the passenger area or loadbox independently of the other. Power steering, adjustable steering column and electric windows with electrically operated heated door mirrors are standard, but Air-Con and Bluetooth/USB are optional extras. The single 12v socket on the dashboard is pretty mean, but the inclusion of a 12v power outlet near the rear doors is extra. It’s also worth noting that this van comes with twin reversing lamps, unlike some vans which only have one. Many of these optional extras are included in Peugeot’s ‘Professional’ package, to which can be added reversing alarm and even a rear vision camera with small viewing screen mounted at the top of the windscreen.
Our rating: 3.5
10. Why buy?
Peugeot may not be the first name which springs to mind when considering a large van as it is better known for its range of practical small and compact vans. But, since it comes out of the same modern Italian factory as the Fiat Ducato and Citroen Relay, then it has to be on your pick list. Especially if there is a Peugeot dealer near you. It would suit the owner/operator every bit as well as the fleet user and put a bit of comfort into everyday working life.
Our rating: 5