Peugeot Rifter Review (2018-present)

While the world and its dog wants an SUV these days, there’s much to be said for the humble people carrier if what you really need from your car is to, er, carry people. Fewer manufacturers are making multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs) than they were a couple of decades ago, but they’re still hard to beat when it comes to space for your money.

This is Peugeot’s entry into a small but still-impressive market that also contains cars like the almost-identical Citroen Berlingo and Vauxhall Combo Life, the Seat Alhambra and Ford Tourneo Connect. It was first introduced in 2018 to replace the Partner Tepee, which had very similar ideas about what a big family car should be, namely spacious, easy to get in and out of, and with plenty of storage.

You can choose between two sizes of Rifter. The standard car seats five, while the Long model has seven seats. Both are pretty capacious inside, thanks to the Rifter’s square, boxy shape, but the Long model, as the name suggests, is longer and has a third row of seats.

In 2022, increasingly tough EU emissions regulations forced Peugeot to drop all the petrol and diesel models from the range, leaving only the all-electric e-Rifter.

It doesn’t matter which way you cut it, there are few cars out there that are as practical and family-friendly as the Rifter (well, apart from its Citroen and Vauxhall near-identical twins). It’s not the most glamorous of upmarket choice, but if you need space and you’re willing to shake-off your prejudices and abandon your desires for premium appeal, then the brilliantly rational Peugeot is hard to ignore.

In the back, there’s a bench seat for three in both versions, which in lower trim levels folds down in a 60/40 split. But in the top-spec model, each seat folds down independently, which gives you plenty of versatility if you’re juggling people and luggage. The third row of seats in the Long model doesn’t fold down in the same way, but you can remove the chairs completely if you need to turn the Rifter into a van.

Seats up, down, in or out, you’ve got plenty of boot space to complement the passenger space. The five-seat car will give you 770-litre of space, which is bigger than a large estate car. The Long model will give you 209-litres with the rear-most seats in place, which is still not bad. Take them out, and that rises to 1,050-litres, and fold down the middle seats and you’ll have a van-like (not surprising given its commercial vehicle roots) 3,500-litres of room to play with (3,000 in the standard car). Mid- and high-spec cars get an opening rear glass panel, which lets you drop in small items quickly without opening the vast tailgate - particularly useful in tight parking spots.

That’s not all, though, because the Rifter also has myriad storage spaces and cubby holes in which to keep odds and ends. The door pockets are massive, there are two gloveboxes and spaces under the seats, and models with the Zenith panoramic roof have extra storage above passengers’ heads. Other neat features include the fold out, aircraft style picnic tables for those sitting in the second row.

Bear in mind, however, that the driving position is rather unusual, with a small, low steering wheel that’s intended to give a more zippy feel. Peugeot calls this the i-Cockpit, and it has the unfortunate side effect for some drivers of obscuring the dials behind the steering wheel, so we’d recommend sitting in one before you buy, just to make sure you’re happy. Luckily the driver’s seat and wheel adjust in all manner of ways, so most should be perfectly happy.

On the move, the Rifter is rather impressive. The focus is very much on comfort, which it achieves very well with a ride quality that keeps things smooth, especially on the smaller 16-inch wheels. The small steering wheel does make inputs feel a bit quicker, giving the impression of agility, but it should be stressed that this isn’t a car that’s satisfying to scythe through a series of corners, unlike Ford’s S-Max.

However, save the driving enthusiasm for something smaller and less van-like, because while the Rifter is happy to cruise around corners at a genteel pace, you’ll find plenty of body roll if you try to push on. Keep it calm, and you’ll be more than content.

Some Rifters are equipped with a system called Advanced Grip Control, which lets you set the car up for different terrains. There are mud, sand settings and snow settings, but most of the extra traction comes from the use of all-season mud and snow tyres. So while they don't have four-wheel drive, Rifters fitted with this kit can head further off the beaten track than you’d imagine.

Engine choices are spread across PureTech petrol and BlueHDi diesel options. The entry-level model is a 108bhp, 1.2-litre petrol engine, badged as the PureTech 110, which comes with a six-speed manual gearbox. It might be small, but it’s a punchy performer and should give enough oomph for most people, with impressive low-down grunt. If you do want more, or if you’re regularly hauling around a full car with lots of added weight, then there’s a 128bhp version of the 1.2 PureTech, badged as the 130. This comes with an eight-speed automatic gearbox for relaxed cruising.

Those doing regular longer motorway journeys might want to consider the superior fuel economy of a diesel engine. The range starts with the 1.5-litre BlueHDi 100 with 99bhp, but the extra thrust of the 130 model, which has 128bhp, better suits seven-seater models, especially if they’re fully loaded. However, this engine is only available in the top-spec trims, and neither diesel is available as an automatic.

Then there’s the all-electric e-Rifter, which became the only version you could buy from mid-2022. Its smooth and near-silent 134bhp electric motor serves up acceleration that’s brisk enough to keep up with fast moving traffic, while in all other respects it delivers the same easy-going driving experience of other models. Peugeot claims 172 miles on a charge, but around 140 miles is more realistic in day-to-day driving.

When the Rifter was new, there were three trim level choices, called Active, Allure and GT Line. The Active model had the essentials in terms of features, such as Bluetooth and a DAB radio, but lacked many luxuries.

Allure added some of those, in the form of 16-inch alloy wheels. electric rear windows, rear parking sensors and try tables in the back of the front seats, as well as a more cutting edge touchscreen infotainment system. The GT Line model added 17-inch alloys, satnav and the Zenith glass roof.

The trim levels changed midway through the Rifter’s life, and by 2021 the three models were called Allure, Allure Premium and GT. In effect, the Active model had been merged with the original Allure; the newer Allure had the upgraded infotainment system, but retained the 16-inch steel wheels. Alloys now came with the Allure Premium, along with the opening rear tailgate window and a reversing camera. GT is broadly the same as the previous GT Line model.

Entry-level Rifters were a bit spartan, but the Allure trim level and above features an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for smartphone compatibility. The cabin isn’t the last word in luxury, with plastics that feel on the utilitarian end of the quality spectrum, but that’s the price you pay for so much interior space.

If you’re buying new then you will find the Rifter a bit more expensive than its mechanically-identical siblings, the Citroen Berlingo and Vauxhall Combo Life, but it’s still much cheaper than some other MPVs, such as the Ford S-Max and Volkswagen Touran.

Used prices for the Rifter, Berlingo and Combo Life look to be very similar, and the gap between these and the Touran looks to have closed considerably. When it comes to running costs, you’ll get better fuel economy from the diesels, although they’ll cost you more to buy. Official MPG figures suggest you can get up to 57.4mpg from the BlueHDi 100 diesel, and up to 57.0mpg for the BlueHDi 130. On the petrol side, the PureTech 100 promises up to 42.8mpg and the PureTech 130 up to 43.7mpg.

It’s worth noting that if you want some of the connected services offered by the Rifter’s TomTom sat nav system, you’ll need to pay a subscription. It’s free for three years from new, but then costs £55 a year, or £125 for three years. If you want speed camera notifications, too, then that’ll cost you £69 for a year or £139 for three.

A Rifter needs a service every year or 16,000 miles, although if you do lots of long journeys or repeated short journeys from a cold start, Peugeot will recommend you follow an ‘arduous’ schedule, which reduces that gap to 10,000 miles.

Peugeot offers service plans for up to five years on cars less than a year old, with prices starting at £12.25 a month. You can also pay up front if you prefer. The Rifter sits in insurance groups 11 to 15 (of 50), depending on model, so should be fairly inexpensive to cover.

Peugeot has something of a mixed reputation for reliability. On the one hand, it came only 24th of 31 manufacturers in the 2018 What Car? Reliability Survey, but on the other hand, it was top overall in JD Power’s 2019 UK Vehicle Dependability Study, so make of that what you will.

Peugeot offers a three-year, unlimited-mile warranty on the Rifter, which is above the bare minimum but not as good as the five-year guarantee that Toyota offers on its Verso seven-seater.

There have been a handful of recalls on the Rifter since it launched, to fix potential issues with passenger seatbelts in the back, a dodgy handbrake mechanism, a suspect steering column and issues with the steering rack tie rods. All of these should have been fixed by the owners at the time, but it’s worth checking if the vehicle you’re looking at was affected and sorted. You can do this through any Peugeot dealer.