Five years ago, the thought of driving a van look-a-like as a family car would have been preposterous. However, they are now becoming increasingly popular as the number one alternative to the bulky expensive MPV’s.
So what is causing this new cult following? After all they are not the most attractive looking of cars to cause as stir at the school gates, but remember the old saying, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
Well, those beholders will have a permanent grin on thier faces for they have discovered a car, albeit van shaped, that offers unbeatable value for money, the ultimate in space saving solutions along with a good drive and of course slashed running costs.
Peugeot have now replaced their trusty Partner Combi with a more upbeat Partner Tepee. Three trims are on offer, Urban, S and Outdoor mated to a couple of 1.6 litre petrol engines and three variants of the HDI diesel 1.6 litre engines. Prices start at an extremely competitive £11,215 rising to my test car for the week, the Outdoor on the 1.6 HDi 110 bhp that costs £15,305. Keep smiling.
Focusing empathically on the exterior looks in an attempt to get the car onto a catwalk, the Outdoor, in fairness, may not quite make it that far, but with 16-inch alloy wheels, thick black body protection strips and steel roof rails, it is a pretty good attempt. The main point of focus is to the front with the large light clusters as seen on all new Peugeot cars dripping into the bold front air intake that is trimmed in a thick silver. Either side of this are two front fog lights trimmed in chrome making the Tepee a very distinguishable character. The rear drops straight down making it easy to park with the elongated lights cluster arrangement either side of the wide and large tailgate opening.
Stepping up into the Tepee and an interior so bright, spacious and practical will keep you smiling more than you did on your wedding day. Being on a raised platform, the Tepee has a high driving position for great visibility further accentuated by height adjustable drivers seat. Of course, this means that the children are higher up as well, meaning they can enjoy watching the world go by out of the large rear side windows without distracting other drivers thanks to the privacy glass. The Tepee has rear sliding doors that make accessing for the children so much easier especially in the tight narrow supermarket parking bays.
The layout of the front dashboard is fresh and uncluttered with any space left over miraculously turned into storage binnacles. The steering wheel has the remote controls to the radio; MP3 compatible CD player and cruise control while manual air conditioning keeps everyone cool. The front windows are electric but not the rear so little fingers will not get caught accidentally. The black wide door mirrors are electrically adjustable, heated and fold in when the Tepee is locked away for the night after a hards days work.
In terms of practicality, the Tepee will win any competition hands down. The dash mounted gear lever is not just easier to operate, but frees up space and was the perfect spot to put my handbag. The Tepee has a total of 76 litres of storage from door pockets, boxes and cup holders in the centre console, deep mounted dashboard binnacles and not only under seat drawers but also under floor storage for both front and rear passengers. Then there are some storage spaces above the driver and passenger’s heads. However if that is not enough, opt for the Zenith multi-purpose roof that provides an additional 80 litres of storage space and is accessible to all the passengers via the inbuilt overhead lockers running the width of the vehicle. This innovative features also includes three extra air vents for the rear passengers, a fragrance diffuser and four large glazed panels that floods the cabin with more light.
It gets better thanks to an ingenious internal support rack that enables objects like surf boards or anything similar up to 3 metres in length to be carried inside the Tepee by maximising the use of space created by the generous height of the passenger compartment. Towards the rear are two more roof-mounted boxes while the luggage area has 675 litres of space extending to 3000 litres when the rear seats are removed. It also has a roof mounted top box ideal for either secret purchases of delicate shopping items like bread and eggs. The beauty of all these storage solutions is that when you open them the contents do not spill on top of you simply by the way they have been designed.
The three person bench rear seats can be folded or removed with the specially shaped back of the middle rear seat includes two cup holders and when folded creates a table between the two outer seats.
The Tepee Outdoor has a raised suspension giving a 10 mm increase in ground clearance to appease families who use dirt tracks to get to their favourite outdoor activities. The ride and handling of the Tepee is pretty good and very comfortable while the effortless power assisted steering will easily breeze into those parking buys. If in doubt, however, the Tepee does have rear-parking sensors as an optional extra. The 1.6 litre HDi 110 bhp in the heart of the Tepee may not make it the fastest car on the planet taking 14.3 seconds to reach 62 mph and a top speed of 106 mph, but it will certainly zoom pass petrol stations achieving 50.4 mpg on a combined cycle. Further running costs are gained by CO2 emissions being 147g/km meaning a VED of £120 per year. Smiling all the way to the bank now.
The Tepee is also a very safe place to be in thanks to six airbags, all seats having three point inertia reel seatbelts with ISOFIX mountings fitted on the passenger and two rear outer seats. In addition is ABS with EBD, while a tyre under inflation detection, ESP combined with Traction Control system and hill start assistance function is available. Securing the Tepee is central locking with deadlocks and an optional alarm.
I really fell for the Peugeot Tepee Outdoor for it gave a great drive, saved me valuable pennies thanks to low running costs but best of all, the Tepee was the most practical family orientated cars I have been privy to drive in a very long time.
My jaw aches from smiling
Jackie Violet
Five years ago, the thought of driving a van look-a-like as a family car would have been preposterous. However, they are now becoming increasingly popular as the number one alternative to the bulky expensive MPV’s.
So what is causing this new cult following? After all they are not the most attractive looking of cars to cause as stir at the school gates, but remember the old saying, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder".
Well, those beholders will have a permanent grin on thier faces for they have discovered a car, albeit van shaped, that offers unbeatable value for money, the ultimate in space saving solutions along with a good drive and of course slashed running costs.
Peugeot have now replaced their trusty Partner Combi with a more upbeat Partner Tepee. Three trims are on offer, Urban, S and Outdoor mated to a couple of 1.6 litre petrol engines and three variants of the HDI diesel 1.6 litre engines. Prices start at an extremely competitive £11,215 rising to my test car for the week, the Outdoor on the 1.6 HDi 110 bhp that costs £15,305. Keep smiling.
Focusing empathically on the exterior looks in an attempt to get the car onto a catwalk, the Outdoor, in fairness, may not quite make it that far, but with 16-inch alloy wheels, thick black body protection strips and steel roof rails, it is a pretty good attempt. The main point of focus is to the front with the large light clusters as seen on all new Peugeot cars dripping into the bold front air intake that is trimmed in a thick silver. Either side of this are two front fog lights trimmed in chrome making the Tepee a very distinguishable character. The rear drops straight down making it easy to park with the elongated lights cluster arrangement either side of the wide and large tailgate opening.
Stepping up into the Tepee and an interior so bright, spacious and practical will keep you smiling more than you did on your wedding day. Being on a raised platform, the Tepee has a high driving position for great visibility further accentuated by height adjustable drivers seat. Of course, this means that the children are higher up as well, meaning they can enjoy watching the world go by out of the large rear side windows without distracting other drivers thanks to the privacy glass. The Tepee has rear sliding doors that make accessing for the children so much easier especially in the tight narrow supermarket parking bays.
The layout of the front dashboard is fresh and uncluttered with any space left over miraculously turned into storage binnacles. The steering wheel has the remote controls to the radio; MP3 compatible CD player and cruise control while manual air conditioning keeps everyone cool. The front windows are electric but not the rear so little fingers will not get caught accidentally. The black wide door mirrors are electrically adjustable, heated and fold in when the Tepee is locked away for the night after a hards days work.
In terms of practicality, the Tepee will win any competition hands down. The dash mounted gear lever is not just easier to operate, but frees up space and was the perfect spot to put my handbag. The Tepee has a total of 76 litres of storage from door pockets, boxes and cup holders in the centre console, deep mounted dashboard binnacles and not only under seat drawers but also under floor storage for both front and rear passengers. Then there are some storage spaces above the driver and passenger’s heads. However if that is not enough, opt for the Zenith multi-purpose roof that provides an additional 80 litres of storage space and is accessible to all the passengers via the inbuilt overhead lockers running the width of the vehicle. This innovative features also includes three extra air vents for the rear passengers, a fragrance diffuser and four large glazed panels that floods the cabin with more light.
It gets better thanks to an ingenious internal support rack that enables objects like surf boards or anything similar up to 3 metres in length to be carried inside the Tepee by maximising the use of space created by the generous height of the passenger compartment. Towards the rear are two more roof-mounted boxes while the luggage area has 675 litres of space extending to 3000 litres when the rear seats are removed. It also has a roof mounted top box ideal for either secret purchases of delicate shopping items like bread and eggs. The beauty of all these storage solutions is that when you open them the contents do not spill on top of you simply by the way they have been designed.
The three person bench rear seats can be folded or removed with the specially shaped back of the middle rear seat includes two cup holders and when folded creates a table between the two outer seats.