Manufacturers have tried talking to their customers about the environment and they’ve tried talking to them about the cost savings, but maybe the true way to a van owner’s heart is to make a cool looking van that people want, which is exactly what the Peugeot E-Expert Sport is.
Based on the regular electric Peugeot E-Expert van, the E-Expert Sport gets some sportier styling and an upgraded interior to lure in the buyers with something which is a little out of the ordinary. It’s not often you seen a pimped Peugeot in the van world, rarer still that you’d do it to a medium electric van.
But the E-Expert Sport is using Peugeot’s motorsport heritage as some credentials to make one hell of a cool looking upgrade.
Ever heard of the Le Mans 24 Hour Race? It’s the most famous endurance race in the world, where teams battle it out through the day and the night to win one of motorsport’s Triple Crown - the others are the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indy 500.
More than 300,000 race goers attend every year to see scores of cars race together in multiple classes for 24 gruelling hours.
The rather fetching livery of the Peugeot E-Expert Sport has taken its inspiration from Peugeot’s entrant into the race. The green decals are designed to match the Peugeot 9X8 hybrid hypercar racing at Le Mans.
There’s a body kit with front lip spoiler and side skirts, to give it a beefy motorsport appearance. The Sport van also gets integrated protective front mud guards, and a revised rear bumper, both of which make it look beefier than the regular van.
Then there’s the rear spoiler, which in Superman's least favourite colour, Kryptonite Green, is quite hard to miss. It’s not an aerodynamic aid, but when it comes to customising vans, spoilers are surprisingly popular.
Other Sport details include racy stripes along the side and there’s also Y-Spoke 18-inch alloy wheels. There are also some minor interior changes that we’ll get to in a minute.
The Peugeot E-Expert Sport is available as both a panel van, and as a passenger carrying crew van. Pictured is the Crew Van version, which gets enough space for you and five mates as well as all the camping gear you need to head to the 24hrs.
The panel van has a more regular setup and mirrors the standard Peugeot E-Expert dimensions.
There’s also no difference to the motor, so no additional power, but it is only available with the bigger battery in the range.
Power for the E-Expert Sport comes from a 90kW (136hp) motor which is linked to a 75kWh battery.
The E-Expert Sport has a claimed range of up to 219 miles, and charges at a rate of up to 100kW, enough to give you an 80% charge in just 45 minutes.
While a 75kWh battery seems like a decent size, we struggled to get anywhere near the claimed range. That was partly due to the nature of the route we took, with plenty of A roads and motorways, but it still fell dissapointing short of the mark, despite our very best efforts to eek out as much range as possible.
It's not alone in this regard, though. Plenty of electric vans still struggle to hit their numbers in the real world, so the E-Expert Sport is no worse than any of the competition on this front.
The cabin is quite different to the regular Peugeot Expert or the electric model. That’s because as well as some highlight colours in the Sport’s Kryptonite Green, largely done with stickers, there’s also some posh seats.
Made out of a new “eco-leather” (that’s a code word for a convincing synthetic plastic) the seats are perforated for ventilation and said to be colourfast, scratchproof and tear-resistant as well. Peugeot also says they’re “moisture regulating, and acid and alkali resistant”, so really about as durable as possible and ideal for a hard-working van.
It gets dual-zone climate control, as well as a small cubby hole for wireless smartphone charging. There’s even a heated leather steering wheel.
You’ll also notice the 10-inch touchscreen which has Apple CarPlay and Android smartphone mirroring.
Also newly added is a new voice activated assistant. Simple say “OK Peugeot” and whole host of voice commands are possible, as well as support for more obscure questions thanks to integration with the ChatGPT AI assistant.
Its 136hp motor isn’t quite as fast as Peugeot 9X8 hypercar, but it’s definitely no slouch either. Power is instant and rapid, but it’s possible to control the rate at which you take off at by selecting one of the three driving modes, Eco, Normal or Sport.
As is the way with these modes, Eco gives you a lot less power than Normal, limiting acceleration and turning down energy sapping items like air con. Normal gives you most of the motor’s power, while Sport lets you loose with the full amount.
It’s fun to drive, with purposeful steering that means you can really throw it into a corner where you want it. It also holds the road nicely - probably thanks to all the hard work of that spoiler! Or not…
There’s paddle shifters to control your regenerative braking levels, with up to three settings. Using them almost gives you a race like experience, but to be honest, unless you’re looking to maximise range it’s best to just leave it in the second setting where a decent level of regenerative braking takes on the roll of more traditional engine braking.
It’s also comfortable, just like the regular E-Expert. It’s quiet and rides well, which you definitely don’t get in a World Endurance Championship car.
The E-Expert Sport gets all the usual kit you’d expect like cruise control, speed limiter and warnings, as well as ABS, ESC and emergency braking. But there’s also flankguard detection which spots fixed objects along side of you, helping to avoid those nasty side swipes of things like bollards or concrete blocks.
Coupled with the 180 degree reversing camera and sensors it’s a pretty comprehensive all around package to ensure you don’t prang the van when going backwards.
It's just the same as the regular van, none of the sport changes make any difference to the overall practicality of the van.
It has a useable load volume of up to 6.6m3, and the E-Expert Sport payload is 1,000kg. There's also the ability to for the E-Expert Sport to tow up to 1,000kg.
The E-Expert Sport is really in its own little camp, particularly when it comes to the rest of the Stellantis vans that are available like the Fiat Scudo and Citroen Dispatch and their electric equivalents the Fiat E-Scudo and the Citroen E-Dispatch.
There is a Vauxhall Vivaro Electric GS, which is now back in the line-up, and does pretty much the same as the E-Expert Sport with some fancy go-faster looking add-ons - but no more power.
Elsewhere, there's the Ford E-Transit Custom MS-RT which offers an even more mad-cap sporty appearance, but also a lot more power.
It might not get to compete in the 24 hour race, but the new E-Expert Sport looks just as cool as it’s sportier cousin. Thankfully it costs a lot less too at £41,295 (ex VAT).
If you’re in the market for a van that stands out then the Sport is certainly a van which does so. The body modifications are tasteful, and the revamped interior is a nice lift over your standard grey-on-grey interior.
It won’t out perform a regular electric Expert van at the traffic lights, but it’ll win hands down on looks when parked next to it.
Images: Dan Pullen
