• The Rifter majors on space and practicality
• Cosmically vast interior, space for up to seven
• Enormous boot and loads of extra storage

How much space is there?

Loads. The Peugeot Rifter is based on a van – and that makes it one of the versatile family cars you can buy. In standard length guise, it offers plentiful space for five thanks to its wide cabin, high roof and three individual rear seats. Headroom, legroom and shoulder room are in abundance everywhere.

The long-body seven-seat model is even more practical. Headroom is just as generous in the rearmost seats as it is up front, meaning even tall adults will fit back there. However, legroom is at more of a premium as there’s no footwell. That means those in the back are forced to sit with their knees nearer their chest.

Still, it’s more accommodating than seven-seat SUVs, such as the Peugeot 5008 and Skoda Kodiaq. Both of those cars’ rearmost seats are only really suitable for children. If you have a flock of teenagers to cart around, that might be the deciding factor.

Boot space and storage

The five-seat Peugeot Rifter offers 774 litres of boot space, trumping pretty much every other five-seat MPV on sale. Fold the rear seats flat and the amount of space expands to 3,000 litres. Plus, to boost usability, the Rifter’s middle seats fold completely flat into the floor, while the front passenger seat can tumble forwards to allow for extra-long loads to fit into the cabin.

Seven seat models have 1,050 litres of boot space with the first two rows in place, while folding the middle row down liberates up to 3,500 litres. With the car in seven-seat mode, boot space measures 209 litres up to the parcel shelf, making it quite tight if you’ve got a full complement of passengers and luggage.

Is it easy to park?

In its standard length, the Rifter is easy to manoeuvre. Its tall, van-like driving position brings great visibility, while its flat sides and huge windows make it easy to judge the MPV’s extremities. However, the Rifter’s wide dashboard can make it feel larger than it really is.

The longer Rifter is trickier. That extra bodywork tacked onto the back makes it a very long car (over 4.7m), which makes it harder to thread through narrow streets and multi-storey car parks. If you’re buying the extended length model, you might also want to consider spending some extra cash on a reversing camera.

Safety

• Four-star Euro NCAP rating…
• … which has since expired
• Strong adult occupant score

The Peugeot Rifter received a four-star safety rating when Euro NCAP batted it around its test facility back in 2018. Because Euro NCAP results are only valid for six years, that rating has since expired – but the Rifter should still prove to be safe in accident.

The testers were particularly impressed with the MPV’s ability to protect its adult and child occupants. If it were retested today, we suspect its safety technology is what would hold it back, as it doesn’t have any active driver monitoring systems and only a rudimentary lane-keeping assist system.

It’s worth mentioning the Rifter comes with three Isofix points on the second row and a wide enough cabin for three child seats. That’s a rarity amongst its SUV-shaped rivals – and a key selling point for those with large families. Peugeot’s Advanced Grip Control also adds a bit more off-road ability.

Watch the Euro NCAP crash test video