Peugeot E-Rifter review

Our opinion on the Peugeot E-Rifter

Peugeot has nailed its colours to the mast with the E-Rifter by only offering the electric variant. That will immediately rule it out for some buyers, who might be better served by the otherwise similar Citroen Berlingo Multispace, which is still offered with combustion power. However, as one of the most practical electric vehicles on sale, there’s still a lot to like about the E-Rifter. If you can accept the van-like looks (and plenty have over the years), the utility of the E-Rifter is difficult to beat, especially for the price, which is no higher than that of some small crossovers.

About the Peugeot E-Rifter

French brands Peugeot and Citroen have offered their respective Partner and Berlingo vans in passenger-vehicle form since the 1990s, and they’ve won over many thanks to each offering plenty of practicality, keen pricing and low running costs. Sure, they look like the vans they’re based on, but that was easily overlooked with more car-like equipment levels and some jazzy trim.

The third-generation Partner arrived in 2018, and at this point the Peugeot variant of the passenger car adopted the name Rifter as a way to distance it from all the ones painted white and covered in dents. Its practicality remained, albeit with more equipment, nicer trim and more efficient powertrains than ever. Initially available with petrol and diesel power, in 2021 Peugeot introduced the E-Rifter, and this has been the only model on sale since - even though sibling Citroen backtracked on its EV-only Berlingo and now offers the electric version alongside petrol and diesel options.

Used - available now

2022 Peugeot

Rifter

31,350 milesManualDiesel1.5L

Cash £14,449

View Rifter

2021 Peugeot

Rifter

48,630 milesManualPetrol1.2L

Cash £11,995

View Rifter

2022 Peugeot

Rifter

22,672 milesAutomaticPetrol1.2L

Cash £14,999

View Rifter

2023 Peugeot

Rifter

80,443 milesManualDiesel1.5L

Cash £9,350

View Rifter

The E-Rifter is available in standard length, five-seat form or in a longer, seven-seat format. All models get sliding rear doors for easy car park access - something you won’t find in a crossover and one of many practical touches that families will love. Allure and GT trim lines offer elevating levels of kit, while Peugeot fans will quickly adapt to the i-Cockpit dashboard layout (with a small, low-set steering wheel and high-mounted dials), as found across the Peugeot range.

Not everyone wants an MPV that’s fun to drive. There are many people out there who – whisper it – would rather not have to drive anywhere at all, and see getting themselves and the family from A to B as a chore that interferes with the fun stuff at either end of the journey.

The E-Rifter is perfect for that, because it doesn’t encourage enthusiasm behind the wheel, and instead you’ll probably adopt a more relaxed pace, more comfortable for passengers and well within the car’s abilities. Since the E-Rifter is electric-only (either a 99- or 128bhp 1.5-litre diesel is available for vehicles being converted for wheelchair access), it’ll also be most beneficial for range.

Electric motors, 0-60mph acceleration and top speed

There’s only one powertrain option available in the E-Rifter, a 134bhp electric motor powering the front wheels alone. It’s a setup you’ll find in several cars across the Peugeot, Citroen and DS ranges, and while stonking performance isn’t on the menu, the power and torque are more than adequate to shift the E-Rifter’s weight, even with people and luggage onboard. An Eco mode cuts power to boost range if you’re driving in a relaxed manner and a Power mode does the opposite, ‘unleashing’ the full 134 horses.

Town driving, visibility and parking

This is one of the E-Rifter’s strong suits. Electric power is already well-suited to town driving, and here it gives you decent oomph away from traffic lights, junctions and roundabouts, while the adjustable regenerative braking lets you pick your level of ‘engine braking’. Combined with the E-Rifter’s naturally good visibility thanks to a raised seating position, upright windows and light steering, it’s very easy to thread the car through town. Parking is straightforward too, thanks to the flat rear that makes it easy to judge where the end of the car is, plus there are parking sensors on both Allure and GT trims, and a rear-view camera on the GT.

Country road driving and handling 

If urban journeys are a Rifter highlight, country roads are probably its weakest suit, though that’s not to say it can’t cope. Here the light steering is less of a benefit, giving you less confidence as speeds rise, but the supple ride copes well with bumps. Of course, the trade-off is a slightly floaty feeling over undulations, and there’s some body lean due to the soft suspension setup and tall body. Though if you’ve ever visited France, you’ll know none of this stops the average tradesperson keeping up a good pace on a twisty road in their Partner or Berlingo…

Motorway driving and long-distance comfort

The E-Rifter’s light steering also isn’t ideal on the motorway, but once again the ride comes to the fore here, as does the visibility - large mirrors are welcome for lane changes. The wind noise at speed is a constant reminder of the van body’s basic lack of aerodynamics, though.

The E-Rifter draws its energy from a 52kWh battery pack, which is familiar to other electric cars in the Peugeot lineup. It’s also relatively small both for the size of car and compared to some other recent EVs, so the claimed 180-220 miles of combined range that Peugeot quotes means that longer trips might need some forward planning, at least compared to the diesel engines that the brand used to slot into the Rifter. It’s more at home in city use, where the ability to recoup some energy using regenerative braking means Peugeot suggests up to 304 miles is possible - and that should get you several days or even weeks of use around town.

Up to 100kW rapid charging is possible, allowing for a top-up from 0-80 per cent state of charge in around 30 minutes. Charge at home with a three-pin plug and you’re looking at the best part of a day for a full recharge of the battery, but utilise a 7.4kW home wallbox charger and it’ll take a much more reasonable 7 hours for a full charge. If you’re out and about and can find a faster three-phase 11kW box, you can cut that time down to 4.5 hours.

Insurance

Like a lot of electric vehicles, expect to pay a little more on insurance for the E-Rifter than an equivalent vehicle using petrol or diesel power. For comparison, combustion versions of the Citroen Berlingo are in groups 11-16, while the E-Rifter is in groups 19-23 (the E-Berlingo is also in group 19).

Tax

First-year vehicle excise duty (VED) for the E-Rifter is only £10, and in subsequent years that figure rises to £200. As no E-Rifter gets anywhere near the £50,000 luxury car tax threshold (based on the car’s original on-the-road price), there’s no surcharge to pay on top of that.

For company users, the E-Rifter sits in the 4 per cent tax band for benefit-in-kind (BIK) company car tax. Its relatively low purchase price means it should be pretty cheap to run; a basic five-seat Allure model will cost a lower-rate taxpayer only £259 in the 2026/2027 tax year. (For comparison, a diesel Berlingo would raise that figure to nearly £1700.)

Depreciation

The Peugeot E-Rifter retains more of its original value than its electric Citroen e-Berlingo and Vauxhall Combo Life Electric alternatives. The E-Rifter is expected to still be worth 42 per cent of its original value after 3 years or 36,000 miles, whereas the Combo Life Electric maintains 38 to 40 per cent over the same period, while the e-Berlingo will only be worth 34 per cent.

The E-Rifter can’t quite match our Family Car of the Year, the Kia PV5, which maintains 46 to 49 per cent of its value.

In spite of its lowly origin, the E-Rifter has been dressed up and sprinkled with a bit of the SUV/crossover fairy dust in order to broaden its appeal. The designers have done a good job, too, because the MPV has a chunky, Tonka toy-like appeal that suggests it’s good for an adventure or two.

The distinctive Peugeot family nose and grille are eye-catching at the front, while cladding on the body sides and wheelarch extensions, plus the roof rails, accentuate the rugged feel.

Sliding rear side doors are a feature of all the E-Rifter’s van-based rivals, but they feel like a novel touch and children will love them.

Interior and dashboard design

Inside, the E-Rifter shares its configuration with the Partner van, and the dash is identical, with its i-Cockpit instrument pack placed high up on the dash so you need to peer over the steering wheel to see it. Drivers tend to love or hate the Peugeot’s unusual instrument set-up, but we have to say it works pretty well in the Rifter, thanks to the upright driving position and tall fascia, which makes it easy to see over the wheel.

The rest of the controls are well laid out, with proper switches for the heating and air-con – unlike some other models in the Peugeot range, which demand you navigate through the touchscreen to set the heating.

Materials and build quality

With van-based origins, it probably won’t come as a huge surprise to learn that on a scale that spans ‘agricultural’ at one end and ‘ultra luxury’ at the other, the overall feel of the E-Rifter is closer to the former than the latter. It’s not up to the same standards for materials and finish as some other models in the Peugeot range, though. While it’s far from being scratchy or hollow, its commercial vehicle origins are clear. That should make it durable, though, and most elements of the interior feel like they’ll stand up to the rigours of family life.

Infotainment, sat-nav and stereo

All new E-Rifters come with a 10-inch touchscreen display mounted above the central air vents, and it has all the features most buyers have come to expect in a modern car: WiFi connectivity, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto mirroring, and USB ports for data and charging. Where it falls down a little is in audio reproduction, with Allure versions getting only a pair of speakers and another pair of tweeters, while the GT gets four speakers and two tweeters - there’s no high-end audio option here. Both Allure and GT get a digital driver’s display screen though.

The upright driving position offers good visibility, and the slab sides and short nose make the E-Rifter easy to place on the road or park. However, the car’s real forte is the amazingly well thought-out cabin storage – there’s 180 litres of space in the various lockers, cubbies and door bins, and that’s more than the boot space in some city cars. The door bins can hold several big bottles of water, there’s a locker in the dashboard that will store a laptop and an overhead locker folds down airline-style for passengers in the rear.

Dimensions and size

The short E-Rifter measures 4,405mm from bumper to bumper, while the long version is 4,755mm. There’s a difference in wheelbase too, contributing to the space of the long variant, which at 2,975mm between its axles is a full 190mm longer where it counts than the 2,785mm wheelbase of the regular car. All models are 1,921 wide, while the shorter model is 1,818mm tall and the long version 1,837mm, with roof rails.

Seats & passenger space

There are plenty of ways to configure the seats in an E-Rifter, because the rear seats are available with a 60:40 split or as three individual seats with the Magic Flat system, which can be folded to the floor. The third row consists of two individually removable seats.

Boot space

The E-Rifter is blessed with a massive boot, and Peugeot claims a load volume of up to 4,000 litres for the long-wheelbase version with all the seats folded flat. Even with the seats in place, you still get a whopping 1,050 litres. The standard-length E-Rifter five-seater offers 775 litres of boot space, expanding to 3,000 litres when the seats are dropped.

“The electric Peugeot E-Rifter wouldn’t make for a good tow car with a low 750kg capacity. Think of the £250 tow bar option (not available on Long versions) as more of a hitch for a cycle carrier, and you won’t be disappointed.” - Max Adams, online reviews editor.

The Peugeot Rifter (as it was known then) was crash tested and rated for its safety scores by Euro NCAP at launch back in 2018. As Euro NCAP says that its ratings only apply for five years from the date of the test, this means the Rifter’s ratings have expired, and it can’t be directly compared to modern equivalents.

Its four-star rating back then certainly wasn’t bad, and the 91 per cent for adult occupant safety was a highlight, though results after that were mixed - 58 per cent for vulnerable road users highlighted the lack of various collision-avoidance features that were slowly becoming commonplace.

It should be noted that in the intervening years, Peugeot has managed to install several of the systems it didn’t offer at the time, including a driver attention alert system and active emergency braking. That’s not to say the E-Rifter would necessarily warrant a higher star rating today, but its safety features have definitely improved since launch. 

Out of the three Stellantis MPVs (Berlingo, E-Rifter and Combo Life Electric), only the E-Rifter comes with adaptive cruise control, lane position assistance, and extended traffic sign recognition as standard – albeit only on the most expensive GT trim. The others require you to add this as part of a pricey driver’s assistance pack. You will still need to pay £600 for blind-spot monitoring (and again, only with the GT trim) on an E-Rifter, whereas it comes as standard on a mid-range Dacia Jogger.

The E-Rifter didn’t make an appearance in the most recent 2026 Driver Power survey, but the Peugeot brand placed 7th out of 30 manufacturers included in the survey. 

• Best buy: E-Rifter Allure Long

On-the-road pricing starts at around £32,500 for an Allure in standard wheelbase form, but all models currently enjoy a £1,500 electric vehicle grant from the government, so at the time of writing, the price of an Allure is £31,000 and £31,900 for the standard and long versions, and around £33,800 and £34,700 for the respective GT trim models.

There’s only one powertrain in the E-Rifter so the choice here comes down to specification, and as the only one with seven seats, the Allure in its long-wheelbase form makes the most sense. With so few truly spacious seven-seat EVs on the market the E-Rifter becomes an obvious candidate for those who really need those extra seats, while the price of entry for the seven-seater is still less than a basic five-seat in GT trim (and the GT Long still only has five seats). You don’t lose out on a whole lot of essential equipment either, though if you think you can’t live without a reversing camera, a 12-volt socket for the second row, or adaptive cruise, then you’ll have to stump up for the GT and put up with the lack of a seven-seat variant.

Build your new Peugeot E-Rifter with the Auto Express Buy A Car service and you can save on the list price, we also have E-Rifter leasing deals to choose from, as well as new E-Rifter models in stock right now.

Peugeot E-Rifter alternatives

The most obvious alternatives to the Rifter are its platform-mates, the Citroen Berlingo, Toyota Proace City Verso, and Vauxhall Combo Life Electric. The E-Berlingo starts at an identical price to the E-Rifter and the Toyota is actually a little cheaper at £30,495 with the grant deducted, while the Vauxhall is around £500 on top of the French pair. Basically, they’re all pretty closely priced, though it’s arguably the Peugeot and Citroen that hide their van roots the best, with more distinctive exterior and interior styling and features.

Away from purely electric vans, the Dacia Jogger is very hard to ignore in this space. Prices start at under £19,000, and if you’re a private buyer that’s a lot of money to save up front (or in monthly payments). The Jogger is an actual car too rather than a van-based MPV, so its driving experience is slightly more refined.

Peugeot E-Rifter pictures

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