MMM – September 2019

September 2019outandaboutlive.co.uk 123

the six fo rward gears, andthere’s

good forwards visibilit y, plus huge

‘elephant ear’ door mirrors. The main

snag is the thick A-pi llars, which can

hinder vision tothe ri ght at junctions.

Overal l, it’s an undemanding and easy

drive, and understandably popular.

Peugeot’s 2-l itre engine produces

130bhp, pulls strongly andis generally

considered more re fined than its

counterpart in Fiat’s Ducato; unlike

the Fiat, it is only available inmanual

form. Economy-wise, ourexperience

(and the trip computer’s readout),

indicates the ea rly thirti es in mpg.

GRAPHITE PLUS GRAPHICS

The Colorado has extensive decals,

contrasting sharply andcolou rfully

with the Graph ite metallic paint of

the test ’van. There’s no mistaking it’s

a Dev on, nor which model. One of us

like d them, t’other didn’t!+

THE PROFESSIONALS
Back to the base vehicl e and its
specific ation. This is a Boxer in
Peugeot’s Professional trim, which
includes most ofthe luxuries we
now consider essential. It has a DAB
radio/CDwith Bluetooth, sat-nav and
steering wheel-mounted controls,
cab air-condition ing (including the
glovebox), cruise control, rear parking
sensors and electrically-operated,
heateddoor mirrors. It doesn’t hav e a
passenger airbag though, andit’s not
practical toretro-fit one.
On the pl us side is the price.
Because these arepre-registe red vans
(this one was a 19-plate, with 19 miles
on the clock), Dev on is ableto offer
the Colorado at £39,500 –treme ndous
value formoney when you check
the spec. However, if you require a
passenger airbag (or other factory-
fitted options) and first-owner-on-the-
logbook kudos, Devon canorder you

one specially, but it’ll cost more.

Driving the Pug, or its Fiat/Citroën

siblings,is so fami liar to us now that

it’s like wearing comfy old shoes. If

you’re new to motorhoming, it’s a

very long-establishe d design (and,

for general road manners, doesn’t

compare favourably with more

modern competitors like the VW

Crafter or Ford Transit. However, it

has safe and securehandling and

the sus pension, whilst firm, deals

adequately with potholes and do esn’t

lean much in corners.

The steering wheel only adju sts for

reach, not rake, so the dri ving position

is compromised for some drivers.

The handbrake is a stretch do wn to

the ri ght andis easy to leave partially

applied (that’s why there’s an alarm),

but its position means it doesn’t

interfere with swi velling the seat.The

dash-mounted m anual gearstick has

a clunky but foolproof action thr ough

“This ort oflayut has beenarundfor decades but the De on

fits a lot into a 5.4m anand doesit ata grea t price”

PETERVAUGHANROAD TEST EDITOR

SECOND OPINION

Devon Colorado TESTED

The kitchen has plenty of worktop and, unusually, includes a properdraining board

The open shelves arenot as
accommodating as they look

Even storage of outdoor chairs has
been considered in the Colorado