For many self employed tradesman, picking the right vehicle to carry out their work is of paramount importance. Many workers in the traditional trades that often attract individuals wanting to work for themselves, such as  electricians, plumbers, painters and chimney sweeps, have turned to a Peugeot van that was designed with the tradesman in mind, especially one who works in one of the UK’s busy towns and cities.

The Peugeot Bipper is a relative newcomer on to the scene, but has already won many accolades from users and people in the trade alike, culminating in winning “Best new van of the year” in 2009. Indeed Peugeot claim it is the first van actually designed for urban use.

It is certainly compact, the overall length of the van is about 12 feet 8 inches and the Bipper is actually less than 6 feet wide, absolutely ideal for squeezing through the convoluted streets of busy conurbations. It is only 68 inches high as well which allows tradesman to comfortably load tools of their trade or raw materials on top of the van. Of course the slim line dimensions of the Bipper will facilitate parking.

Once inside the Bipper one can see why the van has proved so popular. The load length in the back of the vehicle is 5 feet, with the interior height coming in a little below 4 feet, giving a load volume of around 20 square feet. There is also a multiflex seat available in some models.

The van benefits from raised seats which gives the driver a better driving panorama and also makes entry into the vehicle easier. The dashboard is nothing over dramatic but functional with every dial and button within easy reach of the drivers eyes and hands.

Although the Bipper does not compare with some of the newer Euro5 compliant vehicles on fuel consumption it is still quite impressive. Around town you can expect 32 mpg but once on the open road this jumps to over 47 mpg. Not bad at all and with services required only every 20,000 miles you are not going to be on first name terms with the mechanics at the local garage.

Price wise the Bipper starts at £9095 plus VAT, which makes it competitive with vans in the same sector and should return a decent commercial vehicle insurance quote for anyone interested in investing in the new van on the block.