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WHAT ? AWARDS 2007 MICROVAN

SPONSORED BY

Microvan

PiaggioPorter

o back 20 or so years and that we dish out this accolade given the 85 miles between recharges and is not you could barely move for lack of competition in the sector. subject to the London congestion tax. microvans. Bedford, Made in Italy, Porter boasts a 3.0m3 It’s also worth noting that the pocket- G and Daihatsu were cargo bay accessible from three sides; sized load lugger can be ordered as a all promoting them energetically as the there’s a hatch-type door at the back. 4x4 with an electronic locking centre must-have response to the challenges A chassis cab is on offer too and can diff (see Road Test, page 46) and as that beset inner-city delivery work. Even be specified with factory-fitted dropside a people-carrier. long-serving EastEnderscharacter Ian or tipper bodywork. Don’t buy a Porter if you expect Beale had one. The dropside comes with two to be cosseted in the lap of luxury. The other words, the driver sits above the How times change. Despite their different body sizes. The standard equipment provided is basic to say the engine. Such an arrangement can budget prices and their standard sliding model has a cargo deck 1,330mm least, and that’s putting it politely. involve a steep climb over the front side doors, micro-commercials have wide and 1,980mm long. Its bigger Any concerns about the absence of offside wheelarch in a bigger vehicle, become rarer than a smile from a brother’s deck dimensions are air-conditioning or a multi-speaker CD but hopping in and out of Porter’s cab Northern Rock director. Buyers seem 1,400mm and 2,325mm respectively. player pale into insignificance, however, is a doddle. to be moving upmarket, splashing Looking across the line-up, top pay- when you take the vehicle into a Perhaps one of the biggest surprises more cash and opting for light load ranges from 560kg to 685kg and crowded town centre and realise how is how comfortable the driver’s seat is. such as Ford’s Transit Connect instead. Porter has proved a useful platform for astonishingly manoeuvrable it is. While After a long hike from Peterborough to They may also be expected to favour a wide variety of specialist bodywork. it won’t quite turn on a 5p piece, it Slough and back the, admittedly the Citroën Nemo/Peugeot Bipper/Fiat No matter which model you pick, comes pretty close, and that’s vertically-challenged and well-padded, Fiorino trio when the newcomers go on power comes courtesy of a 64hp invaluable if you need to execute a swift writer emerged from behind the wheel sale next year. 1.3-litre married to a U-turn to avoid a road blockage. feeling fresh as the proverbial daisy. One manufacturer is still eagerly five-speed gearbox. At present the Parking in restricted spaces is He was almost as happy as he was waving the microvan flag in Britain, rear-wheel drive Porter cannot be a breeze, despite the lack of power when he visited the Piaggio stand at the however, and that’s Piaggio with the ordered with a diesel, which some steering, and the van’s low overall British Commercial Vehicle Show earlier Porter. As a consequence we’re more prospective purchasers may view as a height allows you to sneak into this year and saw the fact that Porter than happy to hand the importer What disadvantage. locations where overhead clearance is won 2006’s What Van?top microvan Van’s Microvan of the Year award once An electric Porter is available, at a premium. accolade too being heavily promoted. again, although it may be the last year however, with a range of around Porter is a forward-control vehicle; in It’s great to be appreciated. N

26 WHAT VAN? December 2007/January 2008