Design Development: Peugeot Traveller and iLab

The latest generation of commercial vans are becoming far more sophisticated, and are now frequently offered as fully-equipped nine-seater minivans or executive shuttle buses. Typifying this trend, the passenger versions of the latest LCV from PSA were developed as more luxurious vehicles than their predecessors, and gain new names as the Peugeot Traveller and Citroën SpaceTourer as a result.

Although PSA has worked with partner Fiat for over 35 years on its range of light commercial vehicles, produced by a joint venture agreement called Sevel, the new Traveller and SpaceTourer, announced in December 2015, were developed with Toyota, with its version being called the ProAce.

Exterior

The ‘Cahier de Charges’, or brief, was set by the marketing team, together with Jean-Pierre Ploué and Gilles Vidal, design directors of PSA and Peugeot respectively. Unusually, PSA does not have a dedicated LCV design group but assembles teams for each project. Designers from PSA brands Peugeot, Citroën and DS are invited to contribute ideas at the start of the project.

Design manager Keith Ryder has been with Peugeot for over thirty years and was in overall charge of the project: “It’s a nice way of working, you have a lot of talent available for different projects. It’s a bigger challenge too, the vehicle is a box so you have to inject a certain quality and appeal to it. But within the studio, when designers are asked to work on it, the amount of interest is incredible. It’s a different challenge to a next-generation hatchback.”

Initial sketching started in September 2011, with the theme by Giovanni Rizzo being accepted as the main design direction from 2012. Ryder explains the process went through the usual steps of sketch reviews and theme selection to produce four inexpensive milled polystyrene models to check the proportions and volume of the proposals.

“We didn’t just want another camionette,” says Ryder. “For Peugeot we wanted a front face showing solidity, robustness, and a dynamic quality using the basic design codes introduced into the car range. It was also extremely important to get good proportions and we spent a lot of time working with the engineers to make sure the front overhangs were reduced, which the new platform allowed.”

This was followed by a clay model stage, using several two-sided models and interchangeable faces to check the different brands. Ryder says their aim was for a high beltline, to give a modern look in harmony with the front end. The sculpted wheelarches provide strength to the body section, along with a lower sill lightcatcher and glass lines with a flush ‘aero look’. The design was frozen in March 2013, followed by two and a half years of industrialisation phases for production.

The final design is notable for its short hood, tall front face and fairly upright windscreen. “We wanted the screen to have the proportions of a modern TV screen shape rather than one that was stretched in the vertical plane,” Ryder continues.

The basic vehicle design is common across all three brands, with the hood and front fender being used by all. Citroën and Peugeot models share the same front lower bumper moulding too, with the panel above being used as the key differentiator for unique grilles and headlamps.

Based on PSA’s modular EMP2 platform, the Peugeot Traveller is available in two wheelbases and three lengths that can all be configured as five to nine-seaters with the variation in luggage space being the key difference. The Traveller represents the upper limit of the modularity of the EMP2 platform, which covers the PSA range from the Peugeot 308 and DS4 upwards.

Interior

The interior of the Traveller was designed to offer car-like levels of equipment and quality that are increasingly demanded by customers, particularly self-employed artisans where the van may double as their main family vehicle at weekends. The IP and steering wheel are in a relatively vertical position for the segment, giving the driver in an environment that’s intended to combine the comfort of a sedan with the high driving position of an SUV.

The two-tone IP features a dark horizontal band containing the binnacle, centre touchscreen and upper glovebox. Up to 74-litres of open or closed storage space are distributed around the passenger compartment, including pockets in the rear sliding doors.

The interior features a new seven-inch capacitive touchscreen, in addition to the multimedia system. The flagship Peugeot Traveller Business Plus VIP version provides its rear-seat passengers with a four-seater face-to-face configuration, each with individual leather armchairs. The optional retractable sliding table provides an area conducive to work, in response to the growing market for airport transfers, hotels and conference businesses. The ceiling-mounted climate control and air vents, as on aircraft, and the optional glass roof are both exclusive to the segment.

Traveller i-Lab concept

At Geneva this spring, Peugeot previewed the Traveller i-Lab concept, as an extension to the Business Plus VIP idea. Here, the interior is arranged as a hi-tech lounge, with patinated leather and alcantara seats, and a 32-inch touch tablet in the middle that can be pushed from side-to-side to gain access to the rear seats.

“We evolved the concept quickly with a mock-up inside a production vehicle,” says Ryder. “We established a certain touchscreen size: Too small wouldn’t have enough impact as a showcar, and too big would make it difficult to enter the vehicle.”

The i-Lab project started in mid-September 2015, with the CAD data for the centre arch and roof console completed by November. Designer Alessandro Riga collaborated with Samsung in the development of the interior. The screen, wifi hotspot, bluetooth modules, charging docks and the virtual reality headsets featured inside are all supplied by the Korean company.

“We didn’t want a central block in the vehicle but rather a carbon-fibre arch that you can get your legs under,” confirms Ryder. “Due to the size of the screen and the complicated joint it had to be really well engineered. Top management requested that the showcar would not just be open for press days at Geneva but all public days too, which meant that it needed to be robust. I think because it looked like a giant smartphone people didn’t damage it but respected it. We ordered an extra screen but in the end we didn’t need to use it!”

The transition between the piano black gloss and the tinted oakwood cladding for the rear quarter panel armrests and central bridge is deliberately fragmented, not unlike the treatment used on the Fractal concept. The bridge houses two inductive docking ports for the Samsung S6 Plus smartphone used in the cabin. “We used a real ébéniste – a wood craftsman – for the oakwood parts,” adds Ryder.

“It is possible for four phones to connect with the central screen,” continues Ryder. “For instance, the hotel check in and keycard can all be done on board so no time is wasted at the hotel. The virtual headset means you can see your hotel room before arrival, select another room or order breakfast.”

The Traveller i-Lab boasts a new roof console and audio installation developed by French specialists Focal, following on from work carried out on recent concept cars. This installation comprises 17 Focal loudspeakers, woofers, subwoofers and tweeters in the vehicle.

Food Truck concept

The Traveller was previewed last year by the Food Truck concept, shown at Milan Design Week in April 2015. This concept for a combined mobile bistro was designed by Peugeot Design Lab, rather than the main studio. As well as interactive access to the chef’s every move with the aid of a 46-inch screen, the concept featured a DJ booth showcasing the new digital music platform launched by the brand, Peugeot Music, using speakers from Focal.

Peugeot Traveller

Vehicle type Light commercial vehicle (LCV) and concept
Length XS 4606mm, M 4956mm, XL 5308mm
Width 1920mm
Height 1890mm
Wheelbase XS 2925mm; M, XL 3275mm

Design director Gilles Vidal
Design manager Keith Ryder
Exterior design Giovanni Rizzo
Interior design Alessandro Riga
Colour and trim Neha Ladd Chitroda.
Software design Valentin Perdereau

Project started September 2011 (production version)
Project completed spring 2015 (production version)
Project started September 2015 (iLab)
Project completed February 2016 (iLab)
Launch Geneva Show, March 2016