The Spacetourer’s commercial vehicle roots are reasonably obvious once you climb inside, as there are a few places where the surfaces and finishes are functional rather than tactile, but most of the cabin materials look smart and substantial. Everything feels very solidly assembled, too, and if you choose one of the high-end models, the standard leather seat trim really ups the ante in terms of the feeling of poshness you get. It’s not quite a
Mercedes V-Class or
Volkswagen Caravelle on that score, but it’s not all that far behind. The lofty driving position and massive windows give you a great view out in all directions, while the touchscreen
infotainment system is pretty easy to find your way around.
The versatility of your car will depend on the trim grade you choose, and there are two distinct flavours; the Feel and Flair cars are designed for family use, while the Business and Business Lounge trims are aimed at the transportation industry in its various forms. Feel and Flair cars come with eight seats as standard, arranged in two rows of three behind the front two seats, and each can be slid, adjusted and/or removed for extra comfort and convenience. The Business model seats up to nine by giving you the option of adding an extra ‘jump seat’ in between the driver and front passenger, while in the Business Lounge version, the two rows of three rear seats are replaced by four armchairs for greater comfort and luxury.
No matter which version you choose, or which seat you end up in, you’ll have loads of space to get comfortable, and getting into them is also relatively easy thanks to the way the chairs move out of your way. The sliding rear doors also help when gaining access in tight parking spaces.
Opening the boot is trickier in a tight space, because the tailgate is extremely long, but in the Flair model, you get a rear window that opens independently of the tailgate, allowing you to drop small bags in easily. And despite having space for all those people, the
boot is impressively big at the same time. Even the standard model - called the M - has shedloads of cargo space with all the seats in place, while the longer model - called the XL - has even more, thanks to all of the extra length sitting in the rear overhang of the car. You can fold the seats over to get more loadspace, but to really maximise it, you have to remove them completely (except in the Business version, in which the seats are fixed). This is fiddly, and lifting the seats out takes some serious muscle, and you’ll also have to find somewhere to store them in the meantime. That said, the cargo space that frees up is as impressive as in the Citroen Dispatch van that the car is based on.
You might expect an MPV that’s based on a van to be rather uncultured on the road, and if that’s the case, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the Spacetourer. It stays supple and comfortable at most speeds, and on most surfaces, which keeps life sweet for everybody inside. Despite the impressive comfort, though, there’s enough control in the suspension that the body doesn’t bounce around like a blancmange every time you encounter an undulating road. Obviously, it’s not a vehicle that likes to tackle corners particularly quickly, with slow steering and a lot of weight that needs to change direction. However, at the important business of whisking folk around in a civilised, fuss-free manner, it’s pretty difficult to fault.