First Drive: Peugeot Landtrek 1.9D Allure – Fancy A ‘French’ Lifestyle Truck?

French? Really?

Okay, it’s not really a French product. Despite proudly bearing the famed French silver lion emblem, the Landtrek 1.9D Allure is in fact a Chinese truck at heart – more specifically, one built by Changan. However, Peugeot won’t admit it, as proven by how representatives shied away from confirming this fact with us during its official launch earlier this week.

Nevertheless, despite what you may think about cars – or trucks – made in said republic, they have indeed come a long way in terms of quality and performance. Unless you closely inspect the engine bay, you won’t find any hints of this truck’s Chinese roots anywhere on its exterior, which looks rather handsome so to speak.

Yes, it does look beefy indeed…

It’s not hard to make any pick-up truck, regardless of origin, look tough or rugged. However, the French marque’s design team opted to jazz this truck up slightly to give it a more urban and up-market look fit for the urban jungle.

Plenty of pretty chrome brightworks all around plus a prominent front grille design with tasty black inserts.

L-R: Shiny chrome brightworks get matched with stylish LED headlights, DRL, and combination taillights.

Key touches include shiny chrome grille surround, silver lion emblems front and aft, fog lamp garnish, rear bumpers, side mirror caps, door handles, and sportbar. Next comes two-tone 18-inch alloy wheels, as well as all-LED headlights, foglamps, and LED combination taillights, all of which greatly help make this truck look less like a workhorse.

Snazzy 18-inch two-tone alloy wheels looks like those found in crossover SUVs, not trucks.

L-R: Sizeable flat-bed, LEDs in the sportbar, dual roof rails, and side-steps are utility hallmarks on the Landtrek.

Despite this, there’s no hiding this truck’s true utilitarian nature exuded by its flatbed, front bumper skid plate, side steps, and dual roof rails. There’s even LED lights primed in the sportbar that provide nifty illumination, especially if you frequently lug things about at night. We’ll also point out the Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tyres primed, which fuels this truck’s off-roading chops too – more on this in a bit.

How’s life on the inside?

Things start to feel less utilitarian on board where, like the exterior, Peugeot has gone to town in making this truck look and feel less like one. Cheap hard plastics are used for most of the dash still, but at least there’s plush leather covering the seats, key touchpoints and the steering wheel, not forgetting the presence of Peugeot’s signature aviation-inspired control interface here.

Besides leather upholstery, front seats also feature powered adjustment whilst the rear can be folded down too.

Aviation-themed climate control switches are a Puegeot design hallmark, whilst rear vents adds to rear passenger comforts.

Next comes a bevy of tech that’s more commonly seen in cars – or crossover SUVs like the 3008 and 5008 we tested recently. Highlights include an interactive 4.2-inch digital instrument display, 10-inch central touchscreen infotainment unit offering Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, as well as dual-zone automatic climate control with rear passenger vents.

Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is present in the central touchscreen.

360-degree parking view monitor is a very nifty addition, and it eases parking efforts with this truck.

Impressive here is the touchscreen’s added offer a 360-degree parking view monitor with crisp-clear resolution. This, in turn, made for a truck that’s easy to manage through urban traffic with, as well as easier parking. Whilst here, it’s also worth noting the presence of lane-departure warning (LKAS) and lane-keeping assist (LKAS) on top of a passive cruise control suite that keeps this truck highway-friendly.

The biggest plus here is Peugeot’s claim of the Landtrek sporting the roomiest cabin in class, as proven at how easily it accommodated three journos plus luggage during our one-day press drive with it. There’s also a respectable level of noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) suppression laced in the cabin. Aptly, the way the Landtrek’s innards pretends to be more crossover SUV-like than truck deserves praise indeed.

Okay, how does it drive then?

On the pavement, the Landtrek feels as civilised as any truck with a ladder frame chassis and rear leaf-spring suspension would. It gladly soaks up bumps and imperfections of any city street in great stride, whilst the ultra-light power steering makes for a truck that’s less taxing to manage through the concrete jungle, more so with the presence of the 360-degree parking monitor and sensors mentioned.

Yes, the Landtrek proved its mettle when we caned it off the pavement.

Take it off the beaten path and things start to feel a little rowdy, especially if you’re seated in the back. Typically, this is where a pick-up truck’s weakness at providing a comfy ride becomes evident – this Peugeot being no exception to which. As we discovered in our ‘spirited’ drive through B-roads leading towards Sekinchan, rear passengers will have to deal with a lot of bounce stemming from the rear leafsprings.

Thankfully, the 1.9-litre 4-cyl turbo-diesel powertrain package primed in the Landtrek felt adequately good for any and all occasions. Delivering 150 HP and 350 NM, the mill won’t see the Landtrek win any street races against its rivals, but the fact that all of which are easily accessed for any task makes it quite the respectable package on its own.

Slick 6-speed automatic is paired with a part-time 4x4 driveline plus a hill-descent control suite.

Managing said outputs is a slick 6-speed automatic box, which is also paired with a full-blown 4x4 driveline offering both high- and low-locking four-wheel-drive modes. Coupled with a Hill-Descent Control (HDC) suite, plus the all-terrain tyres mentioned, it’s plain to see this Peugeot-badged truck is eager to hit the dirt when needed.

We did just that through several of Sekinchan’s famed paddy fields and a beachfront during our drive. Having tried both the 4x4 driveline and HDC in full here, we’re certain avid truckers with ‘adventurous’ lifestyles to match have nothing to worry about. In other words, the Landtrek’s off-roading chops proved to be as good as it looks, and we reckon this will be the deciding factor for most.

Should I seriously consider this truck then?

Handsome styling, actual off-roading abilities, and a bevy of utilitarian and premium substances all sees the Peugeot Landtrek 1.9D Allure ticking the right boxes as a desirable daily pick-up truck. There’s also the  well-covered basic safety it boasts, fuelled by the presence of six airbags, plus ABS and stability control (ESP) suites, that adds to which.

Above all, we reckon the RM120,072 sticker price (sans insurance) will tempt many into this Sino-French take of the ‘lifestyle’ truck genre. Compared against key segment rivals with similar pricing, you’re indeed quite a lot of truck plus a tonne more premium amenities and features at this price.

Included here too is a 5-year or 100,000 KM warranty by distributors Bermaz Auto Alliance. Given the firm’s track record for delivering stellar after-sales services, we reckon many will find the Landtrek a very tempting proposition indeed. Wouldn’t you agree? Oui? Non?

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