HOW is it possible to get yourself and seven friends to the races without anyone having to drive home?

It's quite a conundrum isn't it - unless you can afford the serious fare that two taxis demand for such a 15 mile trip.

My answer was to borrow Peugeot's large people carrier/minibus called the Traveller Business, and inveigle a non-drinking friend to drive.

It was perfect for the task and carried us all there and back in fine style and excellent comfort.

The Traveller is based on the Expert van and it's none the worse for that. It comes with three rows of three seats and wide sliding rear doors that make it reasonably easy for everyone to get in and out.

Those nine seats make it ideal as a posh minibus, a taxi or as transport for large families.

It's available with two diesel engines in four stages of power. The well-known 1.6 HDi engine is available in 95 and 115bhp guises, while a 2.0-litre HDi comes with either 150bhp and manual gearbox, or 180bhp and a standard automatic.

I drove the 150bhp 2.0-litre and, although acceleration was fairly linear, it never seemed short of urge when required.

The engine - also used in the company's cars - is always smooth and quiet and all the controls work well and fall readily to hand.

As I said, the level of comfort is excellent in all the seats and it revels in rolling over speed humps without upsetting the occupants.

Although this is not what a large people carrier should be about, it also holds the road well, with high levels of grip and reasonably balance giving excellent safety.

There's a fair amount of luggage space with all nine seats occupied and both rear rows of three fold 60/40 per cent, giving a large combination of seat and load carrying combinations for those who carry bikes, camping gear or other large gear on a regular basis.

There's good legroom for all the rear seats but, oddly, not that much in the front.

Equipment includes a six inch screen for DAB stereo and a Mirrorlink phone link system, plus air con, front fog and turning lights, automatic lights and wipers and rear parking sensors - very useful.

It also has cruise control, driver attention sensors, stability control, remote locking, driver, front passenger and lateral airbags and heated mirrors.

The rear side and back windows are darkened but they're too dark for my taste, affecting the amount I was able to see at night.