Howdy Partners. Many years ago, part of my driving career began behind the wheel of a compact panel van. The brand is irrelevant right now, but its space, practicality and the opportunity to move both people and ‘things’ made me rather popular back in the day – So imagine my excitement when Peugeot NZ asked if I’d like to test out their new and refined Partner van!
French style, car-like interior and ‘multiflex’ versatility were just some of the niceties boasted by this much improved Partner and what’s more, it came in two sizes, Long (4.79m) and Standard (4.40m), with the latter being the model I was given to test.
Let’s get the ‘space’ out of the way up front, (or is that behind), it is a van after all. In terms of load volume, the Partner offers a best-in-class loading space of up to 4.4 cubic metres and both models can accommodate two pallets with a payload of up to 1,000kg and all easily accessible via sliding doors both driver and passenger side and rear-barn doors which open 180-degrees. There is a hatch behind the passenger bench seat that once dropped allows items of up to 3.09m to be loaded (3.44m in the Long) too.
Still need more space? Well the icing on croissant for this petit van is its multiflex cabin, where its two-seat passenger bench (yes the Partner carries three people) can be raised to allow for large boxes or cases and there are numerous cubbyholes and compartments that add up to an extra 113L of stowage space. Topping it off, the middle seat can be dropped down to expose a moveable flat ‘desk’ surface for ease of pie eating (traditional van tucker) or to turn your van into an office – phew!
The rest of the Partner’s cabin is very Peugeot familiar with a robust finish. For example, the Peugeot i-Cockpit (instrument cluster) is bold enough to see all your main driving information, yet it is shrouded in hard wearing materials so you feel comfortable slapping your clipboard (or whatever) on top of it.
The seats are form-fitting for those long days behind the wheel, the wheel itself is tiny and sporty and both the dial-style gear selector and handbrake have been moved to the dashboard to allow room for the third passenger.
There’s also a large eight-inch central touchscreen, that’s been angled towards the driver for ease of use. It offers Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as the likes of Electronic Stability Programme and Hill Start Assist, Active Emergency Braking with pedestrian detection, Lane Departure Warning and crucially since there is no glass to see out of behind, Blind Spot Monitoring.
Both the Standard and the Long Wheelbase variants come with the same award-winning 1.2-litre PureTech 130 three-cylinder turbo petrol engine which ‘delivers’ (pun intended) 96kW of power and 230Nm of torque. As it’s mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with Start and Stop fuel-saving tech, combined fuel consumption is 6.7L/ 100km (although I was a little too heavy footed to meet that) and emissions of 151g/km making it clean car neutral in NZ.
Getting behind the wheel of the Peugeot Partner panel van took me both way back in time in memories and thrust me forward into the future in terms of technology. Around the town and on the open roads I instinctively used both the side mirrors (which offer plenty of visibility) but the added ‘blind spot alert’ meant that nothing slipped by my attention.
The 3-cylinder sounded great under revs, and gets up to treble figures way before your cuppa gets cold, but the fuel-saving start/stop system does make around town driving jittery, so I ended up switching that off. The Partner’s turning circle is soo good, meaning that should you miss your destination, in most cases you can do a ‘u’ey without having to find a driveway or conduct a 3-pointer.
Road noise is limited, but still there (it is a van after all) but the 4-speaker stereo is loud enough to drown that out, while cornering on its 16-inch feet is confident enough (certainly at ‘recommended speeds’, even empty.
I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Peugeot Partner and being a 3-seater meant that my family could join in the fun too. It’s big enough to move all the stuff a tradesman would need to and being ‘panelled’ ensures that thieves would be unaware of what’s inside (glass etc can be fitted locally though should you require). It sure is a van that can, whatever that ‘can’ happens to be for you.
The Peugeot Partner is available from $45,990 for the Standard model, while the Long Wheelbase model has a maximum retail price of $48,990. Both configurations offer a five-year/100,000km mechanical warranty and five-year/100,000km roadside assistance as standard. A range of extended warranty options are available if required, as well as the availability of service plans.
