PEUGEOT PARTNER
2019’s International Van of the Year – the all-new Peugeot Partner
It’s amazing that we live in such a time where technology is improving and being deployed in everyday situations so rapidly. The all-new Peugeot Partner is a tough, compact van available in 3 body styles and 2 lengths, but it also offers advanced features that would have been the reserve of high-end luxury cars just a decade ago.
As a modern Peugeot product, the all-new Partner gets the ‘i-cockpit’ interior design found in such vehicles as the firm’s 3008 SUV and new 508 saloon. Its low sitting steering-wheel is meant to help take the strain out of long periods of driving while the high position of the dials keeps you focused on the road at all times. Adaptive cruise control with a variable speed limiter, automatic lights and wipers, autonomous emergency braking, lane-keeping assist and the ‘Surround Rear Vision’ camera system are all new technological features present across the new Partner range. An 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system with navigation is the centrepiece of the dashboard that also features DAB radio and Bluetooth.
In terms of the Partner’s capabilities, payload weights vary from 650kg up to a maximum of 1-tonne, while the load area is 1.81m in length, allowing for a maximum of 2 euro pallets to fit inside. The longer wheelbase model of the Partner increases the load length to a maximum of 2.16m while actual load bay capacity figures range from 3.3 to 4.4m³. Giving you access to the load area are the doors, available in a few varieties. The Partner can be specified with one or two sliding side doors – or even none if you prefer - and glass windows can also be installed for all doors.
For now, the new Partner is only available with petrol or diesel engines with a manual gearbox as standard or an optional 8-speed automatic gearbox in some engine choices. The ‘Grip’ model offers Peugeot’s ‘Grip Control’ stability and traction control system as well as special tyres to assists driving on any surface that isn’t asphalt. In the future, Peugeot has confirmed an all-electric Partner EV model will follow, but for now the timescale on this zero-emission van remains unknown.
For now, the Peugeot Partner is still one of the most advanced compact vans on the market and is – alongside its cousins the Citroen Berlingo and Vauxhall Combo – expected to be one of our most popular CV’s here at Synergy.