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THE ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES
Does Peugeot’s first generation Partner van, now re-badged ‘Partner Origin’, still make commercial sense? Jonathan Crouch decides…

Peugeot’s parent company PSA has spent millions developing a second generation replacement for its successful Partner van range. The problem is that, to be frank, many potential business customers just won’t care. These are people who simply want a reliable, practical and above all affordable commercial runabout. However impressive the MK2 Partner van really is, these people will always be asking for something cheaper. Something perhaps, like the old Partner perhaps.

Which is why Peugeot dealers will still sell you one. Badged ‘Partner Origin’ to differentiate it from its newer stablemate, this line-up is offered in a single baseline specification and is available in two payloads, 600kg and 800kg. Power comes from the single 1.6 litre HDi 75 diesel engine option that most customers choose. Five exterior body colours are available, including a new colour option, Iron Grey. Take a seat inside and things aren’t quite as basic as you might expect. The cab is tastefully finished and pleasing aesthetically. There’s a digital centre console display brimming with useful information, chunky buttons and attractive circular vents dotted around the place. You’ll find better quality plastics and a more upmarket feel in some rivals but the Partner’s success has been built on keeping it simple and this interior isn’t going to offend anyone. There’s a fair bit of equipment too, with variable power steering, a height-adjustable steering column and driver’s airbag throughout. There’s plenty of grey plastic evident of course but it’s quite tastefully done. There’s a fair amount of storage space too, made up of shelves, cubby-holes and a decent sized glovebox, so users should be able to find a home for all the paraphernalia of their working day. As with most small vans, the performance isn’t going to set many pulses racing, unless you’ve just made the step-up from a horse and cart. The turning circle is tight, the gearchange punchy and the steering always imparts a feeling of control while remaining light enough so as not to overwork the driver. The 75bhp 1.6-litre HDi common-rail diesel is impressively refined and makes a good long distance companion but is equally adept in the cut and thrust of urban motoring where the powerful torque output pays dividends. This unit yields 175Nm at 1,750rpm, so there’s plenty of pulling power and you don’t have to row it along in urban motoring with the gearlever.

"Get the right deal and you might end up feeling that the Origin of the species is just what you’re looking for…."

You wouldn’t know it unless you make a point of familiarising yourself with the underside of commercial vehicles, but this Partner Origin has a reasonably advanced suspension set-up too. Independent McPherson struts take care of the front, along with an anti-roll bar, while trailing arms with transverse torsion bars prop up the load bay at the back. Overall, if you’re prepared to sacrifice the extra carrying capacity of the MK2 Peugeot Partner, with its higher quality feel, greater payload and wider engine range, for a lower price, then this Partner Origin may well still make commercial sense. Citroen also offers old and new versions of this same design badged ‘Berlingo First’ (old) and ‘Berlingo’ (new). In other words, it’s an approach which seems to work. Get the right deal and you might end up feeling that the Origin of the species is just what you’re looking for.

Facts At A Glance VAN: Peugeot Partner Origin ENGINE: 1.6HDi (75bhp), DIMENSIONS: Length/Width/Height mm 4108/1719/1802 GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT: 1,670kg

BUSINESS PARTNER
The latest Peugeot Partner is a compact van with high aspirations. Steve Walker sees how it measures up

Large, well built, economical and with more than its fair share of clever design solutions, Peugeot’s Partner is a tough compact van to fault. It doesn’t handle with any particular agility but it’s comfortable, the model range affords lots of choice and it’s not bad looking. Well done Peugeot.

Businesses want small vans because the traffic’s a pain in the proverbial and there’s nowhere to park at the best of times, let alone when you’re at the wheel of some junior HGV. The problem is that these same businesses also want their small vans to carry lots of stuff so they can make more deliveries in one day and take more equipment or cargo on a single trip. Such a set of requirements is always going to fall foul of the laws of physics at some stage but Peugeot thinks it’s pushed the envelope pretty far with the latest Partner. Think of it as a little big van. All the leading van makers used to offer one size of compact van but now the majority have two – or at least two wheelbase options on the same model. The Partner is Peugeot’s largest little van with the little Bipper sitting below it in the hierarchy. It’s a set-up that serves to give operators more choice, making it easier for them to get a van that precisely meets their needs. The Partner’s remit is to cater for operators who want the lithe driving dynamics of a compact van but need to carry quite a lot of cargo with it. How does it do? Let’s find out. The engine range is made up of Peugeot’s stalwart 1.6-litre HDi diesel units and a 1.6-litre 16v petrol. The oil burners will be the big sellers with their 75 and 90bhp outputs and respective torque ratings of 185Nm and 215Nm at 1,750rpm. The petrol has 89bhp and 132Nm at 2,500rpm. The 75bhp diesel powered the previous generation Partner very effectively but this model is larger and heavier. Despite an improvement in the powerplant’s torque, it can struggle with a heavily laden vehicle. The 90bhp option is far more energetic taking 15.4s to cover the 0-60mph sprint compared to 17.9s in the 75bhp model. Both engines stay nice and quite when cruising adding to the driver’s comfort.

"Peugeot’s Partner has grown-up, becoming larger and more sophisticated in the process…"

The Partner’s underpinnings are adapted from those of the 308 passenger car. There’s a Macpherson strut type set-up at the front and a more rudimentary torsion bar at the rear with anti-roll bars at both ends. The effect is a ride that’s on the soft side making for smooth progress but a lack of body control when cornering. The Partner handles reasonably well with 11m turning circle in the shorter model helping manoeuvrability. The gear lever is perfectly sited in its dash-mounted position but, although pleasantly light, the shifting action is looser than many would prefer. Where once compact van customers had a strictly limited array of bodystyles to choose from, today’s Partner comes in quite a variety of configurations. The shorter L1 model is 4,380mm long with the L2 adding 248mm of extra rear overhang. The L1 is offered with payload capacities of 625kg or 850kg while the L2 comes only in 750kg guise. In the load area itself, the interior walls are well protected from damage. Access is through the side-hinged asymmetric rear doors or the sliding side doors of which the L1 gets one and the L2 have two. Buyers can also opt for a two-seater cab layout or take the Multi-Flex three-seater option. This adds a third berth in the middle but it’s extremely narrow and has restricted legroom courtesy of the dash-mounted gear lever. Your colleagues won’t thank you for assigning them to sit in it for any length of time but the Multi Flex system comes into its own with fewer passengers on board. That middle chair can fold down to make a desk or the outer one can drop flat to the floor, increasing cargo space. It ups the load volumes (3.3m3 in the L1 and 4.1m3 in the L2) by 0.4m3 while boosting the load lengths (1,800mm in the L1 and 2050mm in the L2) by 1,200mm. The Partner’s cab area is positively loaded with storage options. From the dash-top cubbies to the door pockets and the overhead shelf, places to put things are in abundance. The dash is tall and vertically stacked forming a barrier between the driver and the windscreen but visibility is fine out the front and down the sides. Peugeot have used good quality plastics throughout and the interior feels as though it will last. There’s also plenty of adjustment to the driver’s seat and steering column so most people should be able to get comfy. While petrol engines used to be routinely scoffed at by any commercial operator without half an eye on an LPG conversion, the 89bhp 1.6-litre Partner may not be quite such a laughing stock in today’s economic climate. The price of diesel means that operators are having to travel further to recoup the premium charged by dealers in fuel savings. Whisper it, but for low mileage duties, a petrol Partner might make sense. Experience says we can expect strong fuel economy from both diesel engines and emissions should be similarly low so most buyers will still be filling up from the black pump. The Peugeot Partner comes in S and SE guises. The standard S models includes a CD stereo, power steering, a ladder frame protector for the driver’s seat and electric front windows. The SE adds electric heated mirrors, remote central locking, a cargo area light that doubles as a removable torch and the Multi Flex passenger seats. Safety provision is a driver’s airbag and ABS so those wanting more comprehensive protection will need to visit the options list. The Partner must battle it out against some established names at the larger end of the compact van market. Volkswagen’s Caddy, Renault’s Kangoo and Ford’s Transit Connect are the big names it must compete with but it also has the added problem of its sister vehicle, the Citroen Berlingo. With very little other than the badges differentiating Berlingo from Partner operators might have a tough choice on their hands and decisions may come down to the quality of dealer support. Peugeot’s Partner has grown-up, becoming larger and more sophisticated in the process. The general quality of the build is worthy of note as is the diverse model range that gives more scope for choice than we’re used to in this section of the market. There are vans out there that handle more assuredly than the Partner but in terms of comfort and ease of use, it’s more than up to scratch. Peugeot has obviously put plenty of thought into the design of the Partner it’s backed with slick features intended to make the working day that little bit straightforward and surprisingly, most of them appear to do the job. With its large carrying capacities and economical engines thrown in, Peugeot’s compact van deserves a place on most shortlists.

Facts At A Glance MANUFACTURER: Peugeot MODEL: Partner BHP: 75bhp - 90bhp PAYLOAD CAPACITY: 625kg - 850kg LOAD VOLUME: 3.3m3 - 3.7m3 GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT: 1,960kg – 2,185kg LENGTH: 4,380mm – 4,628mm WIDTH: 1,810mm HEIGHT: 1,812mm-1,840mm June 10th 2008

PRACTICAL INTENTIONS
Peugeot’s Partner Tepee can’t decide whether it’s a van or a car and that’s good news for families on a budget. Steve Walker reports.

Families seeking space, versatility and low costs from their next vehicle have a ready-made candidate in the Peugeot Partner Tepee. They’ll have to put up with sluggish performance and the odd jibe about driving a van with windows but on the price to practicality ratio, it’s a winner.

It still wouldn’t be strictly true to say that the stigma surrounding van-based passenger cars has gone but it certainly seems to be dissipating. Maybe this is down to the growing sophistication of modern commercial vehicles or perhaps the public has realised just how cost-effective and useful they can be when converted into people carrier form. Whatever the reason, van-based MPVs are no longer seen as a last resort for the over-fertile or cash-strapped and Peugeot hopes its Partner Tepee can benefit from this levelled playing field. The Partner Tepee has a lot to thank its immediate predecessor for. The Peugeot Partner Combi along with its Citroen Berlingo Multispace sister vehicle and Renault’s Kangoo were the three musketeers that joined forces to combat the initial suspicion that UK buyers held for vans with windows passing themselves off as family-friendly MPVs. The idea of strapping your offspring into the back of something designed for parcels and plumbing equipment seemed a trifle unkind but we soon got used to the idea and the French threesome sold in big numbers. They spawned a gaggle of imitators in the process too and today, there are even purpose-built small MPV products that aim to capture the simple utility of the van-based originals. Peugeot’s Partner Tepee may have a tougher task than ever staying at the top. The engine range is weighted three to two in favour of diesel, Peugeot obviously deeming 1.6-litres the optimum for the propelling the Partner Tepee as all five of its engines share that capacity. The oil-burners are the 1.6 HDi common-rail injection units that are found across the Peugeot line-up. They’re dependable and economical with a smooth power delivery but exactly how much power is delivered depends on your choice of HDi 75, HDi 90 or HDi 110. The smaller two units are self explanatory but the HDi 110 range-topper can’t quite live up to its 110 billing. It has a 107bhp output. The petrol engines are rated at 89bhp and 110bhp and, predictably, are a bit smoother, a bit quieter and a lot thirstier.

"The Peugeot Partner Tepee feels far less like a van with seats and widows than you might imagine…"

The Partner engine range lacks variety and how far buyers should bother to climb up it will depend on the kind of usage they intent to put their Tepee through. The entry level petrol and diesels will be quite adequate for the low mileage, school run and shopping trip routine that is the Partner’s stock in trade but the more powerful options are worth shelling out for if the vehicle is going to be regularly faced with long journeys, heavy loads or a family holiday entailing both. Whichever engine you choose, the Partner isn’t going to be fast, the 14s of the 1.6-litre petrol being its liveliest 0-60mph sprint time. The Partner Tepee might be van-based but these days that’s something of a misnomer because the Partner van is car-based. If you think that sounds confusing, you’d be right but the fact is that the van shares its underpinnings with various Peugeot and Citroen passenger cars including the 308 family hatch. What all boils down to is that today’s Partner Tepee has a more advanced car-like suspension set-up and in general feels far less rough around the edges that the old model. Along with the rigidity in the suspension, a little of the cornering stability has gone but that’s a trade most will make for the enhanced ride quality and comfort. The unique selling point of vehicles of this ilk has always been their ability to carry five passengers and a lot of luggage in a compact and nimble package. The Partner Tepee is now substantially larger than the vehicle it replaced and while some of the manoeuvrability may have ebbed away the space inside is bigger than ever. Legroom in the back is fine for adults and positively luxurious for small children. The boot measures in at 574 litres which surpasses the luggage space in pricier compact MPVs like Citroen’s C4 Picasso and Ford’s C-MAX. Peugeot has also worked hard on the look and feel of the interior. The quality of the materials and of the construction might not be the classiest you’ll experience but they certainly don’t speak too loudly of a hastily reconfigured van. Raw space was never going to be a problem for the Partner Tepee but the designers have also made sure that owners can get the most from it. Storage solutions abound under every flap and in every crevice with more ingenious inclusions as you ascend the range. Go the whole hog and, on top of the basic door pockets, shelves and glove boxes, buyers can find items to cram into under seat draws, under floor cubbies, a centre storage console and an internal roof-rack that stores long items securely within the vehicle that would normally need to be clamped on to the top. Access to the rear seats is through the van-style sliding side doors which are ideal in tight spaces and you get at the boot though the large tailgate, although there’s the option of an opening rear screen so you don’t need to lift the whole tailgate all the time. The Partner Tepee comes in three trim levels, Urban, S and Outdoor. The first two are reasonably straightforward, the Urban offering a nice collection of basics like remote central locking, electric front windows, a CD stereo, twin front airbags and ABS with EBA. The S then adds body-coloured exterior trim, front fog lights and some handy practical accessories. It’s the Outdoor model that does things a bit differently by incorporating 4x4 styling features like an under body protection tray, side mouldings, roof bars and raised suspension. Off-road driving should not be attempted but the Outdoor looks a shade more purposeful than the unassuming standard models. The Partner will have to persuade buyers looking for small family vehicles that it makes more sense that the Renault Kangoo or the Citroen Berlingo Multispace. It will have a tough time of it with the Citroen in particular as the two are almost identical bar the badges on the front. Then there are some other interesting options offering family-sized space on a budget, such as Skoda’s Roomster and Nissan’s Note but when you look at the Teepe’s pricing and capacity, it should be in with a good chance. The modest performance from the Partner Tepee’s engines helps them turn in good fuel economy and low emissions. The 34mpg average of the petrol models is nothing to get over excited about but the diesels all pepper the 50mpg mark with the range-topping 1.6 HDi 110 engine actually delivering the best economy with 50.4mpg. Emissions for that Tepee, which also comes equipped with a diesel particulate filter, are 147g/km. The days of poking fun at van-based MPVs like Peugeot’s Partner Tepee could be at an end. The commercial vehicles that form the basis of these low-cost people movers are growing increasingly sophisticated and the impressive utility contained within them is now widely recognised. The Partner Tepee does the family thing very well with masses of space, intelligent design and low running costs. It’s cheap to buy too and that will be crucial in persuading buyers to take the plunge. The Peugeot Partner Tepee feels far less like a van with seats and widows than you might imagine. The materials quality is good and standard equipment levels don’t leave you wanting for much. Performance is pretty sluggish regardless of the engine choice but the Tepee is a comfortable car to travel in and offers good manoeuvrability despite its considerable size.

Facts At A Glance CAR: Peugeot Partner Tepee PRICES: £11,415-£15,505 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 2-4 CO2 EMISSIONS: 150-195g/km PERFORMANCE: [1.6 HDi 110] 0-60 14.3s Max Speed 106mph FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.6 HDi 110] (combined) 50.4mpg STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: ABS, EBD, twin front side and curtain airbags WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: length/width/height 4380/1810/1800mm

PART VAN, PART MACHINE
A Re-Sculpted Front End And An Overhauled Interior Are The Main Improvements That The Current Peugeot Partner Can Offer Over Its Popular Predecessor. Have They Made All The Difference? Steve Walker Decides…

Peugeot’s Partner is a compact commercial vehicle, priced aggressively and asked to pit its wits against some formidable competitors. Its aim is to lure couriers, gardeners, caterers, electricians, carpet cleaners and anyone else who might be interested into parting with the hard-earned cash they’d earmarked for a new van. The Partner had been making a pretty decent fist of it too, since arriving on the scene in 1996, but Peugeot obviously felt it was time for a change and the current revised version was unveiled at the 2002 Motorshow.

The Partner is a simple, straightforward vehicle in almost all respects. There’s an engine at the front, then two front seats immediately followed by a high, wide load area. A Range of three engine options are available, split to offer buyers both petrol and diesel power. There are two trim levels, L or LX, and there are two differing payload capacities – 600kg or 800kg. Once you’ve grasped the options, it’s an easy mix and match process to identifying the model that best suits your company. Park the original Partner and this updated version back to back, give them the once-over and you’ll soon deduce that the differences are confined to the front end as well as the cabin interior. There’s been a noticeable trend of car designers integrating styling cues from 4x4 vehicles into models from other sections of the market as an uncomplicated way of injecting a little substance. You might have spotted an abundance of high-riding, big grilled versions of superminis and mini-MPVs patrolling the streets, well the Partner has received similar treatment. The bonnet is more shapely than before, the headlights are larger and the bumper/grille arRangement has been accentuated. Overall, you get a chunkier, more defined, even robust, look – all things that CV buyers should like.

"Both internally and externally, it’s a noteworthy improvement on its predecessor…"

The biggest area of improvement in the current Peugeot Partner, in comparison to the outgoing model, has to be the interior. Where once you had an angular expanse of grey plastic and flimsy-feeling switchgear, there’s now a neater, higher quality effect with rounded buttons, dials and vents. The grey plastic is still evident but it’s altogether more tastefully done. The ambience (if a van can have one of those) is in-line with what you’d expect from a well-appointed supermini rather than a cut-price commercial vehicle. There’s still a fair amount of storage space too, made up of shelves, cubby-holes and a decent sized glovebox, so users should be able to find a home for all the paraphernalia of their working day. Buyers can specify a Partner that lends itself precisely to their line of work thanks to the line-up of nine load access configurations, two mainstream payload capacities and a platform cab that’s ready to take all manner of specialist modifications. Tick the right boxes and you could have side-hinged rear doors, with or without a ladder flap for lengthier cargo, or a lifting tailgate. Then there’s the option of single or double sliding side doors and the choice of 600kg or 800kg payload capacities. The variety and diversity of the different Partner models gives it an edge on much of the competition and we haven’t even covered the van’s people carrying sibling, the Partner Combi. The existence of the people carrying or ‘Combi’ version of Peugeot’s Partner may have done the full-on commercial version a disservice. There’s something naggingly naff about planting a row of seats in the back of a small van, glazing the side panels and selling it as a mini-MPV - regardless of how affordable, user-friendly and ultimately successful the resulting model might prove. All the major players in the small van market seem predisposed to attempt the old window-van trick, however. So the demand must be there and buyers of small vans are left will little choice but to pick a model that bears an uncanny resemblance to a bargain-basement family runabout. Still, it’s hard to find fault with the Combi version on grounds of practicality and the Partner van follows along in the same vein. Engines next, and Peugeot can offer buyers an genuine slice of automotive modernity to fill the Partner’s engine bay. That means one of two advanced 1.6-litre HDi common-rail units, one packing 75bhp and the Range-topper offering a surprising turn of pace with 90bhp. Both of these units are impressively refined and make good long distance companions but they’re equally adept in the cut and thrust of urban motoring where the powerful torque outputs pay dividends. The 75bhp unit yields 175Nm at 1,750rpm with the 90bhp option chipping in with 215Nm at the same engine speed. The sole petrol option is a 1.4-litre with 75bhp but it can’t match the low-end torque of either diesel (just what you need for pulling away with a heavy load on the back) or the fuel economy for that matter. You wouldn’t know it unless you make a point of familiarising yourself with the underside of commercial vehicles, but the Partner has come in for some suspension modifications too. Independent McPherson struts take care of the front, along with an anti-roll bar, while trailing arms with transverse torsion bars prop up the load bay at the back. The LX derivative can be ordered with raised suspension and an under-engine protection plate to give it some limited offroad ability to go with the beefier front-end styling. Don’t expect it to handle anything more severe than a pothole-ridden track or you might come a cropper. There’s also improved safety thanks to standard driver’s airbag and optional passenger airbag – ABS with EBD remains confined to the options list. The Peugeot Partner is a tidy little performer with diverse enough Range to avoid excluding buyers with specific requirements. Both internally and externally, it’s a noteworthy improvement on its predecessor, though the competition remains stiff in this section of the CV market. As a combination of price and quality user-friendly design, it’s up there with the best small vans and the 2.0HDi engine is as good as any you’ll find in the class.

Facts At A Glance VAN: Peugeot Partner Range ENGINES: 1.4i Petrol, 1.6HDi (75 or 90bhp), DIMENSIONS: Length/Width/Height mm 4108/1719/1802 GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT: 1,670kg (600 LX) – 1,985kg (800 LX)