GWM Cannon vs Peugeot Partner

What's the difference?

The GWM Cannon XSR is a twin-locked 4WD ute that’s reasonable on-road (it’s getting better all the time) and very capable off-road.

It certainly has enough gear onboard – including front and rear diff locks, a snorkel and all-terrain tyres – to be taken seriously as a 4WD, but it could still be better and more refined in other aspects, even at this price-point.

There are some issues with the Cannon’s general driveability but ultimately it has plenty going for it, not least its appeal as an impressive value-for-money purchase.

It might not be the most modern looking or feeling small van, but amongst its competitors, the Partner stands out for its relative value and load-lugging capabilities.

It’s somewhat fun to drive but now feels a bit plain on the inside, and could benefit from a few extra options and features to make it more comfortable and maybe even a little more customisable.

Still, I think the Peugeot Partner will fit the needs of many primarily city-based small businesses or tradies who want to work out of a compact and easy-to-drive van instead of an unwieldy and often overkill dual-cab ute.

The XSR is 5439mm long (with a 3230mm wheelbase), 1958mm wide and 1893mm high. Official kerb weight is listed as 2230kg.

This is a substantial ute that resembles an amalgamation of Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and Toyota HiLux.

The wide wheel track gives the XSR a squat stance and its snorkel, sports bar, bash plates, chunky all-terrain tyres and red brake calipers add to this ute’s presence.

Inside, a steering-wheel design tweak (it’s now three spokes) and refreshed dashboard layout help to give the cabin a low-key classy look and feel.

It may lack the all-around polish of something like the Ford Ranger, but the XSR’s much lower price negates that perception.

The XSR holds its own in the looks department across the dual cab ute category.

The Partner’s recent update brings with it a new, more contemporary face, with the ‘claw’ style light fittings clasping a body-coloured panel in place of the usual grille fitting. It also updates all the badgework to match the French brand’s passenger car range.

Thanks to these upgrades, as well as the fetching colour and Premium body-matching highlights, it looks pretty schmick at a distance, but up close you can start to tell the Partner’s relative age.

It simply doesn’t look as contemporary or coherent in its design as the much newer ground-up fifth-generation Caddy or third-generation Renault Kangoo with which it competes.

A big part of this is due to the Partner being based on a much older platform which is shared across a lot of Stellantis brands. It started life as the third-generation Citroen Berlingo in 2018, and needs to warp its look overseas to fit the Fiat Doblo, Toyota Proace and Vauxhall Combo (although the Partner is the only version sold in Australia).

As a result, up close you can see its somewhat pieced together brand identity bits and boxy, upright bodywork.

There are some odd touches, like the plastic bumper at the front not matching the gloss black highlights or body coloured bumper at the rear, and the contemporary badgework finished in a matt grey adds yet another texture and colour to the mix.

The theme continues inside, with a huge plastic dash piece jutting into the cabin space. Here, the bits from Peugeot’s passenger car range have been integrated, including the cool 'squircle' steering wheel, digital dash elements and the multimedia screen.

In the centre, the electric shifter part from cars like the current 2008 small SUV has been embedded in the sea of plastic.

It technically matches the brand identity, but it doesn't stop the Partner’s interior from feeling a bit cobbled together, rather than the more unified corporate identity which is so well executed in the VW Caddy, which is almost hard to tell apart from a Golf.

The software is another area the Partner could use some work. It’s fairly simple and straightforward to use, but the layout isn’t very customizable, both for the multimedia suite and digital dash.

Again, the Caddy runs rings around Peugeot in this department, with its more impressively-featured and nicer-looking software it shares with other VW Group passenger cars.

There are also little areas which feel like they’re behind the pace for a top-spec variant. The steering wheel is hard plastic without even the option for a softer wrap, for example, and the Caddy offers an alternate optional synthetic leather seat trim for an operator willing to dish out a little extra cash.

The XSR’s five-seat interior is neat and spacious but there are parts, such as some buttons, dials and switches, that feel a bit flimsy and cheap.

Up front there are two USB ports, a wireless charging pad, a 12V plug and a deep centre console.

The new 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system includes wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and has been improved by increments.

The front seats are power adjustable (driver’s six-way, passenger four-way) and both are comfortable without being too plush.

Second-row passengers get a firm but comfortable seat and amenities include USB charge ports, a 220V plug, air vents, and a fold-down centre armrest (with cupholders). There’s plenty of head, knee and legroom, unless you’re stuck in the middle where knee and foot room is pinched.

The second-row seat base can be folded out of the way to make room for more gear if no one’s in the back seat.

The second-row seat has top-tether points and there are ISOFIX anchors on the outboard seats.

The XSR’s load space (1520mm long, 1520mm wide and 540mm deep) has a durable tub liner, four tie-down points, as well as a pop-out step hidden in the top of the tailgate, and a step-up indent at each corner of the rear bumper.

This Cannon offers just as much all-round practicality and load-space flexibility as the likes of Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi Triton and Toyota HiLux.

So design-wise the Partner might barely hit the brief when it comes to matching it up with Peugeot passenger car design, but one area where it manages to shine is in-cabin storage.

There’s lots on offer, massive bottle holders and pockets in the doors, storage areas galore in the big plastic dash, with trays in the centre and passenger side, as well as behind the multimedia screen and under the shifter.

There are a set of non-variable bottle holders cut out of the top of the dash, as well as hidden storage compartments under both front passenger seats.

I should mention at this point the Partner has a three-across front bench, although actually putting three people in there will be quite the squeeze, especially given the centre of the dash juts quite far into the cabin area, leaving the centre occupant with nowhere to put their knees.

Maybe it will suit a child in a pinch if you plan to have this as a small business vehicle which may need to be dual-purpose from time to time.

There’s also a fold-down rotating table thing in the backrest of the centre position, designed to be used with a laptop. Another feature of the Partner’s dash is physical toggles and buttons for the climate controls, which are increasingly rare in favour of touch-based menus.

In terms of load area dimensions, the Partner LWB offers 3.9 cubic metres (excluding the bulkhead) and dimensions come in at 2167mm long, 1527mm wide (1229 between the arches) and 1243mm tall. This should accommodate two Euro-sized palettes.

Loading and securing should also be relatively breezy thanks to sliding doors on both sides, a barn door rear which hinges out of the way for forklift loading, and no less than 10 tie down rings.

It also scores decent LED lighting in the roof, so you can see what you’re doing in a poorly lit warehouse, or when using the load area at night.

As for capacities, the Partner LWB has a payload of 898kg. It claims a 950kg braked towing capacity (not much more than the unbraked of 740kg) although in reality 740 seems to be closer to the limit thanks to the 74kg towball download rating.

How does this compare to the Caddy? I was surprised to find the Caddy 5 in equivalent LWB form has a smaller load area (3.7 cubic metres) and a significantly lower payload of 695kg.

However, it can tow slightly more (up to a claimed 1500kg - however has a 75kg max towball download). Additionally, the Partner isn’t able to be fitted with a tailgate to replace the barn doors (an option which some buyers may prefer on the Caddy).

A full size spare wheel is present on all variants to keep you on the road.

Given the uniquely European nature of a van like this, it makes sense the remaining options offered to us are only from French and German makers.

In fact, this Peugeot Partner is one of just three left for you to choose from. Starting from $39,990, before on-roads (for a Pro SWB), the Partner goes into battle against its Gallic nemesis, the Renault Kangoo, and the defending small van champion in the form of VW’s popular fifth-generation Caddy.

Unlike its rivals, though, the Partner range is automatic only and exclusively powered by a three-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine (if you exclude the electric ePartner).

This immediately gives it a leg up, as in its most affordable form, it already undercuts the base manual Caddy (TSI220 SWB - $40,990) and most affordable automatic Kangoo (SWB auto - $41,990) although the Renault holds onto the most affordable price-tag in the segment if you’re happy shifting yourself, at $38,990 for its SWB manual.

The specific version we’re looking at for this review is the Premium LWB, which wears a price-tag of $45,990 and adds an additional 350mm to its length over the SWB.

Standard kit on Premium versions includes items otherwise missing on the Pro, like 16-inch alloy wheels instead of steel wheels, LED headlights instead of halogen, push-start ignition instead of turn-key, dual-zone climate instead of single-zone as well as body-coloured highlights, rails and door handles in place of plain plastic fittings.

Standard items across the range include a 10-inch central touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a digital instrument cluster, cloth seat trim, a 180-degree reversing camera, a digital rear vision mirror to make up for the standard windowless barn doors, a glaze-finish bulkhead to separate the cabin and load area, as well as an array of active safety items we’ll explore later.

The fetching blue scheme our car was painted in comes at an additional $690, and from there you can modify further with an array of factory options.

Key among them are a choice of windows for each sliding door ($486 each) or the barn door ($503), a metal cargo barrier to protect the bulkhead ($1146), an LED cargo light kit ($350), roof racks ($536) or a more comprehensive roof kit ($2610).

Additionally, long-wheelbase versions can be equipped with a cargo bay floor kit ($894), wall protection kit ($960) or the rubber floor mat which our van had ($600).

A complete towing set-up will set you back $1045 for the towbar and $510 for the wiring harness.

From a base of nearly $50K then, you can easily add a few thousand to the price once you start ticking boxes, but it is important to note not every commercial van, even ones a size up, offer this level of factory customisation.

This gives the Partner deeper (and warranty-covered) customisation for various trade purposes straight from the factory.

For what it’s worth, I matched our test car in the configurator and ended up with a final price of $52,429 with drive-away pricing set to Sydney.

Out of curiosity, I also priced up a VW Caddy Cargo LWB petrol auto with as close as I could get to the same equipment as this Partner Premium, and was surprised to find I had to tick a lot more option boxes to get LED headlights, alloy wheels (although the Caddy alloys are larger at 17-inches), premium paint, colour matching body panels, keyless entry with push-start and a rubber floor mat.

The total price for the spec-matching Caddy came in at $57,952 drive-away in Sydney.

The new 2.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine produces 135kW at 3600rpm and 480Nm at 1500-2500rpm. It's tractable and well suited to the demands of 4WDing.

Don’t get me wrong, the previous-gen Cannon’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine (120kW/400Nm) was no slouch, either. It’s just that this bigger and more powerful engine is better.

The new engine can easily muster more than enough power and torque on- and off-road when needed. However, there are enough instances of substantial lag at crucial moments – punching off the mark from a complete stop to safely merge into traffic, for example – that when compounded threaten to mar the overall driving experience.

Another thing. The automatic transmission, now a nine- rather than eight-speed, while generally okay, proves patchy in daily driving, not upshifting as slickly as it should and sometimes hunting for the sweet spot, rather than hitting it.

In terms of all-round powertrain performance, the XSR is on par with four-cylinder, turbo-diesel rivals such as the Ford Ranger 2.0L (125kW/405Nm), Isuzu D-Max 2.2L (120kW/400Nm), Mitsubishi Triton 2.4L (150kW/470Nm) and Toyota HiLux 2.8L (150kW/500Nm).

There is just one combustion engine option in the Partner range, a three-cylinder 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol unit producing 96kW/230Nm which drives the front wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The only alternative to this is the E-Partner which sports a 100kW/260Nm electric motor instead.

The three-cylinder petrol is a perky unit sourced from Peugeot’s passenger car line-up, although the Partner range doesn’t quite offer the VW Caddy’s breadth of options; the choice of a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol or a 2.0-litre diesel in two states of tune.

Listed fuel consumption is 8.4L/100km on a combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle, which is better than the 9.4L/100km offered by the previous 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine and eight-speed auto.

I recorded on-test fuel consumption of 10L/100km which is ahead of the 11.2L/100km I recorded in a Cannon XSR with the 2.0-litre four and eight-speed.

The XSR has an 78-litre tank, so, going by my on-test fuel figure, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 780km from a full tank of diesel.

One of the key downsides of the Peugeot’s Euro-compliant turbo-petrol engine is it requires mid-shelf 95RON fuel, which could be a blow to those who want to drill down on running costs.

Claimed fuel consumption on the official combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is decent, at 6.3L/100km. Ours spent the week mainly urban commuting and landed closer to the official urban number of 7.3L/100km with a total of 7.2L/100km over a few hundred kilometres.

The 60-litre fuel tank should allow for roughly 950km of driving range at the official consumption. More like 830km using our test figure.

As noted above, there are some issues with the Cannon’s general driveability, but all in all it’s not atrocious. And if it’s a potential buy for you, you’ll always come back to the value-for-money rationale.

On- and off-road, the new engine has plenty of punch about it, but patchy delivery through the transmission sometimes works against it.

It’s a not a dynamic vehicle. No surprise, it’s a ute after all. But that point has to be made here because some people still drive these vehicles expecting sports car-like ride and handling.

The good news is the XSR’s touchy throttle and too-loose steering of days gone by have been mostly sorted out. But its thrashy transmission, stiff ride and unwieldy 13.7m turning circle remain.

Its bigger engine doesn’t carry over the previous-gen’s underdone feeling when pushed hard and it has a relaxed feel when you’re cruising along on the highway.

Some concerns have been raised over the years about driver-assist tech in Chinese-built vehicles. To the company’s credit, GWM seems to have addressed those issues… at least to some extent.

Suffice it to say, I’ve experienced a few tricky situations as a result of driver-assist tech in GWM vehicles. From annoyingly intrusive traffic sign recognition and jarring adaptive cruise control through to one particularly hair-raising AEB-related incident. (For more, read my yarn)

Overall, the XSR remains okay on sealed surfaces, but it’s not as refined or compliant as it could or should be.

As for off-roading…

On dirt tracks the XSR is jittery over corrugations and tends to thump through deeper potholes. Otherwise it is reasonably composed.

But with twin differential locks, decent underbody protection and Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres, this Cannon handles low-range 4WDing with ease.

The new bigger engine delivers on promised grunt in the dirt, giving the Cannon plenty of punch when the going gets tough.

Ground clearance of 228mm, wading depth of 700mm and off-road angles of 30 degrees (approach) and 26 degrees (departure; rampover is not listed) don’t hurt its 4WDing potential, either.

Off-road traction control and other driver-assist systems including hill descent control are adequate without being as smooth as the equivalent systems in more expensive vehicles.

It has 'Crawl Mode' (allowing for no-pedal, low-speed driving) and 'Turn Assist' (which brakes the XSR’s inside rear wheel to reduce the ute’s turning circle on traction-compromised surfaces).

While 4WDing, swapping between high- and low-range, changing off-road modes or switching diff locks on or off has been at times a clunky process, with the transition taking on a feeling not unlike shunting trains. No big deal, I reckon, but worth mentioning.

Wheel travel is adequate and this ute’s Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres perform well in the dirt and mud.

The Cannon XSR has towing capacities of 750kg (unbraked trailer) and 3000kg (braked).

All in all, off-roading is the one area in which the Cannon eclipses something like the BYD Shark 6 or Kia Tasman and matches, if not bests the Ford Ranger.

One thing which I always like about these little European vans for trades is they’re usually very humane and easy to drive compared to a dual-cab or a van in a larger market segment.

They tend to offer closer to the feel of a passenger car, with some of the little luxuries which are missing in big hollow diesel units like some form of refinement and less noise.

The Partner is no different, and shone in some ways I did not expect.

The brand has done a good job of making it feel like a Peugeot passenger car from a touch-point perspective with the dash elements and the small chuckable steering wheel.

It also has a swift steering ratio, making even this LWB version feel nimble and agile for darting around corners and down tight laneways just as I’m sure its French creators envisaged.

The peppy three-cylinder engine helps the hatch-like feel. It offers a punchy turbo surge and a satisfyingly gruff soundtrack, which makes this little commercial offering quite fun to drive.

The ride is also remarkably smooth for a commercial vehicle, even completely unladen. Car-like suspension handles the bumps and potholes of the city environment well, which could make this a good choice for delivery drivers who will spend a lot of time in urban environments, and maybe are less concerned about getting so close to the GCM rating.

However, it’s not quite as polished as the Caddy, which won me over big time when the fifth generation version arrived in 2022.

The Peugeot can suffer from significant bouts of turbo lag, and its eight-speed transmission can be occasionally jerky from a stand-still, making for the odd awkward moment at T-junctions and roundabouts where this van takes a second to get going again. 

Additionally, some of the fun, refined feeling wears away over time as you constantly come into contact with the hard plastic trims of the interior, and the scratchy urethane steering wheel.

This can get a bit jarring over a full day of driving. It’s for this reason VW puts a leather-bound steering wheel in even basic versions of the Caddy these days.

The software also leaves a lot to be desired, with minimal customisation and laggy interfaces.

Sure, the reality is you’ll spend most of your time working with Apple CarPlay or Android Auto which worked perfectly in my time with the car, but it would be nice to have more customisation for the dash and a few nicer menus for the multimedia screen.

All in all, then, it’s a nice little van to drive, and is excellent at urban duties, but it has a slightly industrial character which will eventually catch up with you after a long day behind the wheel.

The Caddy is better in pretty much every way behind the wheel, but then it also costs over $5000 more in equivalent spec and can't carry as much stuff.

The XSR is covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty and five years of free roadside assistance.

The first service is scheduled at the 12 month/10,000km mark, then services are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km.

Capped price servicing is available and for a Cannon with a warranty start date on or after January 1, 2026, the costs are $365, $470, $515, $520, and $685 per service. That’s a total of $2555 (and an average of $511 per workshop visit), which is more expensive than some of the Cannon’s rivals on the market.

The Partner is covered by a par-for-the-course five year and 200,000km warranty which applies to the rest of its light commercial range, paired with five years of roadside assistance. 

The Partner requires servicing once every 12 months or 15,000km.

When it comes to pricing, you can package the car up with either a two- or four-year service plan (priced at $400 or $1000, respectively) which Peugeot claims can save you up to $437 compared to a-la-carte servicing.