Peugeot E-Partner vs Iveco Daily

What's the difference?

It’s a lot of money for a small commercial vehicle that’s well into its current model cycle in Europe, falls short on benchmark safety and requires convenient charging infrastructure to minimise inconvenience for owners. However, its emissions-free drivetrain is quiet and competent under load, with a range that should comfortably cater for the daily urban use small van operators typically require. Whether those positives outweigh the negatives, only a potential buyer can decide.

The Iveco Daily van’s light-truck genetics mean it’s not as immediately familiar to the end-user as some of the competition. It’s a fair climb to get inside, for instance, and once you’re there, the cabin lacks the ambience of a more passenger-oriented machine. Its wheelbase and external dimensions, too, mean it requires plenty of parking skill and real estate, and the dynamics are surefooted but hardly athletic.

Of course, fleet managers won’t care too much about any of that, and the flip-side is those truck underpinnings point to a low maintenance, high-mileage lifespan with good warranty as a promise of less time lost in the service bay when the van could be on the road earning its keep.

Right at the moment, the Daily van appears to be forming some kind of bridge between the car and truck world in terms of safety equipment and driver assistance gear, too. And that’s got to be a good thing.

But equally, it remains a pretty specialised piece of equipment that won’t work for everybody, nor does it have a lot of cross-over appeal between the car and truck worlds. None of which, of course, will prevent it being a valuable tool of the trade in the right hands.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

The single electric motor is positioned at the front where it drives the front wheels. The 50kWh lithium-ion battery that provides its energy is located beneath the cargo bay’s load floor to ensure that the total load volume, floor loading heights, etc, are identical to the petrol version.

The same applies to its compact 2975mm wheelbase, 4753mm length, 1921mm width and car park-friendly 1880mm height.

The e-Partner rides on MacPherson strut front suspension and coil-spring trailing-arm rear suspension, with electric power steering and four-wheel disc brakes. Its 11.4-metre turning circle is larger than we expected.

There are unpainted dark grey plastic finishes in all the places where bumps, scrapes and wear usually occur in working vans including hubcaps, bumpers, body side-mouldings, door mirrors and handles. The charging port is located above the left rear wheel.

A sealed metal bulkhead with central window separates the cabin and cargo bay, which minimises tyre noise emanating from the rear-wheel housings and doubles as a cargo barrier.

The cabin architecture, with two bucket seats and wipe-clean vinyl floor, is outwardly the same as the petrol version but the driver’s analogue instrument display has been reconfigured for the electric drivetrain.

This includes continual display of energy consumption levels, comprising 'Eco' (minimum consumption), 'Power' (maximum consumption) and 'Charge' (energy recovery from regenerative braking).

It also displays energy consumption by the cabin heating/air-conditioning and battery charge-level, while the dash’s central touchscreen includes an ‘electric menu’ that monitors live energy flows and consumption statistics plus allows scheduling of delayed charging if required.

One thing Iveco is very up front about is that its vans are truck-based. To some sectors of the market this is no problem whatsoever, but it means that stylistically, the end product is not likely to be as fashionable looking as some of the competition. That big, bluff front, for instance, while maybe looking a bit heavy-handed to some, will conjure up just the right amount of brute force for others.

There is also evidence Iveco doesn’t mind if the exterior appearance fails to hide how the machine works. That perhaps why the wheel arch flares are obvious and the track for the sliding door is proudly on display rather than hidden.

Even inside, the bare cargo-bay walls tell their own utilitarian story, but when you get down to actually lashing down heavy loads, that truck heritage is very much in evidence with a non-nonsense layout and presentation.

The e-Partner’s 1632kg tare weight is about a quarter of a tonne (247kg) heavier than its 1385kg petrol-engine equivalent, largely caused by the lithium-ion battery pack.

So, even though the electric model has more power (100kW vs 96kW) and torque (260Nm vs 230Nm), the battery ensures it has an inferior power-to-weight ratio, with the e-Partner carrying 16.3kg/kW compared to the petrol’s 14.4kg/kW.

The e-Partner’s 753kg payload rating is also 182kg less than its petrol sibling, so be mindful of these differences if payload is important.

The e-Partner is also rated to tow up to 750kg, but given Peugeot does not publish a GCM figure (how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) we don’t know if it can haul its maximum payload while towing its maximum trailer weight.

The cargo bay, with 3.9 cubic metres of load volume, is a window-free zone accessed by a sliding door on each side and asymmetrical rear barn-doors that open to 180 degrees for optimum loading access.

With its 2167mm length, 1527mm width, 1243mm height and 1229mm between the rear-wheel housings, it can carry one standard Aussie pallet or two Euro pallets held in place by a choice of six load-anchorage points.

The cargo bay is lined to mid-height and there’s protective mesh over the bulkhead window. However, the bulkhead protrudes into the sliding door openings given the need to allow sufficient cabin space for the seat backrests.

There’s also no load-floor protection provided as standard, so to avoid scratches and dents we’d recommend fitting a floor-liner like the thick rubber one fitted to our test vehicle.

Cabin storage includes a full-width shelf above the windscreen and bins in the base of each door. The dash offers small bottle/cupholders on each side plus a lidded upper glove box and open storage on the passenger side.

The dash extension, where the gear-selector and electronic handbrake reside, offers more open storage as does the floor-mounted centre console.

Our criticisms include the lack of a dedicated storage place for the charging cable, which is supplied in a zip-up vinyl bag.

Although it was sitting on the passenger floor when we collected the vehicle, it was difficult to find a secure place to store it with a passenger aboard. It ended up unsecured in the cargo bay.

The rear barn-doors also do not have any stays to keep them open when positioned at 180 degrees.

As a result, the slightest breeze swings them shut.

And due to the lack of any dedicated bottle-holders in the front door bins, bottles tend to topple onto their sides and can be difficult to extract when driving.

Even within the framework of vans that are agile enough to park relatively simply, can be driven on a normal car license and are priced within reach of even recreational users, there’s still a lot going on. Think optional payloads, wheelbases and cargo volumes, just for starters.

So let’s start with the Daily 42S. Available with either a 3520mm or 4100mm wheelbase, the 42S can cope with a payload of 1872kg or 1741kg, respectively. Towing capacity is 3500kg. It stands more than 2.7 metres tall and seats three.

The 50C is the next step up the size ladder and, like the 42S, can be had with either a 3520mm or 4100mm wheelbase. But from there, the 50C just gets bigger with a choice of three overall lengths (up to almost 7.7 metres) and two distinct roof heights. Payload varies from a high of 1942kg to 1752kg and, like the 42S it also seats three and can tow 3500kg.

Iveco has stuck with single rear wheels (rather than a dual-wheel rear axle) for the 42S variant as this minimises the internal space taken up by the rear wheel arches and ensures that the van in any configuration will still swallow a standard pallet between those arches. The 50C, meanwhile, with its greater payload potential, features dual rear wheels. The other reason for the dual wheels is that the 50C can be ordered with an upscaled GVM of 5.2 tonnes, versus the standard vehicle’s 4.5 tonnes. At that point, though, the driver requires an endorsed license to stay legal.

The cabin is a master-class in finding a storage space for everything, with no less than three cubbies per door, storage bins on the dash-top and above the sun-visors, half a dozen cubbies in the dash fascia, a single glove box and a huge storage area under the flip-up cushions of the passenger’s bench seat. In standard trim, the Iveco vans seat three with a two-person bench and a single driver’s seat. That, however, doesn’t mean the vehicle has a walk-through function, and the solid cargo barrier keeps the cabin permanently separate from the cargo bay.

Access to the cargo area is via twin barn doors at the rear which open back on to the sides of the vehicle for easier fork-lift loading. There’s a single sliding side door as standard on the kerb-side, but you can option a second sliding door on the other side. There are also no less than 10 tie-down points (five per side) and they’re solid and mounted on the floor for maximum usefulness. Three LED lights illuminate the cargo area.

When you start to dig into the Iveco Daily range, it soon becomes apparent there’s huge depth to the line-up. In fact, there’s everything from a four-wheel drive dual cab-chassis, a bare-bones cab-chassis and even van versions with enough GVM (Gross Vehicle Mass) to require a truck license to be driven legally.

But for most users, and certainly those that might otherwise resort to an American pick-up or some other form of dual-cab utility for their work and play requirements, the Daily variants that offer the broadest appeal are the 42S and 50C vans.

That pair gives you a choice of capacities (see Practicality section) as well as some new safety tech and some structural changes aimed at making the vehicle safer.

You also get climate-control air-conditioning, cruise-control and a tilt and height adjustable steering column. Seat trim is still cloth, the floor coverings remain vinyl and the wheels are stamped from steel. This is, after all, a truck-based vehicle and it shows in some respects.

A pair of option-packs start with the 'Business Pack' which takes fuel capacity from 70 litres to 100 litres, a new 10-inch multi-media unit, a passenger’s bench seat with table, a heated driver’s seat with suspension function, climate-control, keyless entry and go, fog-lights and an electronic park-brake.

The 'Premium Pack' adds auto headlights and wipers, LED lighting, a leather steering wheel, wireless charging, adaptive cruise-control and lane-centring.

Right at the moment, we don’t have pricing for those packs, nor do we, in fact, have confirmation of pricing for the new van range. But word on the street is that pricing – thanks to a strong exchange rate at the moment – may not be very different from the superseded range, meaning the entry-level 42S van could enter the market around the $60,000 mark plus on-road costs, while the 50C variant could top out at closer to $100,000. That’s a pretty sketchy prediction, we know, but it’s all we can offer at the moment.

The single electric motor and 50kWh lithium-ion battery combination produces 100kW of power and 260Nm of instant torque.

It also offers three switchable drive modes including Eco (60kW, 190Nm) for minimal performance and energy use, Normal (80kW, 210Nm) which is a happy medium for everyday use and Power (100kW, 260Nm) for maximum performance when hauling heavy loads.

The gear-selector controls Park, Reverse, Neutral, Drive and Brake functions. There's also a button marked B which engages regenerative braking for optimum battery top-ups when driving.

The Mode 3 Type 2 wall-box/public station charging cable is supplied as standard, but buyers can also purchase a domestic wall socket cable for home-charging.

Quickest charge time from 0-80 per cent is 30 minutes using a 100kW DC charger while a 0-100 per cent charge using a single-phase wall-box (7.4kW) takes about 7.5 hours.

Home-charging from 0-100 per cent using a domestic wall socket (2.3kW) takes about 24 hours.

While vans might be getting ever closer to passenger cars in the way they drive (stay with us) in engineering terms, there’s still a bit of 'us and them' going on. That means you kind of have to throw away a fair bit of what you thought you knew about how motor vehicles work, but it also means the Iveco is fit for purpose in a world where big loads and lots of kilometres are the norm.

Power in either the 42S or the 50C comes from a 3.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine. It doesn’t sound too different from what you’d find in a dual-cab ute, but the engine uses some pretty heavy-duty tech, making it closer to a truck engine than a typical light commercial’s, including an impressive service regime. Although capacity remains the same, the Iveco’s unit is available in two tunes, both erring on the side of torque over outright power.

The 42S gets a 132kW and 430Nm version of the engine, while the 50C can be optioned up to the second-tier tune with 155kW and 470Nm. It’s not just an electronic tweak, either, and while the engine’s fundamentals remain, there are changes to the turbocharger and camshaft as well as the engine management.

Standard transmission is a ZF-made eight-speed conventional automatic and there’s electric power-steering as a nod to the chase for maximum efficiency which is perhaps even more important in the Daily’s European home market than it might sometimes be here.

However, it’s when you get to the suspension that the Daily reveals its brawny design ethos. Front suspension on the 42S is by double wishbones and torsion bars which sounds odd, but is pretty familiar in the trucking world. The 50C uses the same arrangement.

At the rear, the 42S gets a simple twin-leaf parabolic spring at each outer end of the axle, while the 50C has the same with optional air suspension and an optional driver-controlled locking differential.

All versions of the Daily also use the time-honoured (in the trucking industry) body-on-ladder-chassis construction method.

Peugeot claims an official WLTP driving range of 258km. The dash display was showing a projected driving range of 280km when we collected the vehicle.

A few days later when we stopped to top-up the battery at a public charging station, after 135km of unladen city and suburban driving, it was displaying average consumption of 20.4kWh/100km.

When charging was completed, the dash display was claiming 270km of driving range. This had dropped to 194km the following day when we stopped to load the vehicle for our GVM test. Average consumption had also dropped to 19.0kWh/100km.

We then drove 52km with a heavy payload in busy traffic, during which consumption dropped again to 18.8kWh/100km with regular switching between the drive modes.

After unloading and then returning the vehicle to Peugeot, there was still 96km of range remaining and energy consumption had dropped again to 18.4kWh/100km.

So, we covered a total of 271km during our test, of which about one quarter was with a heavy payload.

So, based on its lowest consumption figure, Peugeot’s claimed 258km range in real world driving conditions is pretty accurate by our measure.

Fuel consumption of commercial vehicles can vary enormously depending on where they’re driven and how they’re used and loaded. As a commercial vehicle, there are no official fuel consumption claims made by Iveco according to any standard test procedure.

Our experience with this vehicle in the past, however, suggests that between nine and 10 litres per 100km is a good indication of overall consumption. Obviously, hitching a 3.5-tonne trailer to the vehicle and loading it fully will have a big effect on that number.

With the standard 70-litre tank, the Daily should be able to cover near enough to 700km between fills, while the optional 100 tank should take it closer to 1000km.

Don’t forget, either, that the new Daily requires AdBlue which is carried in a 20-litre reservoir on the vehicle, and that the cost of filling this needs to be added to overall running costs.

It has a comfortable driving position thanks to a reasonably spacious cabin, two-way adjustable steering wheel, left footrest and fold-down inboard armrest.

However, the base cushion feels a tad short for proper upper-thigh support and does not have rake adjustment.

The flat top of the rectangular steering wheel provides a clear view of the instrument display while the flat bottom allows ample driver clearance.

The electric motor with its muted hum delivers a liquid-like flow of acceleration that’s different to a petrol engine.

The lack of engine noise also makes other sounds more prominent, including tyre roar on coarse bitumen surfaces and thumps from the rear suspension over larger bumps.

The extra battery weight is not a noticeable hindrance in stop-start traffic, given the instant torque of the electric motor.

Its location under the load floor also contributes to a low centre of gravity which makes the e-Partner feel well-planted on the road. Even so, it takes a leisurely 11.2 seconds to accelerate from 0-100km/h.

To test its payload rating we forklifted 650kg into the cargo bay which with driver was just under its 753kg limit. The rear suspension compressed 70mm, but there was no bottoming-out over bumps due to large rubber cones positioned inside the coil springs that assist in supporting heavy loads.

We covered more than 50km with this weight in city and suburban driving and its performance was good in all modes including the energy-saving Eco. Energy consumption did not spike as expected.

Our only gripes from a driver’s perspective are the absence of blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, which should be mandatory in all solid-walled vans given the huge blind-spot over the driver’s left shoulder. Relying only on the relatively small passenger door mirror is potentially hazardous.

The other is the cruise control stalk located on the steering column, which is hidden from view by the steering wheel arm. Therefore, it must be operated purely by feel, which can be fiddly and distracting when driving.

The first impression – once you’ve managed to climb inside the cabin (a manoeuvre that requires the in-built step) is of a magnificent view ahead and to the sides. You sit high and mighty and the vast glass area means you always feel like the king of the road. The steering wheel is relatively flat compared with a passenger vehicle, but the column features tilt and reach adjustment, so you can soon get comfortable.

The engine feels a bit grumbly and coarse compared with the dual-cab utes with which many of us are more familiar. It’s not harsh, though, and soon has the Iveco accelerating, if not swiftly, then certainly with some authority and a feeling it would take something pretty solid to slow it down.

The eight-speed transmission is calibrated – perhaps deliberately – to feel a little like the robotised manuals of some bigger trucks, and as such, can feel a little stilted in the way it ever so slightly hesitates between shifts.

The brake pedal is also placed too far to the right for comfortable left-foot braking and there’s no driver’s dead-pedal or foot-rest, suggesting that overseas crash testing may have dictated its deletion and the location of the brake pedal. That said, the Daily was originally designed as left-hand-drive, so perhaps the switch from left to right has imposed some of those compromises.

The other complaint is in the form of the new-for-2026 gear selector. It uses the now common separate Park button, but until Park is engaged, the button is not illuminated or identified in any way and simply looks like another piece of black plastic on the shifter. Once you know where it is, you’re fine, but until then…

The electric power-steering poses no challenges and, in fact, is kind of a metaphor for the whole experience. It’s easy and tactile to operate and takes no time at all to feel comfortable. That’s assuming that you can learn to trust your exterior mirrors and the rear-view camera, because with the standard cargo barrier installed and the lack of an interior mirror, there’s more or less zero rear vision.

Improvements to the Daily’s safety are one of the big headlines here. Well, in Europe, perhaps, because in Australia, the upgrades kind of amount to playing catch-up. But the new driver assistance packages are the real news here and, as such, the Iveco vans now get functions such as active cruise-control, traffic-jam assist, lane centring, autonomous emergency braking (that also identifies pedestrians and cyclists), blind-spot warning and rear-cross traffic alert and assist.

The three-seat cabin features four airbags; a driver and passenger front airbag and two side-curtain bags. The Daily has been crashed tested in Europe according to NCAP protocols and scored a maximum five stars.

A new, deformable crush-box in the front structure of the Daily is designed to give the vehicle improved passenger-protection in a frontal crash.

Top tethers and ISOFIX anchors for child seats are provided with configuration varying by body type.

Warranty is five years/200,000km plus eight years/160,000km for the battery. There are also three-year paintwork and 12-year corrosion warranties.

Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/25,000km, whichever occurs first.

The pre-paid service plan price of $1000 covers the first five scheduled services, or just $200 per service.

Because they’re truck-based, the Iveco vans have meaningful service intervals as a way of keeping down-time to a minimum. In the case of the 42S and 50C models, that translates to a whopping two years or 50,000km between services, whichever comes first. We understand that relies on a particular type of engine oil being used, but even so, it’s a mighty long way between drinks.

Iveco has traditionally offered service plans of up to five years, and that will continue, but we haven’t been given pricing for that at this stage.

The standard Iveco warranty applies to these models, and that gets you six years and 250,000km worth of cover. An extended driveline warranty of up to six years and 600,000km is also offered. Again, pricing for that has not been announced.

It’s also worth noting that the Iveco van engines have been Euro 6 compliant since 2015. The facelift ushers in further changes based on regulations. That means they now need AdBlue which needs to be factored in as a running cost. But because they’re designed for a European audience where emissions are arguably a much bigger issue than here, the AdBlue technology is very advanced and rules out the need for a Diesel Particulate Filter in the exhaust system; something that will appeal to a lot of would-be owners.