Peugeot Partner vs Nissan Navara

What's the difference?

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.

While it won’t appeal on the value front as much as its Mitsubishi Triton engineering twin, the Navara’s tweaks from Premcar make it a more comfortable and livable thing. 

The extra cost is worth it for how much better it is on the road, plus you get more features, regardless.

Whether the changes to the Navara are sexy enough to get people in the dealership door is another question, but anyone who takes this over a Triton won’t be disappointed.

If it's for work, the SL or ST will do. If it's doubling as a family car, the Pro-4X is worth the outlay.

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

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.

Nissan has done well to inject its own design flavour into the ute, because even though there’s inevitable similarity in the silhouette, it doesn’t just look like a Triton.

Impressive given a lot of the car is the same, and Nissan couldn’t change any of the hard points the Triton comes with. In fact, the Navara’s dimensions are largely the same as the Triton, coming in at 5320mm long, 1930mm wide and 1815mm tall.

The biggest Nissan-specific design element is a nod to the Navara’s heritage, the three little vent lines above the grille hark back to the original D21 generation ute which had these holes in the bonnet.

It’s subjective to some extent, but I reckon the Navara has the Triton beat on the design front.

Depending on the variant, you get some other indicators that this is no Triton, including a sports bar on the rear of the cabin with ‘Navara’ cut into it, or Pro-4X decals if that’s the variant you go for.

Given the lifestyle and off-road focus of the Pro-4X, it also has a bit more trim inside and out to feel more rugged and premium.

The Navara’s new interior is a big step up over the previous generation, even if it is genuinely all-Triton in there. The biggest change is the Nissan badge on the steering wheel.

It’s a ute, so there’s still a lot of plastic, cheap materials and even the nicer looking surfaces are in a few spots made of gloss black plastic (sometimes called piano black) which gets smudged easily and after a short while.

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.

It’s a bit of a shame the Navara doesn’t benefit from the changes Nissan has been making to its interior design and layout recently, because it leaves older Nissans in the dust, in terms of design and ergonomics.

But, the Mitsubishi Triton’s interior isn’t a bad one for the Navara to have inherited, because it just works. It’s uncomplicated and sensible, if a little boring.

There are physical buttons for shortcuts, and the tech is relatively straightforward, even if it does also carry the downside of Android Auto being wired-only. It adds to the somewhat dated feeling the Navara’s interior carries, but the physical space itself is rather sensible.

The Navara’s seats are comfortable, and as the driver it’s easy to find your own preferred position, with the electric adjustment in higher variants being an extra help there.

The driving ergonomics and visibility are also good, which lines up well with the Navara’s driving dynamics and makes it feel less like you’re pedalling a big dual-cab around.

Behind the driver, there’s not heaps in the way of amenity, but the addition of USB ports once you’re past the base SL is welcome for second-row passengers, and the space isn’t cramped by any means.

The Navara has a tub capable of easily fitting a Euro pallet, according to Nissan’s specs, but with its distance of 1135mm between wheel arches, it won’t fit an Aussie pallet. The tub is almost square, at 1555mm long and 1545mm wide, and 525mm tall. 

Plus there’s the 3500kg towing capacity and its payload ranging between 964kg for the Pro-4X or up to 1064kg in the base SL.

The new D27 generation Navara starts from $53,348, before on-road costs, so it’s already more expensive than the Triton it’s based on, but we’ll get into the main, somewhat oily reasons for that in a bit. 

The Navara’s available in four variants at launch, SL, ST, ST-X and Pro-4X. They’re all 4X4 dual-cabs, so it’s mainly the features for each trim level that make the difference when it comes to pricing.

The SL starts off with a lot of the basics covered. There are LED headlights and tail-lights, climate control, the same 8.0-inch multimedia touchscreen as the rest of the range and digital radio as well as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Its aforementioned touchscreen is also a little larger than the one in the Triton it’s based on. Then there’s the 7.0-inch driver display screen which lives between the two physical dials.

At this point in the range the steering wheel is polyurethane and the floors aren’t carpeted, just covered with vinyl. It’s a work ute and it feels like one.

Things pick up slightly with the ST, which starts from $56,765, and gains alloy wheels, auto-folding mirrors, a leather-accented steering wheel and floor carpet, plus now side-steps and a sports bar. It also adds USB ports in the second row for charging, so it’s probably the minimum grade you’d want if you’re ever going to have kids in the back. Essentially, it gains a few things that make it feel a little more livable without getting too fancy.

The ST-X is a fair step up in price, it’s $63,177, but gets better suspension, 18-inch alloys, leather-accented and heated front seats and a power adjustable driver's seat, dual-zone climate and a wireless phone charger.

It also gains a centre limited-slip differential, drive modes more compatible with off-roading, different styling elements and push-button start, so you don’t need to use the physical key.

The top-of-the-range (until the Warrior arrives) is the $68,418 Pro-4X with more design changes, all-terrain tyres, a black sports bar and roof rails, contrast stitching and specific seats with Pro-4X styling. It’s the variant Nissan Australia expects to be the most popular, too. It also has the same diff and better suspension the ST-X gains.

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.

A 150kW/470Nm four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine lies under the bonnet, which falls a little short of some rivals, but isn’t glaringly weak.

Its power lines up with, for example, the Toyota HiLux, but torque falls short of its rival’s 500Nm. It’s the same story for the Ranger, though that ute slips a nose ahead with 4.0kW more than HiLux and Navara in its four-cylinder guise.

The Navara’s six-speed automatic transmission also sends that power and torque to all four wheels, though how exactly it gets there depends on the spec and whether you have a centre differential or not.

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.

From the Navara’s 75L tank, a claimed 7.7L/100km is used on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle, though on the launch drive we saw the trip computer hovering around 9.0L/100km.

With a few hundred kilos in the tray, that jumped up to the low 11s.

Hypothetically, if you manage to get close to Nissan’s claimed consumption, you should be able to get more than 900km out of a single tank of diesel. Nissan’s claim isn’t too outrageous, either, considering the type of driving a car launch generally consists of isn’t normally conducive to favourable fuel consumption figures.

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.

Now we get to the biggest reason you’d consider a Navara over the Triton it’s based on.

While the Navara benefits from having a relatively new platform underneath it - thanks Mitsubishi - it’s still a ladder-frame dual-cab ute so expectations weren’t exactly on the floor, but they also weren’t sky-high.

And sure, a lot of the details about the new Navara aren’t groundbreaking, nor is much of the way it drives - but the changes Premcar has made to the suspension in this ute are well worth the extra outlay.

What Premcar has done with the Navara, on what we would guess is a relatively constrained budget, is find the most cost-effective way to make the ute better to drive.

They went with upgraded dampers which have been tuned to balance control and comfort with the ute’s off-road ability.

The result? A very controlled front-end, more communicative steering and confidence on the road to drive over even rough surfaces without fear of being flung off the road. Ladder-frame utes don't normally feel so controlled over rough surfaces at high speeds.

It’s worth noting that while the SL and ST still benefit from the suspension upgrades, the ST-X and Pro-4X in particular are much better to drive than you’d expect from a dual-cab ute.

Some of the roads around Canberra are particularly rough, even close to town where the speeds are lower, but the Navara handled myriad surfaces and conditions on- and off-road, in the soaking wet and when it was bone-dry.

Aside from one particular section of the launch that may have just been a little unkind to the ‘stiffer’ sidewalls on the ST-X compared to the Pro-4X, the Navara’s behaviour was not only confidence-building, but allowed for a degree of fun not normally present in the class.

The steering feel left no guesswork necessary, and there’s not a huge on-centre dead-spot as is often the case in a dual-cab. Nice and direct without being too heavy.

The Navara’s weak point, which still gets a pass mark, is probably that its drivetrain now feels older than the ute in which it lives. The outputs are passable, and the transmission finds the correct place well enough, but in a world of 10-speed autos in Rangers or petrol plug-in hybrids, a bog-standard turbo-diesel with six gears has to be bang-on perfect to keep up. 

The Navara’s is adequate, but once you’re used to it, the drive experience is a step above most in the ute segment in terms of control, something that’s hard to come by in this segment.

It translates well to off-roading, where the ute’s front-end settles very quickly over ridges and undulating surfaces without the harshness of a too-stiff set of dampers.

Unsealed roads feel easily dispatched even at relatively high speeds, and with the right tyres (a la Pro-4X) the Navara is a seriously capable thing.

If you find yourself the owner of a D27 Navara and never leave the bitumen, you’re missing out.

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.

Nissan’s 10-year/300,000km warranty is fantastic but applies only if you service with Nissan. It’s five years with no kilometre limit otherwise. 

There’s five years' of flat-price servicing at $499 per visit, every 12-months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

Roadside assist is also free for a decade if you service with Nissan, or a year otherwise.

Given there are around 180 Nissan dealers nationwide, finding one shouldn’t be a challenge.