Peugeot Partner 2021 review: 130 Auto GVM test

For a van, the Partner is pretty easy on the eyes. 

It eschews cliched van boxiness for an all-round more appealing look that mixes in some Euro flair with plenty of work-day suitability.

For a van, the Partner is pretty easy on the eyes. 

Hey, Peugeot designers: nice job.

It’s impressive in that Peugeot’s designers have made the interior a roomy and work-friendly space, as well as one that is very functional and comfortable. 

The Partner’s interior is supremely useable in terms of durable surfaces – cloth seats and plenty of tough plastic surfaces – and storage spaces, of which there are plenty.

Rather than a moving work space in which daily debris is left to overflow and mess up the cabin, the Partner’s interior incorporates a deep but narrow (from front to back) glovebox, deep door pockets, two cupholders in the upper dash area, a dash tray behind the touchscreen, and there’s a plethora of nooks and crannies for notepads, iPads, pens and smartphones, including a centre console storage area behind the shifter and a centre console storage below it as well.

The three-seat front bench includes a multi-flex arrangement, in which you lift the outbound passenger seat and the middle seat fold ups making a mobile office work and storage area.

The three-seat is really only big enough for two adults.

As well as the 8.0-inch touchscreen, which is easy enough to use, there is a USB port and a 12V socket to keep everything charged while you’re on the move all day.

While build quality in the cabin is generally pretty impressive, the plastic section, on which the auto shifter and electric park brake are located, was loose enough that it would lift noticeably every time I engaged the park brake.

There is a sturdy cargo barrier on the bulkhead of the rear cargo area. This load space is accessed via either of the two sliding doors, one on each side of the Partner, or the rear.

This Partner is claimed to have a payload of 1000kg, and the rear cargo area is said to have 3.8 cubic metres of load volume, and be able to cop cargo up to 1817mm long, stretching to 3090mm with the multi-flex flap opened, so you can stick long and narrow loads through the gap.

The rear barn doors open 180 degrees.

The space itself has a maximum load height of 1243mm and a load width of 1229mm between the wheel arches, and 1527mm wide elsewhere. 

There is forklift access through the rear 180-degree-opening barn doors, but with only millimetres to spare either side of the forklift tines. The rear opening doors can cop a maximum cargo width of 1241mm, and a maximum load height of 1137mm. 

The dual sliding side doors each have an opening width of 675mm, so we didn’t try to load through those with a forklift.

The rear cargo area has six tie-down points and a dome light.

The load space is accessed via two sliding side doors.

Pretty damn good, actually. This is a quiet, comfortable and refined van.

The Partner is 4403mm long (with a 2785mm-long wheelbase), 1880mm high, and 2107mm wide (including mirrors).

Driving position is nice and high – the driver’s seat is height-adjustable – and while the three-seat front is really only big enough for two adults and perhaps a skinny man-child in the middle, it’s still easy to spend time in.

Visibility in all directions is good, especially thanks to the surround-view camera which operates while in forward motion and offers views at the rear and down the left-hand side when required. Bear in mind, that camera view is rendered almost useless at night and in less-than-good weather.

The surround-view camera helps with visibility.

The electric power steering is well-weighted and at 1366kg (kerb weight) the Partner feels highly manoeuvrable.

Its turbocharged petrol engine is tractable enough to move the Partner along at a fair clip around city streets and on the highway, without ever being too lively. 

The auto shifter is a dial, with a manual mode button beside it and there are steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters if you get the urge.

Annoying Euro quirk perhaps? The cruise control stalk is tucked away behind the steering wheel, so I could barely see it, let alone use it.

The Partner’s interior is supremely useable in terms of durable surfaces, cloth seats and plenty of tough plastic surfaces.

Unladen ride is mostly sound, and even though some skippy rear-end action creeps in on rougher bitumen, the Partner copes surprisingly well with harsher lumps and bumps, such as speed bumps and potholes.

There are, of course, also front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera with directional guidelines.

The Partner has 16-inch steel wheels on Michelin Energy Saver tyres (205/60 R16), plus a full-size spare under the rear.

The Partner wears 16-inch steel wheels.

The Partner has a claimed fuel consumption of 6.3L/100km (combined). I recorded 8.4L/100km after more than 280km of driving, including 20km with that 750kg load in the back.

It has a 50-litre fuel tank.

The Partner is covered by a five-year warranty and service intervals are scheduled for every 15,000km or 12-months. Service costs are $441 (12 months/15,000km), $685 (24 months/30,000km), $517 (36 months/45,000km), $698 (48 months/60,000km), and $454 (at 48 months/60,000km).