The first Peugeot fully-electric vehicle to come to Australia, the e-Partner, has arrived
and will be available in showrooms and on-line from August.
Partner is the smallest of the French company’s three-model light commercial
vehicle range, sitting below the mid-sized Expert and large Boxer.
Priced at $59,990 plus on-road costs, e-Partner comes in a single long wheelbase
Pro variant and will sell alongside the 1.2-litre turbo-petrol Partner Pro and Premium
models which come with the choice of short and long wheelbases.
The e-Partner is powered by a 50kWh lithium-ion battery that produces 100kW of
power and 260Nm of torque and delivers a WLTP test range of 258km.
While that range is relatively low when compared with passenger EVs, the e-Patriot
is unlikely to spend much time outside of urban areas and so never be far away from
charging infrastructure.
Exterior dimensions are a body length of 4.75 metres, a width of just over 2.10
metres with mirrors open and a height of just under 1.90 metres. Turning circle is
11.4 metres.
With the batteries located under the floor there is 3.9 cubic metres of loading volume
and 735 kg of payload. Access helped by dual rear swing barn doors and dual sliding
side doors with six tie-down rings.
The battery placement also improves vehicle rigidity and optimal weight distribution.
Like the petrol Patron models, the EV comes with its attractive and innovative
Peugeot i-Cockpit dashboard design which is being progressively added to the
company’s vehicles.
It includes a small, chunky steering wheel which might look a bit of place in a
commercial vehicle but which feels nice and, importantly, it sits below the level of the
instrument cluster avoiding the need to look through it at the gauges.
Unlike the petrol models which have three seats the e-Patron comes with two
individually sliding driver and front passenger seats.
Storage compartments are easy to reach and cleverly distributed throughout the
cabin including an upper dashboard tray in the space in front of the passenger left by
the airbag which is located in the roof. A space that’s ideal for storing a laptop with a
cable threader for convenient charging.
Infotainment features include an 8-inch capacitive central touchscreen, four-speaker
sound system with a musical soundtrack, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
connectivity and voice recognition.
The screen also displays an ‘electric’ menu where you can navigate through the
menus to view live energy flows, consumption statistics and the ability to schedule a
delayed charge.
There are three driving modes, Eco providing 60kW and 190Nm, Normal
(80kW/210Nm) and Power (100kW/260Nm) with that last mode ideal for transporting
heavy loads.
Standard safety features in the e-Partner include six airbags, enhanced ABS brakes,
electronic stability program, active lane keep assist and departure warning,
autonomous emergency braking, forward collision warning, automatic dusk sensing
headlights, automatic door locking, programmable cruise control, speed limit
recognition and speed limiter function.
Importantly for city driving, there are front and rear parking sensors as well as a 180-
degree colour reversing camera.
e-Partner comes as standard with a mode three public station charging cable but,
oddly, not the usual domestic socket home charging cable which needs to be
purchased separately.
Indicative charging times for the e-Partner via the 50kWh battery capacity include
approximately 7.5 hours from 0-100-percent via a 7.4kW Wallbox, around 30
minutes through a rapid charge from 0-80-percent capacity via a 100kW DC charger.
The vehicle’s charging point is at the left-side rear.
e-Partner comes with Peugeot’s standard five year / 200,000km warranty with eight
years or 160,000 km cover on the battery. There’s also a three-year paintwork
and 12-year corrosion warranty.
Next in line on Peugeot’s electrification program are the e-2008 compact SUV due
here around September to be followed in 2024 by an E-208 hatchback and e-Expert
mid-sized van.
