The first Peugeot fully-electric vehicle to come to Australia, the e-Partner, has arrived and will be in showrooms 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.
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, e-Patriot is unlikely to spend much time outside of urban areas and so will never be far from charging infrastructure.
It’s 4.75 metres long, just over 2.10 metres wide with mirrors open and stands 1.90 metres high. Turning circle is 11.4 metres.
With the batteries located under the floor there is 3.9 cubic metres of cargo space and can take a 735kg payload.
Access is aided by dual rear barn doors and dual sliding side doors, with six tie-down rings provided.
The battery placement also improves vehicle rigidity and optimal weight distribution.
Like petrol Partner models, the EV comes with its attractive and innovative Peugeot i-Cockpit dashboard 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, 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, e-Partner comes with two individual 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.
It’s ideal for storing a laptop with a cable threader for convenient charging.
Infotainment includes an 8.0-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 that can show 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 the last mode ideal for transporting heavy loads.
Standard safety features 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 cable for domestic sockets which needs to be purchased separately.
Indicative charging times are about 7.5 hours from 0-100-percent via a 7.4kW Wallbox and around 30 minutes from 0-80-percent with a rapid 100kW DC charger.
The vehicle’s charging point is at the left-side rear.
e-Partner comes with Peugeot’s standard 5-five/200,000km warranty with eight years or 160,000km 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.
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