Peugeot e-Partner 2023 Review

The new 2023 Peugeot e-Partner is available only in Pro Long specification – meaning the second-tier Pro trim level with a long wheelbase (2975mm) – and starts at $59,990 plus on-road costs.

That is $19,000 more than the equivalent petrol-engined Peugeot Partner Pro Long, but can be whittled down to roughly a $16K difference once rebates are applied in certain states and territories.

The regular 1.2-litre turbo-petrol Partner van range includes the City Short manual (from $32,990 plus ORCs) and auto-equipped Pro Short (from $37,990), Pro Long ($40,990), Premium Short ($40,490) and Premium Long ($43,490).

The e-Partner shares the extensive range of Peugeot accessories with the rest of the Partner range, including glass windows for the barn doors, side doors, cargo barrier and more.

The two-seater 2023 Peugeot e-Partner is equipped with 16-inch steel wheels (with full-size spare), dual side sliding doors, 180-degree rear barn doors, automatic dusk-sensing headlights and six tie-down rings in the cargo area.

The cabin has cloth upholstery, heated seats, a leather-clad steering wheel, air-conditioning, remote central locking, trip computer, three drive modes (Power, Normal and Eco), steel bulkhead with glazed security mesh window, an overhead storage shelf and one-touch electric windows.

A Mode 3 Type 2 wallbox/public charging cable is supplied, and the e-Partner has a 7.4kW onboard charger. The Mode 2 Type 2 domestic socket charging cable is a rather steep $1325 accessory.

The only factory option is Artense Grey, Nero Black or Platinum Grey paint at $690. Ice White is the standard, no-cost paint.

The vehicle warranty is five years/200,000km, while the battery pack is covered for eight years/160,000km. Roadside assist is free for the duration of the five-year factory warranty.

Pay-as-you-go capped-price servicing totals $1730 over five years, or $1000 pre-paid. You can also pre-pay for three years, at $600. Service intervals are 12 months/25,000km.

Payload is 753kg (182kg less the Partner 1.2), tare weight is 1632kg (247kg more than its petrol counterpart) and the e-Partner can tow up to a maximum 750kg (braked or unbraked).

The 2023 Peugeot e-Partner is equipped with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), forward collision warning, lane keep assist, lane departure warning, cruise control, speed limit recognition and recommendation, speed limiter function, rear parking sensors, 180-degree rear-view camera and tyre pressure monitoring.

There are six airbags in the e-Partner: front, side and side curtain. The e-Partner also has an acoustic pedestrian warning, operating at up to 30km/h.

There is no blind spot warning or rear cross traffic alert/braking, while driver attention alert found in Premium-spec Partner models is not included on the EV.

Internal combustion engine (ICE) versions of the Peugeot Partner were accorded a sub-par four-star (out of five) ANCAP safety rating way back in 2018, but the electric e-Partner is as yet unrated.

The 2023 Peugeot e-Partner offers an 8.0-inch centre infotainment touch-screen, with the basics such as Bluetooth phone and audio, voice recognition, (wired) Apple and Android smartphone mirroring and FM/DAB radio.

There’s one USB-A and one 12V socket up front.

The infotainment screen is also the nerve centre for battery monitoring and charging applications, such as automatic delayed charging when required. All your driving statistics are available from a control panel.

Downloading the myPeugeot app to your smartphone allows you to remotely access information such as fuel and/or electricity consumption, cost per use, total travel time and so on, as well as other features such as locating where you’ve parked your vehicle.

The reversing camera offers a wide angle when backing out, but it’d be nice if it took a step up in screen resolution.

A 100kW/260Nm permanent magnet synchronous motor and single-speed reduction gearbox are fitted under the bonnet of the 2023 Peugeot e-Partner, with drive fed to the front wheels.

Meanwhile, the 50kWh lithium-ion battery pack is fitted under the load platform.

The claimed acceleration time from 0-100km/h is 11.2 seconds, while top speed is claimed to be 135km/h.

With its 400V, 50kWh battery, the 2023 Peugeot e-Partner has a range of 263km (WLTP).

Peugeot claims that it takes 30 minutes to charge the battery from fully depleted to 80 per cent using quick-charge DC current (100kW), or about 7.5 hours from 0-100 per cent using a 7.4kW wallbox.

Located on the left rear of the vehicle, the charging port is a Combo2 CCS type. In a relatively short 38km drive in metropolitan Sydney, the e-Partner used 16.2kWh/100km.

Starting with a 232km range, there was a 190km range left at the end of the drive.

The 2023 Peugeot e-Partner is much like any two-seater small van to drive.

A 200kg ballast had been added to the load area of the test vehicle, and the Peugeot exhibited all the typical creaks and groans you’d expect of a van lacking sound deadening in the back.

Of course, the powertrain smoothness and silence is very unlike an ICE van, with just the electric motor’s muted whine to let you know it’s doing its work.

With three power modes on offer (Power, offering 100kW/260Nm, Normal at 80kW/210Nm and Eco restricted to 60kW/190Nm), we started in Normal mode. This mode offers acceptable, if not immediate response at speeds less than 50km/h.

Power mode gives a solid push in the back at lower speeds, but once up to about 60km/h and hill-climbing, the e-Partner does feel as though it lacks get-up-and-go.

Certainly, if Eco mode is used, you need to not be in much of a hurry at all, as the response is sluggish.

Pressing the ‘B’ button on the centre console gear selector gives you the regenerative braking mode, which not only provides an opportunity to extend range slightly but makes single-pedal motoring easy.

The 2023 Peugeot e-Partner provides occupants with two comfortable and supportive bucket seats, with the driver’s seat adjustable for height as well as fore-aft and backrest tilt.

There is plenty of headroom and width in the cabin. Outward vision is generally good for a van, windows are deep, side mirrors are large – though the bonnet is longer than you first think and is hard to see the extent of it from the driver’s seat.

Offering the same 3.9-cubic-metre load area as the Partner 1.2 petrol Pro Long model, the Peugeot e-Partner also offers the two side sliding doors and rear barn doors of other models for easy load area access.

The maximum load length up to the bulkhead is 2167mm, with no flap to allow longer items to be stowed as you’ll find in regular Partner vans. The maximum load height is 1243mm and width 1527mm (1229mm between the wheel-arches).

Until the new-generation Renault Kangoo E-Tech arrives in coming months, the 2023 Peugeot e-Partner is the sole small EV van available on the Australian market.

Compared to passenger car EV offerings, the e-Partner may seem a touch basic, but when you consider the only other battery-electric LCV options are much bigger and cost at least $30,000 more, the e-Partner begins to make sense for those who don’t need the capacity.

2023 Peugeot e-Partner at a glance:
Price: $59,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: August 2023
Powertrain: Single permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output: 100kW/260Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 50kWh lithium-ion
Range: 258km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 16.2kWh/100km (as tested)
Safety rating: Not tested