Review | Road test
With Asphalt trim you get air- conditioning, cruise control, electric windows and electrically heated, foldable, and adjustable exterior mirrors. You also get an i-Cockpit 10in touch-
screen – i-Cockpit is the differentiating factor between Partner and its sister Stellantis models – with Peugeot’s i-Connect infotainment package. It includes TomTom 3D connected satellite navigation, a DAB radio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi mirroring so you can connect a portable device to the screen, and two USB ports. Provided too is an ‘OK Peugeot’ intelligent voice assistant. Happily, the heating and ventilation system and the air-conditioning are controlled by user-friendly manual switches on the fascia, and you switch the radio on and off and turn the volume up
Ford Transit Courier Price range (ex. VAT) £16,200-£28,000 2.9m3
613-849kg 100hp 1.5 diesel, 100hp, 125hp 1.0-litre petrol, 100kW electric
On the face of it, it is a little odd that Ford has chosen to introduce a model that is key one is that Courier is up for grabs in battery-electric guise and Connect isn’t, although you can order it as a plug-in-hybrid. Winner of the What Van? Compact
Renault Kangoo/Kangoo E-Tech Price range (ex. VAT) £21,825-£38,295 3.3-4.2m3 608-975kg
100hp 1.3 petrol, 95hp, 115hp 1.5
litre diesel, 90kW electric
Volkswagen
ID.Buzz Cargo Price range (ex. VAT) £37,625-£42,875* 3.9m3
594-707kg 210kW, 250kW electric
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and down manually too. You’ll find remote controls on the steering wheel and the driver’s seat and wheel are both height-adjustable. You get an electronic parking brake, the dashboard boasts a 12v power socket, and the intelligent i-Cockpit 10in digital instrument panel divulges all sorts of useful information including your remaining range, the amount of charge left in the battery and the speed that applies to the road you are travelling down. You are warned if you breach it. Other onboard safety systems include
ABS, Electronic Stability Control, Electronic Brakeforce Assist, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Hill Start Assist, Lane Keep Assist and Advanced Emergency Braking System. Driver, passenger, side and curtain
airbags are fitted, as are front fog lights. Disc brakes are installed all round, the headlights dip automatically at night, and the wipers start working the minute rain spatters across the windscreen. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it
again – we heartily dislike the idea of trying to shoehorn three seats into a cab that really only has room for two. Te hapless middle passenger will find their shoulder room is restricted and their right knee is pressed up against a moulding that bows outwards from the fascia. Not where you want to be perched if you are on a long journey. On the positive side, the back of the middle seat folds downwards and turns into a desk which the driver can use to complete paperwork. Some businesses still rely on paper. In-cab storage facilities include a
full-width shelf above the windscreen, a lidded, but not lockable, glove-box with two shelves below it, and two bins in each of the doors. Tere’s a cup-holder at each end of the dashboard. Pull up the middle seat’s cushion and you will find a hidden compartment underneath – just the place to stash your smartphone. Our e-Partner rode on 16in steel wheels
decorated with plastic trims and shod with Bridgestone Turanza 215/65 R16 tyres. A TPMS – Tyre Pressure Monitoring System – watches over them. Our test van was equipped with an
optional spare wheel – something to be welcomed given the appalling state of the highways.
Powertrain
A 52kWh lithium-ion battery delivers power to an electric motor pushing out up to 270Nm of torque, and the front-wheel- drive e-Partner comes with a 7kW onboard charger.
Replenishing the battery from 0–100% using a single-phase 7.4kW wallbox should take no more than seven-and-a- half hours, says Peugeot, falling to just over five hours if you are using a three-phase 11kW wallbox. Plug your vehicle into a 100kW DC rapid charger and you should be able to get it from 0–80% in no more than 30 minutes, the company contends. Plug the vehicle in overnight and you
can programme when you want the battery to be charged, and how early you want the cab heater to come on before you depart on your first run of the day.
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