The Peugeot Partner is a commercial utility vehicle which aims to fulfil both leisure and business needs.  It has been designed to be a practical and economical asset to any business requiring transportation of light loads while still giving the flexibility of being able to be a people-carrier with a well styled and comfortable interior.  Peugeot Partner is available in South Africa in the 1.6 HDi L1 or the petrol 1.6 L1 version.

From the outside the Peugeot Partner looks like an SUV rather than a van, until you look more closely.  It's got a higher ground clearance than the average car but the rear end gives the game away – this is a working vehicle, complete with convenient rear swing doors designed for easy loading, long elongated tail lights, with an extra brake light on top and panel-van sides.  The panels look as if they have been specifically designed to accommodate business advertising.  The Peugeot Partner L1 is 4.38 metres long, has a wheelbase of 2.73 metres and a cargo space of 3.3 cubic metres.  There is a Multi-Flex seat option (which allows two of the three front seats to be folded flat beside the driver) and this increases the cargo space even further.  You can access the cargo via the rear swing doors or through the left side sliding door which has an unusual width of 640mm and a useful height of 1100mm, permitting wide opening onto the cargo space.  Up front the Peugeot has a wide bonnet, big headlights, large rear view mirrors (for increased visibility) and a massive air intake forming the front grille. 

The interior of the Peugeot Partner includes many specifications that you wouldn't ordinarily find   in a commercial van in this segment.  Peugeot has included many car-like luxuries in an attempt to make life on the road just that little bit more comfortable.  Buy a car like this for your business and you will have access to ample interior storage compartments, a MP3-compatible CD/radio audio system, cruise control, air-con (optional extra), front electric windows, a trip computer, comfortable seating (3 in front, hard-wearing cloth trim) and cup holders for those long trips on the road hauling stuff from A to B.  The Partner has a listed 850 kg payload ability.  

The Peugeot Partner L1 has two engine options: the 1.6 litre petrol (80kW at 5800rpm) or a 1.6 diesel derivative (66kW at 4000rpm).  The petrol version puts out 147Nm of torque at 4000rpm while the diesel engine 215Nm of torque at 1750rpm.  Both are run on 4 cylinders with a 5 speed manual transmission and have a 60 litre fuel tank capacity.  Partner Van is said to emit less than 120g of Carbon Dioxide per kilometre and is impressively fuel-efficient.

The Partner benefits from Peugeot's rally-inspired suspension and therefore boasts excellent handling.  Unlike other van manufacturers who seem to think that safety in utility vans doesn't count, Peugeot has equipped its Partner with all the up-to-date safety specifications, like - ABS, ESP and Emergency Brake Assist, pre-tensioning seat belts, a driver’s side airbag (and optional passenger side airbag) and a tough safety cell around the occupant cabin (with crumple zone design). 

If you need to buy a vehicle in the light commercial van segment, the Peugeot Partner is well worth a look at.  The manufacturer has covered all the bases and added some extras too which certainly offers an impressive package to any up-and-coming business that needs to shift goods from A to B in style and safety.  When looking at the pricing bracket these vehicles fall into, the Peugeot Partner is relatively well priced when compared to other light vans on the market today. You can expect to pay around R174 680 for the Partner 1.6 Petrol while the Partner 1.6 HDi is about R188 400, both include a 5 year/100 000km service plan. (All prices are subject to change and the reader is advised to consult a dealer for final pricing)