What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

All new light commercials will have to comply with the, more-demanding, Euro 6 exhaust emission standard from next September onwards. In anticipation manufacturers have been steadily rolling out vehicles that meet Euro 6 in advance of the deadline while continuing to retain models that match the existing Euro 5 standard until the autumn cut-off date approaches.

The changes required to meet Euro 6 have prompted van makers to make a few other alterations to their products at the same time; a styling tweak here, some extra bits and pieces of equipment there, and so on.

Peugeot is no exception. As well as adding Euro 6 power to the Partner line-up, it has re-styled the front of the vehicle to give it more of a family look - and an attractive one at that - and is now marketing it with a reversing camera and Active City Brake as options.

As its name suggests, the latter feature applies the brakes automatically at speeds of up to 20mph if it looks as though you are about to hit something in town centre traffic and are failing to slam on the anchors yourself. It's a device that could be worth having if you spend a lot of your time in the urban jungle although the UK price had yet to be revealed at the time of writing.

As things stand Partner is up for grabs with a Euro 6 100hp 1.6-litre BlueHDi diesel with Stop & Start married to a five-speed manual gearbox. It can be specified with the ETG6 six-speed automated manual box as an alternative, again with S & S.

CO2 emissions are 108g/km in both cases.

Also available are a pair of Euro 5 HDi 1.6-litre diesels at 75hp or 92hp, again with five-speed manual transmissions. They will be on sale until June.

Hopefully Peugeot will decide to launch the 120hp Euro 6 1.6-litre BlueHDi engine in Britain at that stage but it seems unlikely. That is rather a pity because it is the only model in the Partner line-up with a six-speed manual box.

The 92hp diesel is additionally marketed in ATV guise with Grip Control which, though falling short of the capabilities of full four-wheel-drive, should help keep you mobile on snow or sand.

Also on offer is a 1.6-litre VTi 98hp petrol engine. Mention should be made as well of the 67hp electric Partner with a claimed potential range of 105 miles between recharges.

Produced in two different lengths - L1 and L2 - and as a crew cab with rear seating and a cargo bay at the back, Partner is also on offer as a platform cab. Van load areas are either 3.3cu/m or 3.7cu/m while payload capacities range from 625kg to 850kg.

Three specification levels are offered; S, SE and top-of-the-range Professional. S level gets you electric windows and mirrors while SE adds cruise control and Professional gives you air con too and is Bluetooth-enabled.

We sampled a 75hp L1 Euro 5 Partner in Professional trim.

Load area

Access to the load area is by means of a sliding nearside door plus twin, asymmetric rear doors. They are opaque which means you cannot see what is directly behind you so it is fortunate that Professional trim includes reversing sensors.

The twin doors can be swung through 90 degrees, or through 180 degrees if you undo the easy-to-release stays.

Six load tie-down rings are provided. A half-height steel bulkhead topped off with a full-height mesh grille should prevent anything that is inadequately restrained from sliding forwards and finishing up in the three-seater cab.

Fold down the outboard passenger seat then undo a catch and flip the section of steel bulkhead behind it backwards into the cargo bay and you can extend the load bed length by an impressive 1200mm; handy if you happen to be carrying a ladder, pipes or planks.

Flattening the seat also gives you the ability to transport an extra carton or two in the cab itself.

There is a 12v socket in the cargo bay and you'll find another one in the cab close to the gear stick.

Cab and equipment

Our big criticism of the Professional's cab is that it is a three-seater; because in reality it isn't.

The middle seat is way too narrow and the almost complete absence of legroom makes it unfit to accommodate anyone taller than a hobbit. Nobody should be asked to use it, even if they're only travelling a short distance.

If somebody is then you will not be able to get at the two cup-holders positioned on the floor close to the base because their feet will be in the way.

The seat brings one benefit though. You can fold down its back and turn it into a desk which can be used to complete paperwork - an elasticated band helps keep it in place -or accommodate your sandwiches and coffee while you're having your break.

Another plus-point is a compartment hidden under the seat cushion that can be used to conceal a smartphone; the sort of thing that might get stolen if you leave it lying around in the cab.

Our other gripe concerns the touch-screen DAB radio.

Two of the key controls - volume and menu - aren't on the 7ins colour screen, but are instead conventional switches mounted just above it. Surely they should be on the screen too?

On the plus side the package includes a MirrorScreen function that works with compatible smart phones and a USB port. TomTom GO 5000 satellite navigation with a removable screen is included in the Professional deal as well.

Turning to storage space, for your money you get a full-width shelf above the athermic windscreen, two bins in each of the doors - one big, one small - a lidded glove-box with an upper shelf, two shelves on top of the dashboard and a shallow lidded compartment just above the instrument panel. To all this can be added a drawer under the driver's seat plus a, frankly somewhat pointless, round cubby-hole on each side of the radio that looks for all the world like an extra air-vent.

Net result is that you have got plenty of places to put small items but finding somewhere to stow a big sandwich box or a large torch is a struggle.

The main reason why the centre passenger has to endure zero legroom is the moulding that bulges out from the dashboard and accommodates the gearstick. It also boasts a slot for small change for parking meters plus a hook on which to hang your Friday night takeaway.

The steering wheel is height- and reach-adjustable.

Buttons in the cab allow you to lock and unlock all the doors - they lock automatically at speeds above 7mph - or the rear doors only or you can use the remote. The Thatcham Category 1 alarm enables you to leave your pet in the cab with the windows partly wound down without having to worry that it will go off.

Powertrain

Our solidly-constructed Partner's transversely-mounted eight-valve four-cylinder common-rail direct-injection diesel produces maximum power at 4,000rpm. Top torque of 185Nm bites at 1,500rpm.

Euro 6 diesel Partners promise to be more frugal than their Euro 5 equivalents but will need periodic replenishment with AdBlue. You'll find the AdBlue top-up point close to the fuel filler pipe.