Peugeot Australia has updated its commercial vehicle range for 2013, introducing a number of styling and specification enhancements to the Peugeot Expert and Peugeot Partner line-ups.
The compact Peugeot Partner L1 (short body) manual petrol is $400 cheaper than before at $21,990, and adds a left-side sliding door, redesigned front grille, daytime running lights, passenger airbag, USB input and Bluetooth phone connectivity.
The Partner L1’s 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol engine has also been upgraded to produce 72kW and 152Nm (up 6kW/20Nm). The added performance cuts its 0-100km/h sprint time from 17.5 seconds and 15.9sec, yet its combined cycle fuel consumption also falls from 8.2 litres per 100km to 7.1L/100km.
The Partner L2 (long body) diesel manual is now $600 more expensive at $26,490. It benefits from the same equipment upgrades as the L1 (except for the left sliding door, which was already standard), while power from its 1.6-litre four-cylinder diesel engine also rises to 68kW (up 2kW).
The Peugeot Expert is now only available in long-body form, with the smaller L1 variant discontinued from the line-up. The new range starts at $38,990 for the six-speed manual model (up $3000) and for the first time is available with a six-speed automatic option for an extra $2000.
The 2013 Expert gets a substantial performance boost, now generating 120kW and 340Nm from its 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, up 32kW/40Nm from before. As a result, acceleration from 0-100km/h improves one-tenth to 12.9 seconds while combined cycle fuel consumption improves eight per cent to 6.8L/100km.
The new Peugeot Expert also benefits from a revised front grille and body-colour bumpers, and the addition of electronic stability control, cruise control, USB input and Bluetooth connectivity.
Peugeot Australia sold 43 Experts in 2012, up 22.9 per cent over the previous year, and 99 Partners, down 28.3 per cent from 2011.
