French car builders have a flair of making original and very pleasing spacious family cars, based on their light commercial vehicles. These cars are aptly called “ludospaces” and indeed, they combine in uncanny fashion practicality and utility with the Gallic “joie de vivre”, humor, a  certain playfulness and last but not least, style…

What’s more, with every new model range, they are getting better and better in this game.

The latest “ludospace” version of the Partner, the Tepee, proves the point.

We tested a brand new (truly, with a mere 30 kms on the clock) “Outdoor” equipment version of the Tepee, which came with the 90 HP 1.6 HDI Diesel engine.

The car impressed us immediately with an astonishing mechanical smoothness, the engine being despite its very young age almost inaudible, flexible and virtually vibration free. Clutch and gearbox also operated very smooth indeed, and also road and wind noise were very subdued. The Partner reveals itself as a very nice companion on longer (vacation) trips, but feels also very much at home in dense city traffic. The higher seating position warrants excellent visibility, and the comfortable suspension and excellent chassis smoothes out the ugliest city street potholes, pavé and tramrails.

We did not rev the brand new engine very hard, and with the ample torque, this was hardly necessary...

As said, the experience and expertise by Peugeot in building these “ludospaces” is seen en felt, and this time the finish and attention to detail has been further improved. We liked especially the impressive upright centre console of the dashboard, flanked by big air vents which were nobly set in a thin chromium rim, adding a touch of “je ne sais quoi” stylish luxury.

Plenty of stowage space on board, in the doors, the roof, the centre consoles, you name it. The car we tested even had special luggage stowage rails mounted under the cabin ceiling, so you can tuck safely away lengthy objects without embarrassing (or endangering) your passengers.

The engine was as we said brand new, and we did run it in carefully during the first few hundred kilometers, avoiding fierce accelerations and keeping a top/cruising speed of around 100 kmh. We were again surprised how pleasant and relaxing it can be to adopt this very “cool” driving style in today’s frantic traffic conditions. The engine remained virtually inaudible under these circumstances, but we were surprised how the healthy torque of the engine – some 215 Nm at a mere 1750 rpm – made it unnecessary to rev any higher than 2400 rpm in the gears to achieve pleasantly brisk accelerations which made you flow with the traffic quite effortlessly.

The engine rewarded us with an average fuel consumption of less than 6 litres, thus achieving the factory figures easily. Peugeot indicates that the car will accelerate from 0 to 100 km in some 14,3  seconds, with the top speed given at 160 kmh.

At the end of the test, the legal Belgian speed limit of 120 kmh was reached with the slightest amount of throttle opening, the engine not feeling stressed at all. The gearbox ratios seem also very well adapted to the character of the vehicle. We have not driven the Partner Tepee under heavy load conditions, but we expect the good torque of the engine to provide ample power also here.

 The seating comfort of the Partner is outstanding, and we found the individual centre armrest on the “captain” front seats a boon. One can easily flick the gearlever around without taking your elbow from the armrest, adding to a stress-free driving style.

We already mentioned the excellent suspension and road manners. Suffice it to mention here that the suspension is shared with the excellent 308…

Pleasant companion

Families and people who like to travel will find the Partner Tepee a very pleasant companion for all their treks and voyages, and even the short trip to the supermarket or school will prove to be a source of French pleasure or “joie de vivre”…

Hans Knol ten Bensel