The “new” utility vehicle of the Leon is exactly the same as that of the Italian, with changes in the logos and minor aesthetic issues. Will it reach the Argentine market?

Peugeot presented a new version of the Partner in Brazil. It’s called Rapid and it’s basically a Fiat Fiorino (see here) with the Lion logo. It has already been put up for sale in the neighboring country, but it is not confirmed in Argentina, where the historical Partner of national production will continue to be marketed.

The Peugeot Partner Rapid uses the base of the Fiat Fiorino because, since the PSA and FCA groups merged, the Italian and the French are part of the same automotive group: Stellantis. This also includes Citroen, Jeep, Chrysler, RAM and DS, among other major brands. Between Fiat and Peugeot there will be other “collaborations” (see here).

The only differences between the Partner Rapid and the Fiorino are in the logos, the emblems and the slight aesthetic touch-up of the grille and bumpers. For all the rest, they are exactly the same vehicle. The French did not worry about moving it too far from the Fiat model, perhaps because the Italian is one of the strongest in Brazil.

Under the hood they are also the same. The Peugeot model takes the well-known 1.4-liter EVO four-cylinder gasoline engine, which produces 85 hp at 5,750 rpm and 121 Nm of maximum torque at 3,500 rpm, with a five-speed manual gearbox. According to Fiat, it stands out “for its excellent torque at low revolutions and low consumption”.

The equipment is made up of a six-function on-board computer, a height-adjustable steering wheel, air conditioning, power steering, a height-adjustable driver’s seat, central locking, One Touch window lifters, a crankcase protector, an alarm, and a knife-type key.

In turn, it has stability and traction control, emergency braking alert, hill start assistant and fog lights with integrated DRL. You can load up to 650 kg in the 3.3 cubic meters of volume that the rear sector has. The object holders in the passenger compartment add up to 18.5 liters of volume.

Peugeot Argentina has not yet ruled on this model. If it were to launch it, it will be necessary to see how it is positioned against the historical Partner of national production, which this year incorporated stability control as standard (also its twin Citroen Berlingo) to be able to continue for sale as 0 km.

By way of speculation, it would not be unreasonable to imagine that the Argentine subsidiary will prefer not to bring the Partner Rapid to give priority to the national Partner. And, furthermore, so as not to “spend” import quotas that you can take advantage of with other models. In any case, the last word has not yet been said.