Anyone running a mid sized electric van?
Discussion
tamore said:
Currently run a diesel van for our business, and when it's clapped out we'll probably look at en electric van. Was wondering if anyone on here had real world experience, especially running it at load capacity sometimes.
Weight and aero resistance will be your worst enemies in a van - not necessarily a problem, it just means you need to take the expected range with a very large pinch of salt.Probably best to start by looking at your typical daily mileage habits in the van you have.. How many miles do you travel in an average day and what is the most miles you're likely to travel in a single day?
Hi I have run a Nissan env 200 for the last six years , I have covered about 55000 miles in it.
Good points virtually no servicing , serviced only once, no road tax cost, no congestion charge , discounted parking in some London zones. Able to claim on your tax return for depreciation and something else I’m not sure of.Very easy to drive , especially slowly usefull in 20 mph zones in London .
Bad points RANGE ignore what the manufacturer claims is the range, it’s BS . Aircon kills range ,heating on kills Range, weather affects the range too cold affects the range , motorways not as much regeneration affects range.
Charging stations not working, not enough charging stations .
I only charge from home now , I have been very happy with my van it’s saved me a lot on running costs but my daily max I can do is about 60 miles which is fine for my work.
I was a early adopter but I worked out how many miles a day I did a day , for me this is the key .
Good points virtually no servicing , serviced only once, no road tax cost, no congestion charge , discounted parking in some London zones. Able to claim on your tax return for depreciation and something else I’m not sure of.Very easy to drive , especially slowly usefull in 20 mph zones in London .
Bad points RANGE ignore what the manufacturer claims is the range, it’s BS . Aircon kills range ,heating on kills Range, weather affects the range too cold affects the range , motorways not as much regeneration affects range.
Charging stations not working, not enough charging stations .
I only charge from home now , I have been very happy with my van it’s saved me a lot on running costs but my daily max I can do is about 60 miles which is fine for my work.
I was a early adopter but I worked out how many miles a day I did a day , for me this is the key .
They tested Merc and VW transit sized vans on Fifth Gear Recharged. One of them was £50k.
Both managed 50 to 60 miles on a charge and both could barely accelerate when the pedal was mashed to the floor.
Not good for White Van Man
One of the vans had real problems getting up a hill when fully loaded up.
Early days I guess but £50k to be an early adopter....
Both managed 50 to 60 miles on a charge and both could barely accelerate when the pedal was mashed to the floor.
Not good for White Van Man
One of the vans had real problems getting up a hill when fully loaded up.
Early days I guess but £50k to be an early adopter....
happy fish said:
Hi I have run a Nissan env 200 for the last six years , I have covered about 55000 miles in it.
Good points virtually no servicing , serviced only once, no road tax cost, no congestion charge , discounted parking in some London zones. Able to claim on your tax return for depreciation and something else I’m not sure of.Very easy to drive , especially slowly usefull in 20 mph zones in London .
Bad points RANGE ignore what the manufacturer claims is the range, it’s BS . Aircon kills range ,heating on kills Range, weather affects the range too cold affects the range , motorways not as much regeneration affects range.
Charging stations not working, not enough charging stations .
I only charge from home now , I have been very happy with my van it’s saved me a lot on running costs but my daily max I can do is about 60 miles which is fine for my work.
I was a early adopter but I worked out how many miles a day I did a day , for me this is the key .
Just on the motorway point - it's not the lack of regen that affects range, it's speed - and subsequent aero drag.Good points virtually no servicing , serviced only once, no road tax cost, no congestion charge , discounted parking in some London zones. Able to claim on your tax return for depreciation and something else I’m not sure of.Very easy to drive , especially slowly usefull in 20 mph zones in London .
Bad points RANGE ignore what the manufacturer claims is the range, it’s BS . Aircon kills range ,heating on kills Range, weather affects the range too cold affects the range , motorways not as much regeneration affects range.
Charging stations not working, not enough charging stations .
I only charge from home now , I have been very happy with my van it’s saved me a lot on running costs but my daily max I can do is about 60 miles which is fine for my work.
I was a early adopter but I worked out how many miles a day I did a day , for me this is the key .
Regen is great, but the optimum for energy efficiency is to accelerate to a set speed and maintain that speed without interruption - so long as that speed is below the point at which aero drag starts to overtake efficiency, approx. 50 mph for most cars, probably less for most vans!
You're dead right that working out miles per day is crucial ahead of any EV purchase imo.
happy fish said:
Hi I have run a Nissan env 200 for the last six years , I have covered about 55000 miles in it.
Good points virtually no servicing , serviced only once, no road tax cost, no congestion charge , discounted parking in some London zones. Able to claim on your tax return for depreciation and something else I’m not sure of.Very easy to drive , especially slowly usefull in 20 mph zones in London .
Bad points RANGE ignore what the manufacturer claims is the range, it’s BS . Aircon kills range ,heating on kills Range, weather affects the range too cold affects the range , motorways not as much regeneration affects range.
Charging stations not working, not enough charging stations .
I only charge from home now , I have been very happy with my van it’s saved me a lot on running costs but my daily max I can do is about 60 miles which is fine for my work.
I was a early adopter but I worked out how many miles a day I did a day , for me this is the key .
I have an eNV200 as well, 50,000 miles in 4 years. Zero servicing, only wiper blades and tyres. 60 miles range is pushing it in winter.Good points virtually no servicing , serviced only once, no road tax cost, no congestion charge , discounted parking in some London zones. Able to claim on your tax return for depreciation and something else I’m not sure of.Very easy to drive , especially slowly usefull in 20 mph zones in London .
Bad points RANGE ignore what the manufacturer claims is the range, it’s BS . Aircon kills range ,heating on kills Range, weather affects the range too cold affects the range , motorways not as much regeneration affects range.
Charging stations not working, not enough charging stations .
I only charge from home now , I have been very happy with my van it’s saved me a lot on running costs but my daily max I can do is about 60 miles which is fine for my work.
I was a early adopter but I worked out how many miles a day I did a day , for me this is the key .
Cold is the issue, heater is very energy hungry - heated seats and heated steering wheel is a must.
If you can live within the range? excellent.
The new e-transit supposedly has a rated range of 196miles, so may be more suitable.
Not available yet though.
https://www.ford.co.uk/vans-and-pickups/e-transit
Starting price is supposed to around £42k, don't know if that gets you the longer range version.
Not available yet though.
https://www.ford.co.uk/vans-and-pickups/e-transit
Starting price is supposed to around £42k, don't know if that gets you the longer range version.
croyde said:
They tested Merc and VW transit sized vans on Fifth Gear Recharged. One of them was £50k.
Both managed 50 to 60 miles on a charge and both could barely accelerate when the pedal was mashed to the floor.
Not good for White Van Man
One of the vans had real problems getting up a hill when fully loaded up.
Early days I guess but £50k to be an early adopter....
I was going to suggest the OP watches that episode on catch-up.Both managed 50 to 60 miles on a charge and both could barely accelerate when the pedal was mashed to the floor.
Not good for White Van Man
One of the vans had real problems getting up a hill when fully loaded up.
Early days I guess but £50k to be an early adopter....
They moaned about the lack of grunt and the vans were too slow but they let slip that they both had the power restriction on to extend the range. It was a bit of a false test if you ask me, they’d perform much better at full power but the range will be poor.
annodomini2 said:
The new e-transit supposedly has a rated range of 196miles, so may be more suitable.
Not available yet though.
https://www.ford.co.uk/vans-and-pickups/e-transit
Starting price is supposed to around £42k, don't know if that gets you the longer range version.
It does look better, I'm just a terrible snob and don't want a tranny on the drive!Not available yet though.
https://www.ford.co.uk/vans-and-pickups/e-transit
Starting price is supposed to around £42k, don't know if that gets you the longer range version.
tamore said:
good to hear leccy vans are fitting some circumstances, but an NV200 with a few years on it if like comparing a gen1 leaf to an e-niro. hoping to hear of what the newer mid rangers are like, especially something like the 75kwh vivaro-e
You're right ENV200 was 24kWh battery with a thirsty heater and less than 24kWh were useable, so 60 miles in winter and now a bit old tech. The e Niro analogy is spot on/New e Vivaro 75kWh is circa 165 miles real world range and has 20% more power than the dinosaur Merc E Sprinter I believe was tested on 5th Gear. Why would they test ancient compliance vans built originally as city centre delivery vans for the German market??
You can get e Expert on flexi hire to try for a few months and there are cheap lease deals on them too, trick with EV, especially in winter is pre heating cabin from wallbox charger.
EVLATECOMER said:
You're right ENV200 was 24kWh battery with a thirsty heater and less than 24kWh were useable, so 60 miles in winter and now a bit old tech. The e Niro analogy is spot on/
New e Vivaro 75kWh is circa 165 miles real world range and has 20% more power than the dinosaur Merc E Sprinter I believe was tested on 5th Gear. Why would they test ancient compliance vans built originally as city centre delivery vans for the German market??
You can get e Expert on flexi hire to try for a few months and there are cheap lease deals on them too, trick with EV, especially in winter is pre heating cabin from wallbox charger.
that might be a plan. it's a brewery delivery van so frequently goes out at weight capacity but a couple of local drops first up can shed 3-400kg within the first 10 miles or so. longest round was about 160 miles, so would really be pushing it, but the driver has to stop for lunch at some point, so could be planned at a location with a decent charger to take on a few miles worth quickly.New e Vivaro 75kWh is circa 165 miles real world range and has 20% more power than the dinosaur Merc E Sprinter I believe was tested on 5th Gear. Why would they test ancient compliance vans built originally as city centre delivery vans for the German market??
You can get e Expert on flexi hire to try for a few months and there are cheap lease deals on them too, trick with EV, especially in winter is pre heating cabin from wallbox charger.
Looking into it in detail (equine ambulatory vet practice at a University) and going to probably go 3 year lease diesel for the on call van as cannot think this will be sorted even in a few years (unpredictable sudden need to drive long distances at high speed often in cold conditions). Other vans probably continuing with short term hire until we see what '23 brings.
Interested in the Vivano E experiences too, there is also the new VW buzz (and presumably the platformed shared ford version due to their tie up) due to be released imminently.
Interested in the Vivano E experiences too, there is also the new VW buzz (and presumably the platformed shared ford version due to their tie up) due to be released imminently.
Edited by mclwanB on Sunday 23 January 13:19
croyde said:
They tested Merc and VW transit sized vans on Fifth Gear Recharged. One of them was £50k.
Both managed 50 to 60 miles on a charge and both could barely accelerate when the pedal was mashed to the floor.
Not good for White Van Man
One of the vans had real problems getting up a hill when fully loaded up.
Early days I guess but £50k to be an early adopter....
Performance is what kills them for me - I'm looking at a new van soon for mostly urban work (bit of motorway M25) and on paper the erectrickery should be ideal but I have a pathological hatred of gutless vehicles.Both managed 50 to 60 miles on a charge and both could barely accelerate when the pedal was mashed to the floor.
Not good for White Van Man
One of the vans had real problems getting up a hill when fully loaded up.
Early days I guess but £50k to be an early adopter....
Seems absurd when the limiting factor is just a bigger motor and is probably an off the shelf part - I guess using it constantly will annialate range and most vans are fleet purchases and expected to be driven by chimps.
MrB. said:
I'm going to be reviewing the new Toyota Proace Electric and the Mercedes eVito at the beginning of February. Citroen eBerlingo after that. Give me a shout if you have any questions about them and I'll try and help.
cold/hot weather, motorway speeds are a given to hit range. effect load has is the key for me. get someone to load a pallet with 800kg of something on it and test drive them then.Maxus has a decent range https://saicmaxus.co.uk/our-range/edeliver-3/
eMovano less so, but a larger van https://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vans/new-movano/electri...
eMovano less so, but a larger van https://www.vauxhall.co.uk/vans/new-movano/electri...
tamore said:
cold/hot weather, motorway speeds are a given to hit range. effect load has is the key for me. get someone to load a pallet with 800kg of something on it and test drive them then.
The WLTP test for vans is done with a 650kg payload rather than empty, I heard the other day. The Stellantis trio (Vivaro, Dispatch and Expert) are probably the best electric vans on the market at the moment although the Maxus e-deliver 3 gets a good write up too.
Anything in the next size up seems to either be short on range or cost an absolute fortune (or both) right now.
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