Ford E-Transit: Priced at £45k, E-Transit is as easy as a fairground dodgem

THE argument for electric vans has never made a lot of sense to me.

Manufacturers try to tell us we can just charge them at the depot overnight — so it doesn’t matter about their limited range or charge time.

PR HANDOUTThe argument for electric vans has never made a lot of sense to me[/caption]

PR HANDOUTBut Ford has timed its E-Transit perfectly, it’s quick, really quick[/caption]

But every mate of mine with a van either takes it home at night or it’s his own. One man, one van.

So what are they going to do?

True to form, Ford has come up with the answer. They will install a special Ford Pro wallbox at home which will do the normal thing of charging an electric car — but it will also work out how much juice is going into the work van, so you get reimbursed accordingly.
Simple but clever.

And there’s more. Ford Pro is actually the name of a new dedicated service for Transit customers covering sales, conversions, financing, servicing, smart charging and software.

A one-stop shop if you like. Whether you are running one van or eleventy.

Ford Pro boss Ted Cannis said: “It’s like going from flip phone to smartphone. Small businesses are buried in paperwork and we can make a lot of that go away with automated billing for charging, mileage reports, servicing reminders, and so on. Let the roofers fix the roof. Let the plumbers do the plumbing.”

Until some numpty forgets to recharge their van overnight? Ford has the answer for that too.

Every E-Transit has a built-in Ford Pro telematics system which can send alerts if battery levels are too low for the next working day.

In other words, grass you up to the boss. Need to top up during the day at a public rapid charger? Lemon squeezy.

Your firm will be billed automatically. Rapid charging to 80 per cent takes 34 minutes. Tea-and-pee break.

It rides nicely

The software can also spot a van defect before it goes wrong — and keep an eye on your whereabouts with real-time tracking.

Handy for fleet managers. Handy for time-critical deliveries. Handy for the missus.

As for E-Transit itself? Ford has timed it perfectly. Priced aggressively from £45k. The equivalent Fiat E-Ducato is nudging £70k. Decent range. The 68kWh battery (the only option) will do 197 miles.

Ford expects a fully-loaded E-Transit, in winter, with the air con on full blast, still to do well north of 100 miles, even after five years and more.

Plus, there are 25 variants. Multiple lengths and roof heights, chassis cab body styles, as well as gross vehicle weights from 3.5 to 4.25 tonnes. All of which can be driven on a car licence.

This next bit is proper handy. E-Transit has 2.3kW sockets in the cab and cargo area to power work tools and lighting.

An hour’s graft with a table saw will eat about three miles of range.

And you can set usage limits to make sure you get home afterwards.
The van will flash its lights and honk its horn when it is time to down tools.

Driving impressions? As easy as a fairground dodgem. Just higher and a lot bigger. Press and go. One gear. And it’s quick. Really quick. And quiet. And it rides nicely thanks to independent rear suspension.

The base 181hp e-motor is more powerful than any diesel Transit. Or you can upgrade to 265hp. Both are rear-wheel drive.

The cabin is mint. There’s no other word for it. That slick 12in touchscreen — lifted from the electric Mustang — runs the latest SYNC 4 multimedia system, which is twice the power of SYNC 3. And it’s standard kit.

Heated seats are standard too. Yep, in a Transit. As well as heated folding mirrors, Quickclear windscreen and all sorts of driver-assistance aids.

‘Best battery van out there’

One option I’d go for is the 360-degree top-down reversing camera.
Niggles? I do have one. Why no van-to-van charging to rescue your mate if he/she has a brain fart and runs out of electrons?

The F150 Lightning has it. That needs sorting for E-Transit in future.

I will also say the diesel Transit still makes most sense for most of you.

It’s £8k cheaper at £37k, goes a lot further, and you can still tap into Ford Pro telematics to make admin easier.

That said, if you are serious about going green, E-Transit is the best battery van out there.

Decent range, low running costs, less maintenance and servicing.

That’s why DPD has just ordered 1,000 of them.

Give it time and they’ll be a cracking used buy for the little guy.
Or get the smaller E-Transit Custom.

PR HANDOUTIt rides nicely thanks to independent rear suspension[/caption]

PR HANDOUTIf you are serious about going green, E-Transit is the best battery van out there[/caption]