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Coming to a trail centre, campsite, beach or hill layby near you soon perhaps?
Kia PV5 has 431 miles - with a decent payload. Ideal as day van, small camper, bike bus....?
That sure is ugly
Reviews and pricing make a pretty compelling arguement though I wonder if the wltp is good enough for hauling a family and it's gear on longer trips. Would be a great replacement for our Rifter for 95% of our usage.
That sure is ugly
That's an impressive milage that's for sure. I don't mind the looks, I think it's the colour that's a bit unflattering if anything.
Havent VW paused manufacturing of the Buzz and Multivan due to poor sales. The Kia van should be good.
That would be fantastic...would be very happy with 350 miles out the battery, suspect that range was down to very slow acceleration and very gradual braking.
I don't care about the looks...it is a box with wheels that can carry stuff...would definitely work for me.
They've got me interested. I've had a VW T4 Kombi for the last ten years, it suits my needs but it's old and I feel bad about it's emissions, a PV5 could be it's replacement if used prices are affordable in a couple of years.
I think it's the colour that's a bit unflattering - Yeah but it is strange that the black over blue 2-tone is also unflattering. Remeber that is the colour scheme they chose to be the best for the press reviews
Considering the price difference, it would be very hard to pick a VW over that. And the ID Buzz looks horrendous anyway. Like an electric frog on crack cocaine.
That looks awesome. Might actually be screwed together with care as well.
The article is just a publicity stunt. Actual WLTP range is (even) lower than the Buzz at 258 miles - in reality around 170 miles on a cold winters night.
Having said that, the range on our Buzz doesn't bother me at all when the charge time is so quick - I'm happy to stop for 15 minutes every 2 hours.
Anyway, good to see competition and choice for MPV/mini van fans. If this had been around at the start of the year I would have considered it, though I bloody love my Buzz.
They all look very nice to me with their futuristic looks.
I would choose one that is "cheap" to buy, good mileage, reliable, low maintenance (cost) and "cheap" to fix.
Wait until the Chinese models flood the market and you will have a toy vehicle that you can change battery like a toy, by then I might be able to afford one. LOL
In the meantime, I will continue to drive my 20 year old 1.6 litre Corolla (with ever increasing vehicle tax now reaching £365 p.a if I can recall) as it is a simple car. Smell the carbon emission ...
oh ya ... unless you are the Dutch company Nexperia that screws up the entire chip supply chain for the EU vehicle industry, which in that case your only option is to drive a farm tractor ... LOL.
The small battery would kill it for me, 10% less than a buzz so likely to get frustrating in the real world if you do many long trips. I was hoping it would come with the EV9 battery at buzz prices rather than a shrunk ev3 battery for cheap.
It makes sense for the target market though, for most van/urban minicab can uses it will be plenty and keep the price way down.
I am in no rush go electric but realistically as long as it does Glasgow - Inverness in one go I would be stopping anyway. Another charge would get me most places I would be going further north and back to Inverness before a charge to get home.
I prefer the new Renault Master with 87kWh and 460km wltp. I reckon they'll announce a new Trafic with a good range before long. As the Euopean battery production ramps up and batteries get cheaper electric vans will come into my budget. Till then I'll keep the Zoe and rent a van/pay for delivery.
Nope I will stick to my diesel Merc estate 800 mile range, 65mpg
Probably weighs less than that, and more environmentally friendly
The small battery would kill it for me, 10% less than a buzz so likely to get frustrating in the real world if you do many long trips. I was hoping it would come with the EV9 battery at buzz prices rather than a shrunk ev3 battery for cheap.
It makes sense for the target market though, for most van/urban minicab can uses it will be plenty and keep the price way down.
The linked article is of a record distance being set for an electric van. As in, they're saying it has more range than a Buzz Cargo. Even assuming most people don't get near 431 mile range they achieved, it's still going to be enough unless you really need to drive 400+ miles with no breaks. A distance I often drive in a van with a 640m range and eff not taking breaks on those.
with ever increasing vehicle tax now reaching £365 p.a if I can recall)
That's the same as the commercial vehicle tax so you only suffer as much as the rest of us
more environmentally friendly
Overwhelmingly, the majority of a vehicle's lifecycle impacts occur during its use phase. If you do a very low mileage, away from urban areas, it may be preferable to keep a smelly old diesel.
The article is just a publicity stunt. Actual WLTP range is (even) lower than the Buzz at 258 miles - in reality around 170 miles on a cold winters night.
Having said that, the range on our Buzz doesn't bother me at all when the charge time is so quick - I'm happy to stop for 15 minutes every 2 hours.
Anyway, good to see competition and choice for MPV/mini van fans. If this had been around at the start of the year I would have considered it, though I bloody love my Buzz.
Appeared to be proper hypermiling to get the 452miles out of it - mention of traveling at half the German speed limits. But still, an appealing vehicle as far as electric vans go. Think it looks good. Both this and the Buzz are smaller than I ideally want though given that my current Transit Custom dual cab isn't big enough at times.
Both colours are better than the VW 'flat grey'
Having recently become a Kia convert, moving to an EV3 from a BMW i4 company car, I reckon that one will be a winner.
Combination of their clever tech, good pricing and 7 yr warranty is likely to be a no brainer for many.
Probably weighs less than that, and more environmentally friendly
and also a car in a discussion about a van
I would be interested to see what it’s real world range is when it’s converted and loaded and now is at 3,000kg not empty
Kia make decent cars, but the new eNiro (compared to the original eNiro) had a bigger battery, but worse range. It was a nice car to drive though and the two that I have had (former life) were solid performers, even if -20C did mess up the range a bit (read: a lot).
The biggest issue I have with an EV van is how I use my current 2015 Dispatch. It has insulation, DC to DC charging, leaisure battery and a bed in the load area. If I wanted that in an EV van, I'd need to buy it (hellishly expensive new, hellishly expensive second hand) and modify it (invalidating the warrenty) or lease it (cheaper, but monthly cost) and modify it (invalidating the warrenty).
Either way, buying something that expensive for the one trip a week I do to work and the weekend trip 100km away to jump is just crazy. My cheap-ass Dispatch works just fine.
Appeared to be proper hypermiling to get the 452miles out of it - mention of traveling at half the German speed limits
Yeh, totally. But "if" it can do 250m on a motorway at motorway speeds that would work for me. So long as the recharge time is tolerable.
Appeared to be proper hypermiling to get the 452miles out of it - mention of traveling at half the German speed limits
Yeh, totally. But "if" it can do 250m on a motorway at motorway speeds that would work for me. So long as the recharge time is tolerable.
Yeah, that range at motorway speeds - in a slightly bigger van - would work for me too. I was perhaps a bit naive (or unrealistic) about the impact of motorway use on electric van range before I'd looked more into the e-Transit Custom and Ford's range calculator. Unsure how the Kia compares, but any brick-shaped object will never be great at higher speeds.
Official range: 163-mile WLTP Extra High range (motorway driving) and 204-mile WLTP Overall Range (combined driving cycle). Both tests in controlled conditions with ambient temperature of 23degC and no climate or electrical load.
More realistic estimations using Ford's own calculator 144-mile range (mixed driving, 75% load, 10degC temp). Drops to 103-mile range changing 'mixed' use to 'motorway' only.
It does seem a bit odd that they have downsized the battery a bit from the EV3, I guess it’s as others have said to chase the price point for vans. Suspect when they roll out a fully loaded camper version they may put the bigger one in.
Wait until the Chinese models flood the market and you will have a toy vehicle that you can change battery like a toy, by then I might be able to afford one. LOL
didn't Tesla trial something like this? a hot swappable battery at a forecourt, but it didn't go beyond a trial.
I think this would help shut the 'can't take a 20 min break every few hours' ICE defenders, but it would require the development of a universal standard battery interface, which may compromise range on a lot of vehicles. so maybe battery tech needs to continue to improve.
I do like that Kia van, it'd make a great little camper.
Definitely on my radar once the second hand prices moderate a bit. For me a real world 200 miles would be plenty, (I reckon pretty much everyone would cope with that once their mindset was adjusted to EV driving) and I don't even mind the looks of it.
I'd have a Buzz Cargo, but still too expensive.
Our van has a solar panel on it - how would that work for an electric van such as this?
Not sure it would. Most solar (I have a panel on mine) go through the MPPT part of the DC:DC system to charge a 12v leisure. I'd expect it to be the same for an EV, I don't think a normal 100m panel would be useful for charging the main battery
Our van has a solar panel on it - how would that work for an electric van such as this?
very slowly, generating 14.4v is fine to charge making 240v or higher will require a lot of solar panels
Given that a normal house charger is 240v, 7kW, (similar power to a fairly rubbish electric shower) and charges a car overnight, a solar panel on a van roof would be pissiing on the wind.
According to AI a typical house installation will do between 4 and 8kW under ideal conditions.
It does seem a bit odd that they have downsized the battery a bit from the EV3, I guess it’s as others have said to chase the price point for vans. Suspect when they roll out a fully loaded camper version they may put the bigger one in.
our work vans had this. It was done by Mercedes to keep the payload weight higher whilst staying under the 3,500kg laden weight limit. Smaller battery = more cargo capacity
Impressive range and I kinda like the looks, its got a cyberpunk vibe going on. Won't be trading in my 15 year old Caddy anytime soon though
Spoken to the local dealer and they are expecting a demonstrator first or second week in November. All the reviews suggest it is very pleasant to drive and sort of between Berlingo and Dispatch size.
Looks like the rear seat is still quite a lump in the back once folded. This video has some good views of the seats, boot, storage and internal dimensions:
I'm definitely interested, but would only be buying 2nd hand after a couple of years. From reports, Kia owners reckon they get pretty close real world performance to the quoted WLTP figures on their cars in general. Makes me hopeful this will actually have decent range. I'd be wanting something that could comfortably do 200 miles without a charge.
FWIW, my experience of Kia eNiros was that the manufacturer figures were actually quite close to real world. Obviously it's a little off here in Sweden with winter being so cold (and negatively impacting battery), but summer was close.
Also to note, Kia only ever sold eNiros with the bigger battery in Sweden as the country is big, a lot of people in their target market go north to ski/have cabins and the smaller battery would be a pain. The first one we got was the middle of three models they sold and they all had the same power/battery and were only differntiated on trim level.
That in itself is quite refreshing from a car manufacturer.
My Enyaq claims 225 miles fully charged - last 2 weeks with drop in temperature it shows 200 miles fully charged, I expect that to drop to 180 miles as winter is here.
Personally, I'd be after 300 miles range as a consistent number for a van... actually my next EV will be there...easy enough to charge, just annoying I'm having to do it as frequently as I am...so another 100 miles range would reduce that.
For a van, I'd be using it as my car but likely keep the bike in it, I'm not looking to turn it into a camper, just carry kit easier...I miss the 680 miles range I had in my diesel Partner, so I'd be looking for more range in an ev van than I'm currently getting in my EV car.
Van ticks all my boxes and I'm sold on ev, so now just need to find a suitable vehicle - range, size and price...this might work for most of those.
Things like range drop would give me anxiety if I was to ever purchase an electric van - I want to know that I can get to where I want on a charge without having to stop to recharge.
If I am stopping for a break on a journey it tends to be only for about 5-10mins, the idea of stopping for longer would be a pain.
THat is EV life. You just need to plan a bit more and have alternates. I have done Uppsala to Östersund a couple of times and planning means stopping in Sundsvall at a specific diner for 45 minutes so that the car could get a high wattage hit.
But, again, I have a van that will do 1000km on a tank, so I _can_ do that journey in one hit. That is a long drive though and a break is nice to have anyway.
Things like range drop would give me anxiety if I was to ever purchase an electric van -
I used to think like that. In practice, it has been a total non issue. You soon get used to it and motorway stops take about 5 minutes longer, a handful of times per year.