A world turned upside down at Stellantis and its Pro One unit for light commercial vehicles: The smallest electric van is also the most modern. At an event to launch the Custom Fit program in Germany, there was an opportunity to drive the electric range, for the first time also the electric small car equipped with a loading area. The four-meter dwarf relies on a reduced, but by no means Spartan package, comes with two sizes of the environmentally friendly and small LFP batteries (Urban Range/Standard Range) between 214 and 322 kilometers (307/453 km WLTP City), charges with 7.4 kW AC (11 kW option) and 100 kW DC for commercial use quickly enough (26/36 min 20-80%), and offers on a small footprint at least 0.7 cubic meters of cargo space.
It is accessible via a large tailgate
despite the raised loading sill, although you feel the small-car genes the most here. After all, you can also access the cargo compartment from the side through the doors, which is separated from the cabin by a mesh partition wall. The cargo sits stably on a specially inset wooden floor, a shelf separates the compartment vertically and is ready for lighter packages. Not too many anyway: 300 kilograms of payload in the 1.75-tonner is not lavish. 550 kilograms of towing capacity should otherwise still be possible for the mini-trailer.
In terms of form, the micro-electric van really comes into its own on the road: The 84-kW synchronous motor cheerfully drives the front wheels and the 120 Nm tug at the tires when the accelerator is fully pressed. No wonder, given a curb weight of only 1.35 and
1.5 tonnes. It accelerates briskly; the electric dwarf handles with fairly precise steering and the mini steering wheel. The single-stage recuperation is fairly firm and often makes conventional braking unnecessary. The body rigidity is significantly higher, while ride and wind noise are at a lower level than in the briefly compared larger siblings Berlingo, Jumpy/Scudo or Jumper/Ducato, which with their softer bodyshells are gradually aging.
Up to 132 km/h (125 km/h Urban Range) it can seamlessly accelerate if necessary and on the highway it sits safely and solidly on the road. The respectable overall height of 1.57 meters here, however, raises consumption, which you can only estimate due to the lack of a consumption display in the onboard computer. Officially, consumption is 16.6 and 17.3 kWh/100 km.
Although the highway is of course not the preferred terrain
of the mini-delivery van, which is designed for urban environments and here plays to its strengths of a small turning circle and a slim silhouette: 1.81 meters including mirrors; there is no van slimmer, apart from the 48-volt micro-mobil Citroën Ami alias Opel E-Rocks.
The interior is pragmatically practical, offers enough storage and, optionally, a slightly brighter atmosphere with white mesh fabric and blue accents, featuring a minimally sized digital display strip below the windshield, a 10-inch infotainment system, and fairly comfortable adult-sized seats.
Thus the micro-delivery van could indeed represent an alternative for grocery and food delivery services. For with a price of 19,490 and 22,800 euros net and low operating costs, the already fairly comprehensively equipped small car—from driver assistance, through electric windows, mirrors and parking brake to air conditioning—could be worthwhile not only ecologically
