We kick off a new series of tests with vans with the new International Van of the Year 2021. And even in duplicate: the Citroën ë-Jumpy and the Peugeot e-Expert.
The title International Van of the Year (not to be confused with the Van of the Year) has been awarded not only to the duo driven here, but also to the Opel Vivaro-e, but not to the technically completely identical Toyota Proace Electric. The only reason for this is that the Toyota was not available in at least twelve European countries at the time of judging. Sour for the brand, which chose the Netherlands and Norway as the first sales countries for this model.
The proposition of the electric foursome is certainly good, as they are not only allowed to load 1,275 kg, but also carry a one-ton trailer. The question is: how long can they last? No, we had no options to load the ë-Jumpy to the maximum or to hang a cart behind it, if only because it was a pre-series model, which was allowed to come along for a while. First drive empty, and that in the length M, the basic version Control and with the large battery of 75 kWh, which brings the car to € 36,700 excluding VAT. The version with the 50 kWh battery costs € 29,300. The shorter XS is a thousand euros cheaper, the extended XL is 1,250 euros more expensive. There is also a double cabin, from 35 grand. It is nice that air conditioning, cruise control and height adjustment of the driver’s seat are standard in the Control version. Unfortunately, a camera is missing, so that maneuvering backwards with the fully enclosed car becomes a bit too much like a game of chance. Parking sensors are only available from the next trim level. A miss.
Effortless
The electric powertrain (136 hp / 260 Nm) makes the Jumpy especially effortless to perform. Of the three driving modes, the normal position is the best; in ‘eco’ there is too little traction to be able to insert properly, while the front wheels can barely keep up with the violence of ‘power’ when starting from a standstill. To select the driving position, there is a toggle switch where the lever can otherwise be found, while only the P position can be selected at the push of a button. There is also the B button for extra braking on the engine and thus more regeneration. Too bad it is a small touch that is far away; you always have to look. The recovery happens in B smoothly and is just enough, but it is a pity that there are no intermediate positions – it is on or off. The brake pedal is just as much needed as in a diesel, there is no one pedal driving. The silent engine is not even very noticeable; the Jumpy and Expert as diesels are not that noisy.
Big question
Then the key question: can the electric vans drive the distances that the brochure promises? With the 50 kWh battery, 230 km should be in the offing, with the 75 kWh version driven that is 330 km. Practice shows that the values achieved with vans depend even more emphatically on use than with passenger cars. The Citroen zooms through the city with little energy loss, but is quite greedy on the highway. After a start with the promise of 200 km range, we drove a route of 60 kilometers with a tight 100 km / h on the cruise control; on return there was only 70 km of that range left, while the battery, according to the instruments, still had half its energy left. The on-board computer reported an average consumption of 30 kWh / 100 km. That is solid, but given the substantial capacity of 75 kWh, that translates to a range of 250 motorway kilometers. That doesn’t sound bad, but it did require a longer check ride. We made it with a Peugeot e-Expert, which proved that 220 highway kilometers are just possible. Halfway through, it went to some addresses in a city center and we returned with about 500 kg in the cargo area. The quick charger filled the battery at a speed of 72.3 kW, which is fast enough – it can be done up to 100 kW. At the public charging station and wallbox, 0-100 percent charging requires 7:45 hours. The average power consumption was 31.6 kWh / 100 km during the trip in question and 30.7 kWh / 100 km during the test week. All in all, most users will be fine with the electric PSA vans, but the promised 330 kilometers is still a utopia; rather count on two thirds.