ON TEST: TOYOTA PROACE CITY ELECTRIC
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Practical Proace City Electric shows it has a fun side Who says driving CVs has to be dull? The Toyota Proace City Electric makes every day behind the wheel a joy, says Andrew Walker The Toyota Proace City Electric is a great package for van operators: a small electric van, with a cargo area of up to 3.3 cu. m3 and a useful battery electric range of 161 miles. Like the larger Proace Electric, it is built in conjunction with the Stellantis small electric vans from Citroen, Peugeot and Vauxhall, and gives Toyota another string to its bow in the electric van marketplace. We drove one recently and here’s what we thought. Model range, specification and equipment SWB and LWB panel van versions are offered. The shorter wheelbase models have an 800kg payload, while long-wheelbase models have a 750kg payload, but come with a larger loading area. Both versions feature the same 50kWh battery, which offers a WLTP range of 168 miles. In SWB or LWB versions, the City is offered only in Icon spec. Fear not, however, as Icon 30 | April 2022 | Company Car & Van
offers plenty of standard equipment, including two sliding side doors, a reversing camera, smartphone integration for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, front parking sensors, a reversing camera, DAB, two USB’s, air-con and cruise control. Performance and charging The 50kWh battery uses a 100kW electric motor, putting out the equivalent of 136bhp. This is good enough for a top speed of 80 mph, but it’s the instant torque that’s most impressive, making forward progress smooth as well as silent. Fast charging is included as standard. This means that the City Electric can top up its battery from 0-80 per cent using a 100kW rapid charger, in just 30 minutes. This is quite expensive so most of your charging will take place at home, where using a 7kW charger, like our own Rolec Smart Charger, charging the 50kWh battery from 0-100 per cent will take 7.5 hours. Toyota also offers the option to upgrade from 7kW Type 2 charging capability to 11kW, so a home charge can take as little as 4.5 hours Saving cash on charging Increasing energy prices are likely to be making many potential electric van customers pause before taking the plunge. Perhaps now is not the right time to ditch petrol/diesel?
It’s true, electric vans come with a higher initial purchase price – and the cost of recharging is rising. But it’s not going up as fast as fossil fuel prices, and what we say is that there are ways to ensure that your electric van saves you as much money as possible, so here are a few tips. First, always charge your City Electric at home where prices are cheapest. Second, and just as important, switch your electric supplier and tariff to one that offers cheaper overnight electricity prices, such as Octopus Go. For example, using the EV Energy App, who partner Rolec, you can set your charger to only charge at off-peak times and can even set a price per kWh limit. Rivals So who are the rivals? Well, obviously, Peugeot, Vauxhall and Citroen offer their own versions of the City Electric. Later in 2022 Renault’s new Kangoo E-Tech, Mercedes-Benz eCitan and Nissan’s electric Townstar will arrive and of course, there’s our reigning Small Electric Van of the Year, the Maxus eDeliver 3. All are worth a look but the City Electric has got a touch of something special about it. Read on...
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