ON TEST: TOYOTA PROACE ELECTRIC
Andrew Walker Toyota launched the Proace Electric van in 2021. It’s based on the Stellantis’ medium electric van that manifests itself as the Vauxhall Vivaro-e, Peugeot e-Expert and Citroen e-Dispatch, and to all intents and purposes, it’s the same as these. That means you get a choice of two battery sizes, a driving range that will get you close to 200 miles between charges, an identical interior, the same carrying capability and identical load space. There are some slight differences. The Proace Electric is only offered in one size, ‘Medium,’ and one spec, ‘Icon.’ Toyota also offers up to a 10-year warranty, whereas the Stellantis vans come with just 3 years. There are actually four Icon models that Toyota offers, all Medium sized: Icon 50kWh, Icon 50kWh with an11kW on board charger, Icon 75kWh battery, or Icon 75kWh with an 11kW on board charger. All qualify for the OLEV £6,000 grant and prices range from £34,630 – £39,463 on the road. Powertrain The Proace Electric uses the same 134hp electric motor that you’ll find not only in the Stellantis electric vans, but in the marque’s electric cars as well. The Proace Electric Icon is offered with a choice of two batteries, either 50kWh or 75kW. Under the WLTP rating, the smaller battery offers a range of 143 miles, while the 75kW version will take you up to 204 miles. The 75kW battery is heavier, therefore the smaller battery versions offer the largest payload, in this case 1,226kg, while the 75kW battery powered models offer a 1,001 kg payload. The Proace Electric will also tow up 1,000kg. Using a standard 7.2kW home charger, the 75kW battery on our test van, the Icon 75kW, takes 7 hours 30 mins to charge from empty. Choose the faster charging 11kW OBC 75kW Icon and plug into a more powerful 11kW wall 16 | October 2021 | Company Car & Van
www.companycarandvan.co.uk
Proace Electric is a range-busting star on the urban circuit box and the time is reduced to 4 hours 45 mins. It’s worth noting that if you utilise the ToyotaApp, you can enable remote cabin pre-conditioning and pre-programme your Proace Electric to charge up at night when some energy suppliers offer a reduced tariff. The Proace Electric is also compatible with very powerful public chargers right up to 100kW, which will give the smaller battery an 80% charge in 30 minutes, or the larger battery an 80% charge in 45 minutes. Exterior We were testing the e-Expert 75 kW Auto Icon Medium Panel Van. From the outside, it looks just like the diesel Proace with just a couple of nods to its electric roots, namely the word electric on the front sides and rear door and of course, the charging port located on the left-hand side front wing. Interior Inside, you are greeted by a car-like set up which is finished in decent quality plastics. The dashboard is dominated by the Pro Touch 7” Colour touchscreen, while the general layout of buttons, switches and steering wheel controls, are all logically located and easy to reach. You’ll need to enter the touchscreen for most functions, but the set-up is very intuitive. There’s a total of 49-litres of storage space around the cabin, including large door bins, two glove boxes on the passenger side and an A4
sized covered compartment on top of the dash, plus dash-top drinks holders. Our test van featured a bulkhead with a hatch, allowing an additional 1160mm of load length to fit into the cargo area and into the front rear left passenger footwell. There was also a double-seat folding front bench with under seat storage for the charging cables, which come in tidy black zip up bags. The Proace Electric features a USB up front, as well as a12v socket. We connected our iPhone via cable to set up Apple CarPlay and utilised this to make and receive hands-free phone calls, listen to podcasts on the iPhone and access Google Maps. On the road All models use an auto gear change with 3 driving settings, Power, Normal and Eco, with each offering slightly different amounts of power. Power is best when you are carrying heavy load, Normal works well for every day use and Eco reduces the power output and the vans heating/cooling capability, to give you an increased battery range, perfect for a fat motorway run. Couple the Eco drive mode with the van’s built-in B regenerative braking and you can add range to your Proace Electric, especially in slow moving traffic or on roads with plenty of traffic lights and roundabouts, where the van slows down and the brake regeneration will kick in. Continued on page 18 www.companycarandvan.co.uk
