LEVC

LEVC at the CV Show

Making its CV Show debut this year was LEVC, and it is fair to say its stand drew a huge amount of interest among CV buyers keen to hear a little more about this up and coming brand.

Taking pride of place on the stand was the award-winning VN5 van, Company Car & Van’s Medium EV Van of the Year for 2021.

The VN5 is powered by a lithium-ion battery and features an innovative petrol range extender to maintain the battery charge state. The battery powers the motor and drives the vehicle while the rangeextender acts as a back-up generator and is only used to trickle-charge the battery to maintain its current state of charge.

When the 31kWh battery is depleted (after about 58 miles in the VN5), the 1.3-litre range extender engine kicks in and charges it back up again, providing a total range of over 300 miles. It’s a brilliant solution for van users who drive longer distances.

Also on display was the latest VN5 fitted out by the company’s official conversion partner, Sortimo. This tie-up means there is a nationwide set-up of Sortimo fleet conversion sites on-hand to equip new VN5 vans with bespoke storage solutions.

In review: what we thought of the VN5

As you’ll read above, what makes the VN5 different is its eCity technology, and in particular its range extender tech, but it has to offer van customers what they want in terms of payload and versatility too, and the company has tried hard to deliver on this.

With up to 5.5m3 capacity, the VN5’s hold will take two Euro-sized pallets with a gross payload of 830kg. The large side-loading door is large enough for a pallet to be side-loaded, and the 60/40 split door at the rear makes loading and unloading easier.

The cabin features a fully adjustable driver’s seat, an open glove box, twin drinks holders, two decent-sized door pockets and a couple of cubby holes in the dash and central binnacle. The automatic gear stick, handbrake and starter button are located between the front seats, which means that the van is offered with either one or two front seats, with no third seat option, which is a shame.

We had a chance to test the VN5 out courtesy of LEVC HQ at Coventry, and it performed well. It handles motorways with aplomb, cruising happily at 70 mph. It felt a little noisy but that is often the case with unladen vans, and it wasn’t so noisy as to stop me receiving a Bluetooth hands-free phone call on route. Connecting my iPhone to the USB was simple and for a change, the USB inputs are located further back in the centre binnacle between the front seats, so there’s no issue with dangling wires when you’ve plugged in.

I found the driver’s seat comfortable and the seat adjustment excellent, although the head rest was too hard for my liking.

The large side windows and windscreen give good visibility and on the move, the Volvo portrait touchscreen menu let me switch easily between my iPhone and the DAB radio for entertainment.

Out on the country roads, the VN5 offers up decent enough handling. The weight is at the front which helps in this regards. As with the TX, the VN5 offers a class-leading 10.1m turning circle, which allows for easier urban deliveries. The fuel tank isn’t that large, at 36 litres, and neither is the 1.5-litre engine, but since these are designed to charge the generator and not power the engine, they’re more than up to the task. LEVC’s eCity technology, means that the VN5’s official combined fuel economy is 313mpg (WLTP), with CO2 emission of just 21g/km and it comes with a top speed of 80 mph.

After a couple of hours in the VN5 we came away impressed. Price-wise it stacks up well Negatives? We were disappointed that there isn’t a three-seat version on offer, and the 830kg payload and 5.5 m3 load space leaves it trailing the diesel competition for practicality. However, compared to the pure-electric Nissan e-NV200, smallest Maxus eDeliver 3 and Renault Kangoo ZE, it more than keeps up.

CC&V RATING:

Not perfect but strikes us as offering the ideal ‘delivery to door’ solution, thanks to that petrol engine and the clever use of the battery. N N N N