THE FRENCH CONNECTION

Toyota Proace Verso

Toyota was undoubtedly – and perhaps surprisingly – slow off the mark with its electric offerings. Having dominated the hybrid market for the past 20 years, the company is now in need of an EV boost in order to keep those Prius and Corolla private hire customers coming back for their next car.

The BZ4X EV is starting to gain some traction in the market, but Toyota has been able to speed up electrification of its light commercial range through a supply deal with Stellantis.

This gives it access to a range of van-based electric people -movers built in France at Stellantis’s Sevel Nord factory.

Toyota calls the vehicle the Proace Verso– and now, for the first time, an electric version has joined the range as part of a ‘renewal of vows’ of the LCV supply contract.

For the first time, Toyota now has a full range of Stellantis-built vans, ranging from the car-derived Proace City to the big Proace Max – which we know here as the Vauxhall Movano, Fiat Ducato, Citroen Relay and Peugeot Boxer.

Likewise, the Proace Verso is mechanically the same as the mainstream Stellantis vans – which means the Proace Verso is the same under the skin as the Vauxhall Vivaro-e, Citroen Space Tourer and Peugeot Traveller. But with Toyota being a highly a trusted brand in the taxi market, it should prove to be a useful addition for many private hire operators looking for a versatile seven-seater.

Toyota’s Verso models are now exclusively battery-electric vehicles –you can still get an IC-engined panel van, but not the seated versions.

Earlier versions of these vans were somewhat limited in terms of range. But the 2024 Proace models feature a revised electric powertrain that delivers an increase in range.

Proace Verso now has a new 134bhp electric motor, and coupled with a 75kWh battery can cover up to 213 miles (WLTP standard) on a full charge, an increase of 12.5 miles on earlier versions. The battery can be recharged in 45 mins using a DC fast-charger. The previously available 50kW battery is now only available on base model panel vans.

A further boost to range has come from the introduction of a regenerative braking system, with the intensity of the regeneration controlled by paddle shifts behind the steering wheel. There are three levels – light, medium and strong. Strong gives you more regen, but at the expense of smoothness. The trick is to use strong when empty, but revert to light with passengers!

Entry point to the Proace Verso line-up is the Icon model, priced at £45,769, and available with either eight or nine seats. Really designed as a crewbus, the basic Icon spec includes air conditioning, heated driver’s seat, dark grey fabric upholstery, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, LED headlights, rear privacy glass, power-folding heated door mirrors and rear parking sensors.

It also uses the new multimedia package featured across the Proace family, including a 10in display, navigation system, voice recognition and smartphone integration for both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Design grade (tested here) costs £49,263. It has eight seats and adds a panoramic roof, 17in alloy wheels, carpeted floor, automatic air conditioning, push-button start and a wireless phone charger.

Design Premium (£53,766) is also an eight-seater with two seats up front and two three-person benches in the rear. This trim level introduces powered sliding side doors with kick-sensor, leather upholstery, heated power adjustable front seats with massage function (with memory setting for the driver’s seat) and floor mats.

The top-line Excel model would be the ideal choice for executive jobs as it has a seven-seat interior with two rotatable captain’s chairs in the second row and a moveable, lounge-style rear table. The rear privacy glass is deep-tinted “limo-style” and the doors are fitted with courtesy lights. At £55,866 it’s not that much of a premium over Design Premium.

A key advantage of the Design Premium and Excel grades – not available for us to test on the initial launch – is the availability of a longer body. This extends the body beyond the back axle (the wheelbase is the same), giving substantially more luggage room. Space is rather limited at around 220 litres in, the standard-bodied Design version, but the longer body boosts this to 640 litres.

On the road, Proace Verso does well to hide its van origins. It’s not quite up to Mercedes standards, but ride is compliant and handles potholes and speed bumps with a minimum of fuss. Proace Verso is agile around town with fast, accurate steering, and its 1.9m tall body means it can access multi-storey car parks easily.

VERDICT

Electric seven-seaters are in demand, for obvious reasons. Toyota is a welcome entrant to the sector, even if the Proace Verso isn’t really a Toyota!

The Stellantis-built van is well up to Toyota standards in terms of build quality, and includes some neat touches such as a rear-view mirror that uses camera images, allowing a clear view of the road behind.

The Proace Verso is a useful competitor to the likes of Ford Tourneo and VW Multivan, with a comfortable interior and a 200-miles-plus range comparable with these key rivals, if not up to the standard of the latest electric cars. Of course, you can buy a broadly similar van from Vauxhall, Peugeot or Citroen.

We’d recommend you buy the longer-bodied version as luggage space is very limited in the standard body.

DATA

Price as tested £49,908 OTR

SPECIFICATION

Powertrain Single electric motor

Transmission SIngle-speed auto, front-wheel drive

Battery pack 75kWh Li-Ion

Power 136hp

Torque 260Nm

Top speed 81mph

0-62mph 13.3sec

Electric range 213 miles (WLTP combined)

Charging time 7hr 30min AC (11kW 10100%)

38min DC (100kW 1080%)

CO2 emissions 0g/km

Length 4,981mm

Width 2,204mm

Height 1,935mm

Wheelbase 3,275mm

Loadspace 220 litres (seats up) 640 litres (long body)

Turning circle 12.4m

Vehicle warranty 10 yr/100,000 miles

Battery warranty 8yr/100,000 miles

Insurance Group n/a

VED Band A