Maxus eDeliver 3

Maxus is owned by the Chinese SAIC corporation and is distributed in Europe by the Harris Group in Ireland. While Maxus is still making diesel vans, it is in the electric van sector that it is ahead of the game, with the larger eDeliver 9 now being offered alongside the eDeliver 3.

First announced at the 2019 CV Show, the Maxus eDeliver 3 is the brand’s small electric van. While the Chinese came late to the combustion engine party, they were pretty much the first in with electric powertrains and their expertise makes the Maxus electric vans extremely competitive.

Customers can select either a SWB panel van or LWB version as a chassis cab, paired with the more powerful battery. Talking of which, there are two battery packs to choose from. A 35kWh battery, offering a city range of 141 miles and a combined range of 99 miles and the larger 52.5kWh battery, which increases the city range to 213 miles and the combined to 151 miles.

A rapid 45-minute DC charge with both batteries will top up your battery to 80 per cent of range, while using the most common Type 2 AC charger with the 35kWh battery, will take six hours and for the 52.5kWh battery, this increases to eight hours.

Payload is competitive, with the 35kWh SWB van offering 865kg. The SWB van coupled with the 52.5kWh battery gives you a touch more, at 905kg, while the LWB chassis cab fitted with the larger 52.5kWh battery offers a 1202kg payload, which isn’t too shabby either.

The SWB van measures 4.55m long, with a 4.8m3 capacity. The maximum cargo space height is 1330mm, maximum width is 1665mm and it measures 1220mm between the wheel arches. The cargo length is 2180mm in the SWB van.

The access at the rear comes courtesy of a 60:40 split doors, which are 1.25m high and 1.25m wide. The side door is 710mm wide because of bulkhead intrusion, and 1230mm high.

Standard equipment includes arm rests, air-con, SatNav, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, twin USB’s, Bluetooth connectivity, a driver’s airbag, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors and cruise control.

The van is light thanks to the inclusion of aluminium and high strength steel, which aids both range and payload.

While the exterior of eDeliver 3 bears an uncanny resemblance to the Nissan e-NV200, inside, it’s more modern than the Nissan, with

the dash-located touchscreen the highlight. Overall, the cabin build quality is good, with some decent plastic and finishes, and on the steering wheel, but it’s not as good as the quality you’ll find in the larger Maxus diesel Deliver 9. In comparison, it feels more modern inside than the interiors of the Nissan e-NV200 or Renault Kangoo, which are both beginning to show their age.

Up front there are two front seats, a flat-bottomed steering wheel and a drive mode selector dial, which frees up cabin space. There is plenty of useful storage in the doors and between the front seats, with two drinks holders and an open glove box.

Courtesy of Chadderton Motor Company our local Maxus dealer, we took to the road in the SWB 35kWh version of the eDeliver 3. It’s incredibly easy to drive and even offered up some decent speed when pushed, hitting 60mph in about eight seconds. Top speed is 75 mph, which is more than adequate for the motorway.

Utilising the regeneration and the ECO button, we made our way around Manchester driving approximately 30 miles, but only using 20 miles of range, which was good.

Inside it feels more modern than the interiors of the Nissan e-NV200 or Renault Kangoo... the dash-located touchscreen is a highlight and overall, cabin build quality is good ‘‘

ECO means you’re top speed is limited to around 65mph, but if you switch it off, swifter progress can be made. The regeneration switch can be set to low, medium or high, dependent on what type of driving you are doing.

Generally, motorway would be low, urban medium and city high regeneration.

On the motorway at speed, the van did feel a little front heavy, especially when steering from lane to lane and when you’re in traffic. There’s also some battery noise when you slow down, that takes a bit of getting used to. The van panels are not the stiffest on sale and the rear doors don’t close with as much of a thud as we’d like. These, though, are our only criticisms. Overall, the ride is good, it generally handles well and the cabin is quiet. The on-board tech is easy to use and works well and it’s very well equipped.

If you’re still not sure about electric vans for your business because of range, it’s worth noting that the eDeliver 3 fitted with the larger battery offers one of the best ranges of any similar sized electric van. It’s also competitively priced.

With two new electric vans – don’t forget, if payload really is your thing, there’s a larger eDeliver 9 – the future looks bright for Maxus, as the Chinese-owned company aims high in the European van market.

Perhaps just as importantly, with a growing dealer network there’s now almost certainly a Maxus dealer near you – something to think about when you have to take servicing into account.

If you haven’t tried an electric van yet, the eDeliver 3 proves there’s no excuse not to pop in to a Maxus dealer and try one.