Video (preview)

7 DEADLY WINS (some text hidden) --NONE--

By Jonathan Crouch

Chinese maker Farizon wants to shake up the compact-to-medium-sized EV van market with this V7E. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 31

Farizon aims to re-write the rules for what affordable electric compact van should be with this LCV, the V7E. You might be surprised by just how much you might want one.

Backgroundword count: 149

The Far East has been ramping up its presence in the van market this decade. First there was Maxus. Then Kia, Chery and the subject here, Farizon. Here's their entry-level model, the V7E. All these brands aren't playing by the established van segment rules, launching products that blur the boundaries between small, medium and large LCVs. Chinese maker Farizon seems particularly adept at this. Their first product, the SV, was a large electric van for the price of a medium-sized one. The second, this V7E, our subject here, is a medium-sized van for the size of a small one. So far, so disruptive. Kia recently tried the same trick with their first van product, the PV5, which looks good but falls down on payload capacity. The V7E doesn't make that mistake, looks good, comes well equipped and is very tightly priced. Where's the catch? We're going to find out.

Driving Experienceword count: 246

There's no start button: you just have to engage drive and off you go. The V7E is front-driven and is offered with either a 50kWh battery or a 67kWh battery. The smaller powerpack gives you up to 149 miles of range, with the larger pack delivering up to 204 miles. Either way, you get a front-mounted electric motor with 150PS and 230Nm of pulling power. Farizon claims that this van is manoeuvrable in city but the turning circle isn't very tight, quoted at 12-metres. In town, you'll appreciate the light steering, though that might not be quite as welcome beyond the city limits. There's nothing very sophisticated about the suspension, but a live axle with coil springs is what you'd expect in this class. What you might not expect from an electric van in this segment is up to 1.24-tonnes of braked payload. Also unusual in this class are features like adaptive cruise control and rear cross traffic alert, both extremely useful on a van of this kind. In all there are no fewer than 14 driver assistance systems, but some of them are a bit intrusive, so you'll have to get used to switching the more irritating ones off. The door mirrors are rather small and don't have a wide-angle view insert, but they do at least have standard blind spot indicators and there's an excellent 360-degree surround view camera system (also fitted as standard) along with all-round sensors to make inner city parking easier.

To see the full road test text contact us on 0330 0020 227