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Any electric van is perfect for urban delivery duty obviously With this one you advertise your business as not just low carbon but design led too Rival evans are adapted diesels and they don’t look this smart
We voted the Buzz Cargo’s passenger carrying twin as our electric car of the year This is exactly the same underneath bhp at the back axle kWh in the battery What could possibly go wrong? This the people carrier has a beautiful dash and cabin evidently designed by people who loved it The Cargo’s dash is hard boring black plastics Doubtless the excuse is less cost and more robustness But more conventional shapes predominate too The degradation of visual and tactile pleasure seems almost spiteful
Still there’s extra storage on the Cargo’s flat dash top But it doesn’t have a rubber mat so everything slides and clatters about You can have a threeseater or a twoseater with handy cubby boxes between the seats The twoseater is the only way you’ll get a compartment big enough to hold a laptop or clipboard the door bins are too shallow The floor is rubber rather than carpet which makes sense I do wish VW had also thrown away its terrible touchscreen system but it remains to haunt us
Out back the Cargo hauls two pallets a total mass of just over kg You get two sliding side doors optionally electrified and optional attachment rails for shelving and cabinets Another box ticked is a V AC socket for running power tools and so on
To drive it’s stable and sensible and allround independent suspension gives it a palpably more sophisticated ride than any other van I can think of The optional inch wheels have plenty of grip the s make it ride more quietly but the steering is a little fuzzier
Acceleration is a smooth secs beyond that the surge tails away Forget the van driving cliché sat in the outside lane at plus Do that and you’ll massacre efficiency and range Braking is precise too blending the regeneration and friction seamlessly
There’s a bit of whine from the drivetrain some wind noise but overall it’s refreshingly hushed The driving position is comfy too upright of course but not skewed And you don’t have to work a clutch or gearlever so it’s extra relaxing
On a warm day going mostly gently I got miles on exactly per cent of a battery which extrapolates to a mile range More than enough for urban deliveries or getting a plumber’s kit to the job site A design led plumber