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By Jonathan Crouch

The improved Fiat E-Scudo has a unique selling point. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 62

Fiat's E-Scudo calls itself a van for true professionals, this the Italian brand's interpretation of the mid-sized full-electric design shared by other Stellantis Group models. Here though, it's backed by an IVECO service network far better suited to demanding commercial needs. If the current state of commercial vehicle EV technology makes sense for you in this sector, it's quite a convincing proposition.

Backgroundword count: 239

The design of vans may increasingly these days be very much the same but the dealer network and servicing support you get from different brands still differs widely. So you need to think beyond the test drive and spec sheet figures. Do that if you're in search of a 1.0-tonne-payload mid-sized electric van and there's just a chance your enquiries could lead you to this one, the Fiat E-Scudo, here usefully improved. The Scudo nameplate is unlikely to be that familiar. It was reintroduced to the Fiat Professional van range in 2022 after a gap of six years, during which the company's mid-sized models were badged 'Talento'. The Scudo model line's return came as its maker reverted to the shared EMP2 Stellantis Group platform, which means there could also be an all-electric version, this E-Scudo. But it also meant this full-battery LCV had to compete against three near-identical Stellantis Group models with different badges - the Vauxhall Vivaro Electric, the Citroen e-Dispatch and the Peugeot E-Expert, plus another near-identical model, the Toyota Proace Electric. From that list, the E-Scudo, even in this improved form that arrived in Spring 2024, might not initially be your first pick if prices were similar. But unlike its rivals, it comes with the advantage of backing from a dealer network designed for commercials, rather than cars; many of the franchises are also in sister brand IVECO's network of service centres. That could be significant.

Driving Experienceword count: 272

The E-Scudo van now comes with just one battery choice - a 75kWh unit now able to take this LCV up to 230 miles on a charge. If you're wondering what driving a full-electric mid-sized van might be like, well, there's not too much to get your head around. You turn the key in the ignition, wait for the starting beep, then flick the gear toggle into Drive. There's a drive-mode selector that allows drivers to switch between 'Eco', 'Normal' and 'Power' modes. The 'Normal' setting restricts you to 109PS and will feel a bit like driving a lower capacity diesel. 'Eco' mode restricts you further to 81.5PS and reduces the power consumption of the air conditioning and other accessories. If you want the full 136PS of the electric motor, selecting 'Power' mode unlocks it. There's also a gearshift selector 'B' option that ploughs extra regenerated energy back into the battery, offering more resistance while you're slowing down. Top speed is just 84mph. Testers who'd found the sheer size of some other mid-sized LCVs in this segment a little daunting when dealing with narrow country lanes and squeezing through gaps in the traffic were, we found, much more easily able to acclimatise to a Scudo with its car-like driving position. The bonnet's set quite high, but the nose has a squared-off shape that we've found during our testing programme makes this Fiat easy to place in tight urban situations. There's a kerb-to-kerb turning circle of 12.4-metres. And ride quality is a strong point, thanks to load adaptive variable damping shock absorbers, a system which varies the damping with the vehicle's ride height.

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