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By Jonathan Crouch

Fiat's improved E-Ducato now offers a bigger battery, a smarter cabin - and much else. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 66

With this improved E-Ducato, Fiat has again borrowed a Stellantis Group EV powertrain to take another significant step into the market for large segment fully-electric vans. Should you consider one of these? There's now a combined cycle driving range of up to 261 miles, plus a now much smarter cabin, unimpeded carriage volume compared to the combustion version and more eager performance. All food for thought.

Backgroundword count: 201

The Fiat Ducato van has long been a shared design, but in combustion form has a history of going its own way with powertrains. That didn't though, apply when the Italian brand launched its first full-EV large segment LCV back in 2020, the E-Ducato. Predictably, given the huge costs of EV tech, it borrowed its core battery powertrain from the Stellantis Group parts shelf. Even here though, Fiat Professional couldn't resist doing someting a little different, including in the E-Ducato portfolio an entry-level 47kWh battery customers couldn't have with equivalent Stellantis Peugeot, Citroen and Vauxhall models - and small wonder because in this form, the E-Ducato could carry hardly anything and go just 88 miles between charges. All of that kind of nonsense has been discarded as part of the Model Year 2024 facelift that's brought us this much improved E-Ducato. Like its clones, the Peugeot E-Boxer, the Citroen e-Relay, the Vauxhall Movano Electric and the Toyota Proace Max Electric, it offers a far bigger 110kWh battery capable of up to 261 miles between charges. Plus in this electric form, the E-Ducato gets the much improved cabin screen tech that its combustion showroom stablemates currently lack. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experienceword count: 248

Unlike its diesel-powered stablemates, the powerplant formula of this E-Ducato has never differed from that offered with its Stellantis Group Peugeot and Citroen large van electric stablemates. Which means that as part of the 2024 Model Year update, the previous quite restrictive 49kWh and 79kWh battery options that this LCV was originally launched with have at last been junked in favour of a much more usable 110kWh battery, paired with a gutsier 270hp electric motor offering up to 410Nm of torque. The resulting package can now take this Fiat 261 miles between charges. There are strange-looking push-button controls for the single-speed gearbox, but the starting procedure's straightforward. Unlike other EV vans, the surge of power you get at the wheel of this one is rather gradual. The performance and range of this improved E-Ducato can be optimised depending on conditions thanks to three driving modes ('Normal', 'Eco' and 'Power'), and features paddles located just behind the steering wheel that activate four levels of regenerative deceleration. The steering's quite a old-fashioned set-up that's quite heavy at low speeds, but lightens up at faster ones. Whatever E-Ducato variant you select, around town, this van can make light work of tricky urban situations; the 'L3H2' variant offers a relatively tight 14.14m turning circle between kerbs. Ride quality, a traditional Ducato strong point, isn't too much affected by the extra weight of the battery pack. An optional 'Worksite Heavy Pack' gives you a 'Traction Plus' system and M+S tyres for extra grip.

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