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By Jonathan Crouch

Fiat's E-Ducato offers a big EV van's impressive pulling power - and much else. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 55

With the E-Ducato, Fiat borrows the Stellantis Group's EV powertrains to take its first step into the market for large segment fully-electric vans. Should you consider one of these? There's a combined cycle driving range of up to 175 miles, unimpeded carriage volume compared to the combustion version and eager performance. All food for thought.

Backgroundword count: 152

The Fiat Ducato van has long been a shared design, but has a history of going its own way with powertrains. At first glance, this fully-electric E-Ducato version seems as if it might be different, borrowing shared Stellantis Group battery tech. But even here, it offers an entry-level 47kWh battery that you can't have with cloned Vauxhall Movano Electric, Citroen e-Relay and Peugeot e-Boxer models. Most potential customers though, are going to want the bigger 79kWh battery that is shared with those rival vans (though it offers longer driving range here). Necessarily so because the drive range of the base 47kWh variant would be difficult for many businesses needing a large EV van to stomach. Fiat's approach also differs to its Stellantis Group cousins in cabin design. And the brand claims its Fiat Professional dealer network is more business-friendly too. All enough to move make the E-Ducato a creditable proposition? Let's see.

Driving Experienceword count: 338

The formula here is familiar from the Stellantis Group large EV vans with which this Fiat shares its powertrain. Except that in this case, the lithium-ion battery beneath the cargo bed can additionally be had in a more affordable, smaller 47kWh 3-module size offering a (worryingly modest) maximum of 88 miles of combined range (which rises to a slightly more acceptable 139 miles in the city). There won't be many takers for that battery option, which is why the Citroen, Peugeot and Vauxhall versions of this design don't offer it. So most E-Ducato folk will be choosing the larger 79kWh 5-module battery pack that those three other Stellantis Group models also use. Here it offers a higher mileage capacity though - up to 175 miles of range on the combined cycle, compared to 154 miles for an e-Relay, an e-Boxer or a Movano Electric. The E-Ducato 79kWh model's EV range figure rises to 230 miles in the city. Whichever of the two batteries you choose in your E-Ducato, it'll be mated to a 122hp electric motor offering 280Nm of torque and predictably eager acceleration. Once you're on the move in this Fiat, you'll be driving in one of three primary driving modes. There's a 'Normal' setting and one for 'Power', which you might select for, say, hilly terrain. Mostly, you'll probably use 'Eco', which muffles accelerator response and turns the climate system off to reduce energy consumption. There is also a fourth mode - 'Turtle' - but you don't actually select it: it kicks in automatically if the battery becomes seriously low on energy, giving you a better chance of reaching the next charging station. That sort of thing shouldn't be too much of an issue if you make the most out of the regenerative braking system, which recovers energy as you slow or off-throttle. And you can increase its effect by using paddleshifters located behind the steering wheel. Ride quality, a traditional Ducato strong point, isn't too much affected by the extra weight of the battery pack.

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