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Arran from Regnev has purchased himself an electrical Mercedes! No, not a luxurious sedan to swan round in, however a van to cart round his stuff for putting in EV chargers. The eVito Tourer has confirmed itself economical and match for goal, a better option than the vans purchased for the ARENA trials I reported on here. Maybe one of many classes learnt is perhaps — don’t go for the most affordable possibility or await somewhat bit.
If you’re within the specs, you can check them here. Listed here are the fundamentals:
- Engine energy: 204 hp (150 kW)
- Car size: 5.14 m
- Car top: 1.89 m
- Seats (sequence/max. depend): 8/9
- Payload: 652 kg
- Gross car weight: 3.5 t
In a smart transfer, Mercedes-Benz doesn’t quote a spread.
Arran was impressed with the 90 kWh battery and the 300 km vary, even when not in eco mode. The eVito Tourer is designed as a folks mover. Arran and his household spent the primary week driving it round because the household automotive. Then, when he was positive of the car, he ripped out the additional seats and had the van kitted out for work — livery and all. Now he has a van with six cubic metres of house!
Eradicating the seats was fairly a job. “I was surprised at how heavy they were. Naturally that made a difference to the range. I think it added about another 200 km!” When empty, Arran will get about 500 km. The van is now a working car, fitted out with racks and inventory, and he will get about 450 km of vary, which is loads for a traditional day’s run round Queensland’s vacationer capital, the Gold Coast. If “the boys” must go additional for an set up (say, to the Sunshine Coast — 100 km away), there are many Tesla Superchargers to maintain them on the street.
Arran has lengthy pushed electrical automobiles, beginning with a Nissan Leaf. He reminisces: “The Leaf had a 42 kW battery on board, the range was around 260 km most days. The problem I had with the Leaf was, when we stacked it with the pod and ladders on the top of the roof, it reduced the range. I’m estimating it would have been reduced by 80 to 100 km, leaving me not enough to run around Brisbane and back to the coast without a DC fast charge. Don’t get me wrong it’s a great car as a run around, we purchased the Nissan Leaf new from a dealership on the Gold Coast, I owned the Leaf for a year and a half, it was white with the ReGenEV logos and printing.”
Arran’s small enterprise fleet now consists of two Tesla Mannequin 3 sedans, one Mannequin Y, a Mannequin X (primarily used for commerce exhibits), and naturally the Mercedes eVito. He has his eye on an MG Cyberster. I joked that the MG could be his “midlife crisis car!” The Mercedes van is changing the Mannequin Y. “It is better to get all the equipment inside the van, rather than stacked on top of the SUV. The ladders and equipment pod really reduced the efficiency of the vehicle,” He defined.
In 2021, Arran began searching for a van for his enterprise. He wanted important vary and the power to hold inventory and instruments. The closest he discovered was the newly launched MG ZS EV, however the vary was too low. The vans I wrote about within the CleanTechnica article above weren’t obtainable in 2021. So, the Mannequin Y it was. Arran had additionally been utilizing his Mannequin 3s as packhorses, loaded up and with instruments on prime. Not excellent! Especially when going bush!
Australia has had a few good choices arrive in the previous few months. He checked out the VW ID. Buzz Cargo (Arran thinks he’ll purchase one among these only for the nostalgic enjoyable!) and the LDV eDeliver 7 (the vary wasn’t excessive sufficient). However when a Regenev buyer advised him concerning the Mercedes eVito Tourer that he had pushed on holidays in New Zealand, Arran took a looksee. (This demonstrates the facility of phrase of mouth.) The tourer is identical value because the Mercedes tradie van model, however with a greater battery. Maybe Mercedes ought to spend some cash and promote this car.
At AU$80,000, the Mercedes supplied one of the best worth for cash. The electrical model continues to be AU$20,000 dearer than the diesel mannequin, however I’m positive the TCO (Complete Price of Possession) will even that out. Plus. Prospects is perhaps left scratching their heads if an EV charger installer confirmed up in a car powered by diesel.
Arran has pushed the van for over 6,000 km over the last 3 months, so I requested him what the professionals and cons have been. He enthusiastically replied: “The regen is fantastic. The van has heaps of room. The efficiency is unbelievable. The range on the Y would go down as you watched, when fully loaded. The Mercedes seems to manage the energy better. Combining regen with eco mode and not having the equipment pod on the roof gives greater efficiency. If I turn off the air conditioning, the range goes up another 30 km!”
On the draw back, the Mercedes doesn’t have the “smarts” to consider exterior elements like wind velocity and gradient when calculating vary. “The software is not as sophisticated as the Tesla,” he advised me. “Yet,” I added.
Someday, simply as “the boys” have been getting back from a job, the Mercedes bricked itself. Fortunately they have been only some hundred metres from the depot and on a slope. They have been in a position to roll the van down the hill and into the driveway. Arran had to make use of the important thing to restart the car. I requested him if he opened and shut the home windows. Apparently, this has occurred a few occasions — however up to now, not in a harmful state of affairs. Arran is but to debate this concern with Mercedes.
Regen braking needs to be turned on every time you drive. A bit annoying. One other time, the brakes took a few seconds to reply.
In 2025, Australia is seeing extra and higher electrical utes and vans turning into obtainable. I’m wanting ahead to seeing all niches of the electrical car eco system nicely represented on our roads. The long run for tradies is brilliant and electrical.
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