The most enjoyable to drive van on the market has always been the Ford Transit and it looks like the new electric E-Transit is no exception. It still has the same positive steering that instills confidence, but now with an electric motor driving the rear wheels, it’s quick too.
Kyle Conner from Out of Spec Reviews got behind the wheel of the very popular Ford E-Transit starting at the Blue Oval’s headquarters in Cologne, Germany. He drove the mid-length, mid-height and mid-power model with the 184 horsepower motor and it got up to speed really quickly, although it also very quickly reached its top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).
Being based on the latest generation Transit, the E-Transit is also remarkably quiet and pleasant to travel in, even more so in the case of the electric version whose motor is located in the rear of the vehicle; you really can’t hear it up front in the cabin. It’s also easier to drive given that it doesn’t require any shifting of gears - this also means power delivery is instant, allowing van drivers everywhere to cut in in front of you with greater ease...
Kyle notices how settled the E-Transit is at speed - this is thanks to the completely redesigned rear suspension setup for the electric model, as well as the fact that the battery is also very low in the vehicle. It gets its own unique subframe that also houses the motor, although it does hang quite low under the vehicle making it prone to being damaged - there’s no guard to protect it like in the F-150 Lightning whose rear motor also hangs quite low.
Charging the E-Transit's 68 kWh battery pack up from 53 percent it begins with a peak of 120 kW, then stays above 100 kW for a few seconds before levelling off at 75 kW. As state of charge approached 80 percent, it started to drop and began tapering off - overall an impressive result.
