Toyota's Proace Electric gets a facelift and a potentially longer EV drive range. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Review

Toyota's Proace Electric is the Japanese brand's version of a shared Stellantis Group mid-sized LCV design, but it now comes with a smarter look and a longer driving range from the 75kWh battery. Charging times are competitive and although there's just a single body shape, load area practicality is generally uncompromised by the full-battery powertrain and there's a class-leading warranty.

Background

It took Toyota until 2021 to launch an electric vehicle in the UK. Surprisingly, it wasn't a car. And even more surprisingly, it wasn't a Toyota-engineered product either. But the Proace Electric mid-sized van is well worthy of your attention, especially in this updated form. Like a conventional diesel Proace, it shares its design with rival Stellantis Group models. What's on offer here is basically the same as you get with the Citroen e-Dispatch, the Peugeot E-Expert, the Vauxhall Vivaro Electric and the Fiat E-Scudo. We say 'basically the same' because there are some key differences here, some good, some not. On the good side is a 10 year Toyota warranty that embarrasses the 3 year packages you get from this Proace Electric model's cousins. Not so good is the single body style option, but you do get a choice of two battery packs. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience

Very few Proace Electric customers will be opting for the 50kWh model because this manages just 142 miles between charges. The 75kWh version you're more likely to want now stretches that 217 miles (12 miles further than before). Both figures are of course much the same as those of comparable Stellantis Group models. As usual with an EV van, you can improve these range stats quite considerably if nearly all your driving is urban-based. If you're switching into this EV van from a previous diesel model, 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 'Sport' modes. There's 136hp and 260Nm of torque on tap - though only in 'Sport'. The vehicle will always start in its 'Normal' setting and with that engaged, you get just 109hp and 210Nm of pulling power. Get bored of that and switch back to 'Sport' and you'll find that 62mph from rest takes 12.1s in the 50kWh version, or 13.3s in the heavier 75kWh model, but either way, top speed is just 80mph. As usual with an EV van, there's also a 'B' option that ploughs extra energy back into the battery, offering more resistance while you're slowing down.

Design and Build

In the unlikely event that you've been a regular user of the previous version of this Proace Electric, you'd certainly recognise this updated model's revised 'family frontal' design. But unless you happened to check out the badgework, at a glance you'd be unlikely to notice that this Proace Electric is any different from its diesel-engined stablemates. Unlike with this LCV's co-developed Stellantis Group cousin models, Toyota isn't offering a choice of body lengths, so if you want a long wheelbase version of this design, you'll have to have it with either a Peugeot, a Citroen, a Vauxhall or a Fiat badge. Toyota only offers EV customers the standard wheelbase shape, which measures in at 4,959mm long. As with those partner Stellantis Group models, there's no high roof option with either powertrain. There's also now a Proace Verso MPV version, which can carry up to nine - only now available as a full-EV.  Inside, it's all pretty identical to the Proace diesel, though in place of the rev counter, you get an energy gauge for the battery. The gear lever meanwhile, gets replaced by a drive selector for switching between the various driving modes. A fuel gauge is provided but of course the purpose here is to show the remaining battery capacity. The water temperature gauge from the diesel Proace is replaced by one showing energy consumption by the climate control system. The key changes to the cabin with this revised model lie with a new digital instrument cluster and the addition of a larger 10-inch multimedia centre touchscreen, which includes built-in navigation. There's a smarter leather-trimmed steering wheel too. Avoid base spec and you also get the brand's 'Smart Cargo' loadspace extension system, which allows long items to be poked through for the cargo area. As usual with a Proace, there's a single driver's seat and a two-person passenger bench. And there's a through-loading facility so that you can poke in longer items from the loading bay behind. The middle part of the seat folds down to create a table.

Market and Model

Proace Electric van pricing isn't much different, so you'll need to budget from around £35,000 (exc VAT) after deduction of the £5,000 Government OZEV Plug-in Van Grant. This LCV is available in a single 'Icon' trim level and a single standard body length. There's also a Platform Cab version. All Proace Electric van models are decently equipped, including cruise control, a speed limiter and a DAB audio system with Bluetooth. Plus there are rear parking sensors, air conditioning, twin sliding side doors and power-folding mirrors. Media connectivity is taken care of by a 10-inch centre touchscreen with 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto' smartphone-mirroring, plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a DAB tuner. You also get auto headlights, rain-sensing wipers, an acoustic windscreen, an electric parking brake and a height-adjustable driver seat. And of course Toyota includes a home charging cable too. Safety kit rather disappointingly, doesn't include autonomous emergency braking, which is fitted to the Stellantis Group versions of this design. But you do get driver and double passenger airbags, a tyre pressure warning system and an eCall automatic emergency calling set-up.

Practicalities and Costs

Carriage capacity is unchanged over an ordinary diesel Proace, at 5.3 m³. The only practical area where you really suffer with the electric model is in terms of maximum payload, which will be around 200kg down on what you'd get from the diesel. It's 1.2-tonnes with the 50kWh version - or 1.0-tonne with the 75kWh version. We gave you the driving range figures in our 'Driving' section - 142 miles for the 50kWh battery model and 217 miles for the 75kWh variant. The cost savings versus diesel model won't of course be as great as they used to be but they should still be substantial. At this vehicle's original launch before the electricity crisis, Toyota reckoned that an operator would save around £100 a month compared to a 2.0-litre diesel Proace, based on covering 40 miles a day. Servicing costs will be lower as well, there's no road tax, Benefit-in-Kind tax is levied at 60% of the normal van rate and the Proace Electric is exempt from the London Congestion Charge. Charging via a 7.4kW wall box will take over 7 hours for the 50kWh battery - it's more than 11 hours for the 75kWh unit. If you can charge via an 11kW wallbox, then pay Toyota the £150 extra it needs for the upgraded on-board charger able to allow you to do that. With the 11kW on-board charger, 100kW DC charging is available, which will replenish the 50kWh battery to 80% in 32 minutes. Or the 75kWh battery in 48 minutes to 80%. Use a domestic plug and obviously things will take yawningly longer - up to 22 hours 40 minutes for the 75kWh battery. The key difference in choosing this Toyota rather than its Stellantis Group cousins is the 'Relax Warranty' you get with a Proace Electric. The base package is 3 years and 60,000 miles, but as long as you keep the vehicle annually serviced at a Toyota franchise, this will be topped up every year - right up to a 10 year / 100,000 mile limit. There's a separate 8 year / 100,000 mile battery warranty. Those dealerships by the way, are now designated as 'Toyota Professional Centres' and can offer dedicated vehicle maintenance areas and highly trained staff. 

Summary

As long as you don't mind the fact that there's just a single body shape available and you get offered the right deal, this improved Proace Electric certainly makes a strong case for itself in comparison to other similarly-engineered versions of this same Stellantis Group design from Fiat, Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroen. Mainly because of Toyota's laudable insistence in carrying forward its potential 10 year warranty, even with a product it hasn't engineered. The problem for the Japanese maker though - and for its Stellantis Group partners - is that the electric part of the mid-sized van segment is rapidly moving on, as evidenced by more sophisticated products like the Ford E-Transit Custom. The Proace Electric is a lot more affordable than one of those though, so it could still be a decent fit for your business and needs to be prominent on your shopping list if you're looking for a full-battery LCV in this sector.