LDV Deliver 9 VS Ford Transit

It’s pleasantly civilised to drive unladen, even on bumpy roads. With rock-hard tyre pressures (front 51psi, rear 71psi) recommended for load-carrying, the unladen ride remained disciplined and relatively smooth, so LDV has done a good job with the suspension tuning.

We were also pleasantly surprised by the low internal noise levels, not only in city and suburban driving but also at highway speeds. We can only assume that the load floor’s thick rubber flooring, which also covers the rear wheel housings, is effective in reducing the higher noise levels typically experienced in vans without cabin bulkheads like this one.

There are clear eye-lines to the door mirrors and the view through the rear doors using the central mirror is also uncluttered. There’s evenly-balanced elbow support for the driver between the fold-down inboard armrest and door moulding. However, we did miss having a left footrest.

With maximum torque available across a broad band between 1600-2400rpm, the engine displays good flexibility in city and suburban driving, even though it lacks the instant punch of rivals like the Transit’s stellar 2.0 litre EcoBoost engine when operating in its peak torque zone. The engine only needs 2000rpm at 100km/h and 2250rpm at 110km/h, but the degree of push required on the accelerator pedal to maintain it feels like it’s punching above its weight a little in either drive mode.

Our only major gripe is the adaptive cruise control. Usually these systems will automatically resume their pre-set speed, after being given clear road ahead following a lane change from behind a slower vehicle. However, our test vehicle required tapping the accelerator each time a lane change was made to resume the set speed. It also required this reset technique after downhill braking, so some refinement here would be welcome.

It offers a comfortable and commanding driving position, thanks to the multi-adjustable seat, two-way steering wheel adjustment and clear eye-lines to the big truck-style door mirrors with lower sections offering wide-angle views.

You don’t need to warm-up the engine to generate cabin heating - it’s instant. And when you get underway it feels more like you're riding in a tram than a van, with its muted electric hum the closest we’ve come to driving a silent commercial vehicle.

With the big battery under the floor it feels firmly planted on the road when unladen, with a low centre of gravity providing good stability when cornering.

The battery weight, combined with E-Transit’s unique four-coil suspension, iron out the bumps and provide a supple ride quality.

Acceleration from standing starts is brisk and smooth in Normal mode, even though you can sense its 2.6-tonne kerb weight's slight reluctance to get moving even with 430Nm of instant torque. At 100km/h, there’s only tyre noise and a little wind-buffeting around the door mirrors.

We drove the first 100km in Normal mode, during which average consumption was 27kWh/100km. We then switched to Eco mode, which resulted in a drop in performance without a corresponding decrease in consumption. Perhaps you need to drive it longer in Eco to harvest the benefits.

We then switched back to Normal mode for our GVM test. We forklifted 1300kg into the cargo bay which with driver equalled a total payload of 1400kg, which was still more than 200kg under its GVM limit. The rear suspension compressed 50mm with ample travel remaining, while the nose rose 35mm in response.

The compressed suspension felt firmer, as you’d expect, but the electric motor hardly noticed this load around town, with acceleration and general response remaining strong if slightly subdued. Energy consumption increased to 28kWh/100km during our load run.

In strictly city driving, which the E-Transit is aimed at, it proved to be a capable workhorse. It can do the job quite economically, too, given that during most of our testing in Normal mode it was operating in the 0-50 per cent ‘power usage’ zone which provides ample performance.