Citroen e-Dispatch 2021 Review
Introduction
There can be no doubt that the PSA Group are cranking up their efforts to electrify their commercial vehicle offerings and the e-Dispatch is a great example of the good work they have undertaken over the last couple of years. Of course, the e-Dispatch is basically the same product as far as driveline is concerned as the Peugeot e-Expert and Vauxhall Vivaro-e. We take a look at the top of the range ‘Driver’ version with the larger 75kWh battery.
Citroen e-Dispatch Trim levels
There are three trim levels starting with the ‘X’ version which has the following:
- Electric and heated door mirrors
- Electric parking brake
- Twin unglazed rear doors opening 180°
- Air-conditioning, DAB radio with Bluetooth®
- Citroen Connect Box with Emergency & Assistance function
- cruise control with a programmable speed-limiter.
Moving further up the range is the ‘Enterprise’ which adds :
- Rear parking sensors
- Thatcham category one alarm,
- Automatic headlights and windscreen wipers,
- 7-inch colour touchscreen with Apple CarPlay™ and Android Auto
- Moduwork® dual passenger bench, with fold-up outer seat, a fold-down writing table in the central seat back and storage under the central seat.
Finally the top of the range ‘Driver’ version:
- Active Safety Brake
- Driver attention alert
- Front parking sensors
- Smart beam headlights
- Lane departure warning system
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Visio Park 180° rear parking camera
- Citroën Connect Nav with voice recognition.
Cargo Space and battery availability
Just like the trim models, there are also three models based around the wheelbases with the ‘XS’ which is 4.6m long and is available with the smaller 50kWh battery only, the ‘M’ is 4.95m long and is available with either a 50kWh or the larger 75kWh battery and finally the largest e-Dispatch which is 5.3m long and 75kWh is the only battery available. As far as loadspace is concerned the three wheelbases cover between 4.6 m3 to 6 m3 .
Payload and Towing – dispelling the myth
Perhaps one of the greatest electric van myths is that they cannot tow, the Citroen e-Dispatch firmly dispels that myth with a gross vehicle weight of 3025kgs and a gross train weight of 4025kgs, effectively offering a 1000kgs towing capacity.
Another myth dispelled is that the load volumes are identical to the diesel powered vans and with payloads up to 1,262 kg, it means electric van drivers don’t need to compromise on key specification requirements such as load volumes or carry capacities. . Width between wheel-arches of 25 m
Citroen e-Dispatch Range and Charging
The 50kWh battery fitted to the XS and M body styles has a range of up to 148 miles on the WLTP cycle whilst the 75kWh on the M and XL body styles has an increased range of up to 211 miles on the WLTP cycle. The warranty period for the battery is eight years or 100,000 miles for up to 70% of battery capacity.
Citroen e-Dispatch Pricing
Pricing for the e-Dispatch starts at £25,053 including the Plug In Grant but excluding VAT, number plates etc. The top of the range ‘Driver’ trim level in the test with the higher 75kWh battery £34,380 again including the Plug In Grant but excluding VAT, number plates etc.
Citroen e-Dispatch On the road
As you approach the e-Dispatch there’s nothing to really distinguish it from the diesel version, other than a small ‘e’ on the bottom left hand corner of the grille so its very understated. The top of the range ‘Driver’ version has a high level of driver comfort as can be seen in the trim levels section and starting up the van is a simple matter of turning the key and waiting for the ‘Ready’ sign on the dash.
The van has three ‘speed mode’ types, Power / Normal / Eco selected by a switch on the central console and they deliver:
- Power– 136hp (100 kW) / 260 Nm
- Normal – 109hp (80 kW) / 210 Nm
- Eco – 82hp (60 kW) / 190 Nm
Also by the side of the power switch is the electronic handbrake and also the transmission switch which houses the button to activate the two levels of regeneration, identified by the letter ‘B’ for some reason!
Out on the road, the e-Dispatch is a pleasure to drive with a great balance of quietness matched to impressive ride handling and speed of responsive. It takes a while to get the right mixture of power modes and regeneration settings, after a little trial its obvious for the best range the ‘Eco’ mode matched to the high level regeneration braking is best. As an example switching between the ‘Power’ mode and ‘Eco’ mode reduced the range by between 10% – 15%, as an example with a full battery the range was 185 miles set at ‘Eco’ and this reduced to 165 miles on ‘Power’ mode.
Charging is pretty simple via either AC or DC using the plug-in connector located just before the passenger door and the coloured coded lights gives a visual aid to the charging level, and when its finished its a quick push of a button at the side of the charging port to release the cable.
Verdict
The Citroen e-Dispatch is a one of the next generation electric vans that can be used just like a diesel without virtually any compromise in performance, payload, loadspace and towing. So, if you want to go electric the Citroen e-Dispatch should be on your shopping list
