Maxus eDeliver 5 review

Some van brands boast that all their models are now available in all-electric form, but Maxus has offered electric vans for years. Plus, it's the only manufacturer that can extend that to the pick-up truck market. Now it’s slotted another van into its line-up – the Maxus eDeliver 5.

The eDeliver 5 sits in a rather slim gap in the electric van market, between the compact eDeliver 3 and the Ford Transit Custom sized eDeliver 7.  That's not much space to slot into, but it has a specific rival in its sights: the VW ID Buzz Cargo.

That might explain some of the eDeliver 5's design touches, and Chinese vehicle brand Maxus has clearly been inspired by its German rival. The two-tone paint looks cute, and the near-vertical front end, with its black horizontal lozenge and C-shaped LED lights looks modern.

The Maxus eDeliver 5 needs more than funky design if it’s going to be seen as a viable alternative to a well-respected model. After all, the passenger VW ID Buzz is a previous What Car? Car of the Year. Read on to find out whether it's good enough to compete...

There’s just one battery and motor option for the Maxus eDeliver 5, making picking the right model rather easy. A 64kWh battery pack under the floor plugs into a 120kW (161bhp) motor that drives the front wheels. There’s 171lb-ft of torque available, but both figures are some way down on the VW ID Buzz Cargo (201bhp and 228lb-ft of torque).

The eDeliver 5 is, however, significantly lighter, weighing in at as little as 1,870kg, which is 500kg or so less than the Buzz Cargo. The result is performance that belies the outputs listed on a spec sheet.

From a standstill, there’s next to no delay between pressing the accelerator and the van moving off the line, and it does that with alacrity. While we didn’t have a load in the back to take the edge off its performance, it’s quick enough to surprise all but the most enthusiastic drivers.

If you drive like that, you’ll drain the battery quite quickly, but Maxus suggests the eDeliver 5 will go for 208 miles between charges under WLTP testing conditions, or 190 miles if you have the eDeliver 5 High Roof version.

It was pleasingly efficient during test drives, and didn’t take much work to have the predicted range showing well above the 208-mile target. That will change with a full load in the back, but it’s on par with the Buzz Cargo’s 256-mile range from its larger 77kWh battery.

As you'd expect, there’s energy recovery from regenerative braking, with lost energy collected and stored in the battery when slowing. The most aggressive setting slows the van quite brutally, which we presume gathers more energy but is quite tiring on anything outside of urban driving. A simple button press on the steering wheel reduces the effect, making life more comfortable, but none of the modes offer one-pedal driving.

The ride quality is pretty severe, with the suspension jarring the cabin over any crack, pothole or bump in the road. It’s light years away from the more refined ride of the ID Buzz Cargo – or even the likes of the larger Ford E-Transit Custom and the E-Tech version of the Renault Trafic.

“The Maxus eDeliver 5's pedals are marked with Play and Pause icons. It's a touch borrowed from the VW ID Buzz and some hot hatches but it raises a smile.” – Phil Huff, Van Reviewer

Maxus has taken the trend for minimalist interiors and turned it up (or dialled it down?) until there’s almost nothing in the cab. You can forget about having swathes of buttons and switches, as nearly everything in the eDeliver 5 is controlled using the 12.3in infotainment touchscreen.

Even the heating and ventilation controls are hidden behind a digital menu. With simple air conditioning (rather than a climate control system that keeps the cabin locked at a set temperature), you might need to go in and out of that screen quite frequently.

There are some controls on the steering wheel, and they’re physical buttons and rockers rather than the awful touch-sensitive panels on the VW ID Buzz Cargo steering wheel. But if you want to do anything outside of adjust the volume, you’ll have to get friendly with the computers.

You could use the voice-control system and talk to your eDeliver 5, but despite having almost literally no accent at all, my success rate at getting it to do what I wanted was lower than 25%.

Happily, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are available, connecting wirelessly, so you can simply ignore the Maxus system entirely.

The eDeliver 5's compact digital driver's display shows essential information including speed and remaining range. It’s all a bit small and crowded on the screen, making some of it tricky to read, especially when driving.

Maxus could introduce a simple solution: half the screen is taken up by a picture of the van you’re driving that, inexplicably, is dressed up as if it’s a cover star for racing video game. Without that, there would be so much more space to create a pleasant user interface. The minimal display of the VW ID Buzz is a masterpiece of simple, elegant design in comparison.

The driver’s seat is a little thin and hard, but not uncomfortably so. Passengers get a two-seat bench, although the van is relatively narrow so they’ll need to be good friends. They’ll get plenty of knee room, as the eDeliver 5’s dashboard barely encroaches into the cab – there’s no gear lever, as the selector is steering-column mounted, and the handbrake is a digital switch.

Storage is a little sparse, with no glovebox, but an overhead shelf and some nets on the doors hold a few things in place. Two cupholders are hidden in a fold-down panel low down on the dashboard – not an ideal place for a hot coffee.

There’s no sensation of luxury, with hard plastics everywhere, although it’s all quite stylish. It looks and feels like you’ve ordered an ID Buzz online and almost got what you ordered.

“The Maxus eDeliver 5's minimalist cab looks great but I long for real buttons and somewhere convenient to put my phone.” – Phil Huff, Van Reviewer

Despite its compact size, the Maxus eDeliver 5 promises impressive load-lugging capabilities, with Maxus promising 6.6m³ of load volume in our low-roof model.

That’s a long way ahead of the 3.9m³ on offer in the VW ID Buzz Cargo – and the gap gets bigger if you opt for the eDeliver 5 High Roof, which has a 7.6m³ load area. To put that in perspective, that’s more than you’ll get in the back of a larger Ford E-Transit Custom or long-wheelbase Vauxhall Vivaro Electric.

Lengthier loads can be accommodated by the 2,651mm long cargo area, which is almost 10cm longer than the E-Transit Custom’s load box and more than 30cm ahead of the Buzz Cargo.

The same holds true with payload limits. While the E-Transit Custom can carry 1,110kg of cargo – much more than the Buzz Cargo’s paltry 607kg – the eDeliver 5 beats them both with a 1,200kg figure. Even the heavier eDeliver 5 High Roof only gives away 20kg, still leaving it more accommodating than its rivals.

Access to the load area is easy, with a sliding door on each side of the van and twin barn door-style openings at the back. Like most electric vans, they swing to 90 degrees, but unclipping a restraint lets them fold to 180 degrees, making it possible to load pallets with a forklift.

“The Maxus eDeliver 5 provides more space than much larger vans, making the savings even more significant.” – Phil Huff, Van Reviewer

For all of its weaknesses, there’s one compelling argument for the Maxus eDeliver 5: it’s cheap, undercutting the VW ID Buzz Cargo and the Ford E-Transit Custom by thousands of pounds. For that kind of saving, you can probably forgive some of the eDeliver 5's shortcomings.

Equipment levels are strong for the price point, with adaptive cruise control, a 360-degree camera system, parking sensors and wireless smartphone connectivity. There's also an extensive range of safety tech, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), collision warning, lane-keeping assist, automatic high beam and traffic-sign recognition.

The result is a standout performance during comprehensive Euro NCAP safety testing, earning the eDeliver 5 a Platinum rating that places it among the safest commercial vehicles available.

The only consideration is whether to pick the high roof option. If you need another 220mm of height inside the van, the £1,000 upgrade will be money well spent, but it does hurt the van’s official range slightly, reducing it from 208 miles to 190.

Service intervals are set at every 25,000 miles or two years, which edges ahead of Volkswagen’s 20,000-mile limit over the same period. That should ensure downtime from routine servicing is kept to a minimum.

The eDeliver 5 has a five-year warranty, limited to 100,000 miles. That’s the same mileage limit as you’ll get on a VW ID Buzz but Volkswagen won’t extend cover beyond three years without you paying a fee.

“It’s great to see such a strong safety rating with a relatively low price tag. The days of Chinese-built vehicles being sub-standard in this area seem to have passed.” – Phil Huff, Van Reviewer

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