Maxus eDeliver 9 review

Maxus has yet to become a household name in the UK but you're very likely to have seen a Maxus eDeliver 9 on the road – even if you didn't know it.

Why? Well, with its large, angled headlights, big grille and familiar body shape, the eDeliver 9 is, at a glance, quite easy to mistake for that trouper of the van world, the Ford Transit.

The eDeliver 9 is Maxus’s flagship electric van, promising decent value, modern tech and competitive payloads. It offers two battery options, three body sizes, and chassis and crew-cab lay-outs.

As for rivals, the eDeliver 9's key target is a What Car? Van Awards category winner, the Renault Master E-Tech. It's also up against the Ford E-Transit, the Mercedes eSprinter and four Stellantis models, including the Vauxhall Movano Electric.

So does the Maxus eDeliver 9 do an impressive enough job of delivering the goods to compete with the best electric vans? Read on to find out...

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All versions of the Maxus eDeliver 9 come with a 150kW (201bhp) electric motor that generates 243lb-ft of torque, which provides enough acceleration under most circumstances.

Unusually for a van model, Maxus provides acceleration figures – 0-31mph takes six seconds officially and the 0-62mph time is 18 seconds. That feels a long way behind the Renault Master E-Tech and Vauxhall Movano Electric.

The eDeliver 9 feels lively and responsive at lower speeds, making it a natural fit for city streets. Three driving modes unleash more power with each step.

Eco mode is the most conservative, but still enough for urban driving, while Normal is better on the open road. Power model gives you access to all 201bhp, but expect the range to suffer if you make frequent use of it.

As with most electric vehicles, a regenerative braking system recovers energy wasted when slowing down, topping up the battery as you go. The most aggressive setting almost allows for one-pedal driving but won’t bring the van to a stop without you using the brakes. Switching between modes is done with the gear lever, which feels intuitive enough after some use.

You might need to make use of the energy-saving modes quite a lot: the maximum WLTP combined range quoted by Maxus is just 211 miles with the larger 88kWh battery pack and 186 with the 77kWh battery.

For comparison, the Renault Master E-Tech, with a near-identical capacity battery, promises 255 miles of range, while the smaller batteried Ford E-Transit can officially do 196 miles.

The driving experience in the eDeliver 9 remains composed because the low-mounted battery pack helps keep the centre of gravity close to the ground, reducing body roll. However, the steering is on the light side and feels a bit numb. That’s good for manoeuvring through tight gaps and into parking bays but saps confidence as speeds increase.

It leaves the eDeliver 9 lagging behind the E-Transit and Master E-Tech, which feel more assured, especially on fast country roads and motorway journeys. There’s more compliant suspension than you’ll find in the ageing Stellantis models though.

“There’s a negligible performance difference between the Maxus eDeliver 9's two battery options – for most, I think it's worth the marginal extra costs for the bigger battery, especially as it’s faster to charge.” – Phil Huff, Van Reviewer

Maxus has taken a relatively conventional approach to the eDeliver 9’s cab, which is no bad thing. The design is practical and modern, with elements clearly inspired by the Ford E-Transit and a more car-like layout than some of its older rivals.

Piano black detail and chrome highlights lift the interior, even if the materials themselves are rather more hard and robust than plush and luxurious.

A 12.3in infotainment touchscreen takes centre stage on the dashboard, with significant upgrades since the model first arrived on the market in 2021.

Crucially, there’s now DAB radio, as well as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, although it lacks sat-nav. Still, with your smartphone connected, you’ll have access to your regular apps, streaming music and contacts, and your preferred navigation app so it won’t be much of an issue for most.

An advantage of what is clearly a bought-in infotainment screen is that the eDeliver 9 needs physical buttons for most items, from air conditioning to parking sensors and drive modes. That's good news for usability.

The driving position is fine, although quite upright. There’s plenty of seat and steering wheel adjustment to accommodate most drivers, although those with particularly large feet might find that space around the pedals is a little tighter than you might like.

The seat is firm but comfortable, with built-in armrests and supportive cushioning for long drives, but it’s a surprise to find it’s not heated.

Every eDeliver 9 has three front seats, with a two-seat bench on the passenger side. With no floor-mounted gear lever getting in the way and the gear selector kept well out of the way, there’s enough room even for the middle passenger.

There are only two cupholders, though, so somebody will have to hold their coffee. Storage space is a little sparse, especially if you want something valuable covered.

Visibility is generally excellent thanks to the large windscreen and well-placed and sized mirrors, although the rear-view camera is mounted high up, creating a distortion that can make it tricky to judge close distances.

“I found it really easy to get comfortable in the Maxus eDeliver 9 and the view in front is modern and, as far as vans go, quite stylish. It’d be easy to spend hours there between charges.” – Phil Huff, Van Reviewer

The Maxus eDeliver 9 can be ordered in three sizes. There are two lengths – the L2 at 5,546mm long and the L3 that stretches to 5,940mm – and two body heights, H2 and H3. The shorter L2 model is only available with the lower roof height, H2.

The smallest model has 9.7m³ of cargo volume, rising to 12.3m³ by the time you reach the heady heights of the L3H3 model. That leaves it a little behind the Renault Master E-Tech and around 2m³ smaller than a Vauxhall Movano Electric.

Payload limits lag behind rivals too. The maximum payload of 1,040kg of the L2H2 77kWh model loses 100kg or so to the Master E-Tech, although it’s significantly better than the Movano Electric’s 710kg limit.

At the other end of the scale, the L3H3 with a larger 88kWh battery pack can carry just 850kg, assuming you limit gross vehicle weight (GVW) to 3.5 tonnes. Ford, Mercedes, Stellantis, and Renault all offer competing vans over 3.5 tonnes, extending payload limits accordingly, but under current laws, they come with rather more onerous requirements for operators.

The eDeliver 9's load bay has a flat floor, eight tie-down points, and bright LED lighting to make loading and unloading easier in low-light conditions. Access is straightforward, with a wide sliding side door and twin rear doors that open to 236 degrees. If you want to splash, you can option an electric side step that pops up when the single sliding door opens.

As is common with electric vans, towing limits are on the low side. The eDeliver 9 is rated to 1,500kg on most versions, but a gross train weight (GTW) of 4.25 tonnes means you can’t carry a heavy payload and tow a trailer at the same time.

“I found the bright LED lighting in the back of the Maxus eDeliver 9 very welcome, and something so many other vans miss out on.” – Phil Huff, Van Reviewer

Electric vans typically come with a higher upfront cost than their diesel counterparts, and the Maxus eDeliver 9 is no exception. The entry-level eDeliver 9 costs almost twice as much as its diesel equivalent.

However, it’s broadly in line with many of its rivals, undercutting the Vauxhall Movano Electric and other Stellantis models, as well as the Ford E-Transit, by a small margin. The Mercedes eSprinter is much more expensive, with little extra payload but plenty of extra refinement. None can match the Renault Master E-Tech on price: it's thousands cheaper across the range.

As with all of the opposition, the Government’s Plug-in Van Grant can reduce that cost by £5,000, helping to bridge the gap between diesel and electric.

Charging up during the day could cause a bit of downtime, as the eDeliver 9's 88kWh battery has a fairly slow maximum charging rate of 90kW. That means topping up from 10% to 80% will take around 45 minutes, adding around 128 miles of range in that time.

The smaller 77kWh option is slower, limited to a rate of just 78kW — the same 70% top up would take a similar time but provide less usable range. The Ford E-Transit, the Renault Master E-Tech and the Vauxhall Movano Electric are all quicker to charge up.

The eDeliver 9 comes with an impressive array of safety features as standard, including automatic emergency braking (AEB), a lane-departure warning and blind-spot monitoring. There are warnings for speed, lane keeping and driver tiredness.

Safety experts from Euro NCAP awarded the model a Gold award, stating that it only narrowly missed the top Platinum result. Only a tailing off of performance at higher speeds prevented a best-in-class score.

Running costs are where electric vans shine. Maintenance costs are typically lower thanks to fewer moving parts, but that doesn’t always translate into longer service intervals. Maxus would like to see the eDeliver 9 every two years or 18,000 miles, which is good but not class-leading.

It's backed by a five-year warranty, although that’s limited to 60,000 miles. Citroën, Fiat, Peugeot, Renault and Vauxhall all extend their cover to 100,000 miles, but only for three years. Ford is less generous, with a three-year or 60,000-mile limit. Mercedes also sticks with three years but doesn’t put a mileage limit.

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