► The latest Maxus eDeliver van puts style to the fore
► Could it be a cheeky VW ID.Buzz rival?
► Sits in between two traditional size categories
The Maxus eDeliver 5 is not one of those Chinese vehicles that completely rips off the look of a European equivalent – those days are gone – but the company has certainly paid the odd cheeky reference to the style-focused Volkswagen ID.Buzz.
There are some easy parallels to be drawn between the two electric vans, with both the Maxus and the VW putting visuals high up the list of priorities, almost to the detriment of other assets. Then there is the fact that both vehicles sit in a funny no-man’s-land between the small and medium categories, neither really one nor the other.
Then there is that two-tone finish. It’s something that makes the ID.Buzz catch the eye in a world of white billboard-style commercial vehicles. And something that kinda makes the eDeliver 5 look like a knock-off ID.Buzz. If you squint a bit.
At a glance
Pros: Stylish inside and out, single trim comes packed with tech, all comes at a budget price
Cons: Barely any storage in the cabin, irritating safety systems, oddly sharp steering
What’s new?
For those of you who don’t follow the commercial vehicle market as obsessively as me (you don’t? Why on earth not?!) then a quick potted history. Maxus is the European name for Chinese giant SAIC’s European commercial vehicle brand. The vans are given a light tweak and a fettle for the UK market but are largely unchanged.
The company launched as LDV a few years ago, but then decided to rebrand as one of LDV’s old models, hence Maxus.
In recent years it has been turning out loads of models, with most major segments of the market covered. The small eDeliver 3 and large Deliver and eDeliver 9 were first, with the medium eDeliver 7 arriving at the start of 2024. Then there is the all-electric (and slightly disappointing) T90 EV pickup truck, which will be joined by a diesel version later this year.
Now they’ve filled all the established niches, it’s time to fill in the gaps, hence the arrival of the eDeliver 5.
This is not part of a big joined-up strategy, though. As is the case with the rest of the range, there isn’t much in the way of crossover with the other models. Not one of the four electric vans shares a battery with one another, and all the motors are different too.
The eDeliver 5 comes with a 161hp motor and a 64kWh battery which equates to a 208-mile electric range (although this drops to 190 if you go for the high-roof model).
What are the specs?
A van’s dimensions are a crucial thing – plenty of businesses have racking and shelving units in the back of their vans that they want to transfer from their old vehicle. This is why so many manufacturers take a similar approach to dimensions and shapes in the rear loading bay of a vehicle.
There’s nothing wrong with the likes of the eDeliver 5 and ID.Buzz slotting in between two categories, and it might well open up more customers to those who want a bit more or less space than the standard sizes offer. However, it does go some way to explaining why commercial vehicle makers aren’t generally looking to fill every possible niche like their passenger car equivalents have in recent years.
There are two heights of eDeliver 5, but only one length. It sits at just under 5m long at 4,800mm, sitting on a 3,100mm wheelbase. Inside this translates to a maximum loading length of 2,653mm and load volumes of 6.6m3 and 7.6m3 for the two versions. This is quite a bit larger than your average small van inside. It’s also bigger than the ID.Buzz Cargo inside, as the VW doesn’t use its space as well as your average commercial vehicle.
How does it drive?
Maxus has done very little to the eDeliver 5 before offering it for sale in the UK, so it hasn’t been tailored for a European audience. This means there are a couple of things that are a bit unusual.
Primarily these relate to the safety systems, which feel a little more observational than what we are used to generally. The fatigue monitoring system has a little camera that faces you in the driving seat and spots when you yawn. After a few it will flash up a ‘Mild fatigue warning.’ Do it much more and this gets upgraded to moderate.
I tested this out by opening my mouth wide while driving, and got told to take a break. It’s flummoxed by old-fashioned politeness, though, as it can’t see your yawns when you cover your mouth with your hand. What it might do at that point is decide you are smoking and flash up a warning for that too, which definitely a new one on me.
It also watches if you close your eyes, but I didn’t fancy trying that out on the public roads.
The eDeliver 5 is gratifyingly simple to drive, although the start/stop button is small and hidden away low down and won’t be obvious to anyone jumping in the first time. Then there is just a stalk for changing into Drive or Reverse and off you go. There are three driving modes – Normal, Eco and Sport – that you can cycle through using a button on the wheel, but there isn’t a drastic difference between the three.
The steering is notable for being really quite sharp at all speeds, which is great around town as it allows for a bit more accuracy, but at higher speeds you have to take a little more care so as to not change direction a little faster than you might like.
One other great feature when you are turning comes courtesy of the 360-degree cameras. When you pop your indictor on, the relevant side camera will show you what is in your blind spot, reducing the chances of a vulnerable road user getting missed around town.
What about the interior?
As mentioned above, the rear loading bay is fairly standard, if a slightly different size to some other vehicles. The cabin takes a more style-driven approach, though. There are some smart details on the doors and dashboard, although it stops a long-way short of being the car-like interior that the Buzz offers.
It’s visual rather than premium, too, with some of the materials not exactly high quality in terms of feel. The shiny plastic below the touch screen on the test van already featured a few scratches while the steering wheel is more utility than lifestyle and the flooring is covered in the sort of material that is well suited to being mopped rather than vacuumed.
It’s also disappointingly lacking when it comes to storage. There is a slot above your head, but that is quite literally about it. There are no door pockets, with just an elasticated net to keep a couple of larger items in place.
Then there are no dash-top cubbyholes at all, covered or otherwise. Most oddly, though, there isn’t even a glovebox. If you want to tuck anything out of sight it will have to go under the passenger seat, but that’s where the charging cable goes and there isn’t a dedicated box to hold it or anything else in place.
Before you buy
For all the style-led design, that two-tone finish in the pictures is about all you can get in terms of unusual colours – you can’t personalise your eDeliver 5 with a wide array of hues. There is no catalogue of colours to choose from.
In fact, there is just the one trim and barely any options as pretty much everything such as all that safety kit and the cameras are included. The most notable option is adding internet connectivity to the screen, but the whole infotainment system is a bit fiddly so stick with Apple Carplay or Android Auto.
It’s relatively cheap too, even by Maxus’s standards. It starts at £34,000, which is only just more than the smaller and much more old-fashioned eDeliver 3 and about £10,000 less than the not-much-bigger eDeliver 7.
Verdict
For all the mentions of the ID.Buzz I’ve made here, it is only fair to point out that this is not one of those Chinese knock-off copies that used to attract derision and outrage on the internet. The eDeliver 5 is its own vehicle and is not mimicking the VW – it just happens to share a few characteristics.
This is a much cheaper and simpler van that is in the same size category and is not a plain white box. That said, Maxus made the references, so I ran with it.
Will anyone think you have bought a knock-off Buzz? No, not for a second. Should you buy an eDeliver 5? It occupies a slightly odd niche, so it is certainly bigger than plenty of the common small electric vans and cheaper than the medium ones.
It might be a perfect fit for some, and it is priced well enough to potentially attract a few more, but it falls short in several crucial areas.