TECH'S MIX(some text hidden)

By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review word count: 40

Renault's Kangoo E-Tech sets a fresh standard for what a compact full-electric van should be. In terms of range, power and practicality, it's a big step forward from its Kangoo Z.E. predecessor. As a result, this is the class benchmark.

Background word count: 154

The Renault Kangoo Z.E. was the market's original all-electric van, launched a decade ago to take the segment for compact LCVs into a brand new world. It lent its powertrain to its Renault Nissan Alliance cousin, the Nissan e-NV200, in 2014, but no other van was able to follow Renault's lead throughout the 21st century's second decade. Now, just as the opposition is - finally - catching up, the all-electric Kangoo LCV moves into its second generation, aiming to set standards that'll stay just beyond its competitors' reach. Now it's called the 'Kangoo E-Tech' and offers huge advances in both power and range. And, like the similar petrol and diesel Kangoos, it's also larger and cleverer inside too, both for cargo and passengers. The market's been impressed, awarding this Renault and its cloned Nissan Townstar and Mercedes Citan siblings an International Van of the Year award at launch. But will you be? Let's see.

Driving Experience word count: 212

The original all-electric Kangoo Z.E. van sold quite well for Renault, but buyers needed to overlook a couple of fairly significant issues. First, the rather feeble 143 mile driving range delivered by the relatively small 33kWh battery. And you only got that if you engaged an 'Eco' mode which stifled throttle responses from the modest 44kW motor and made the Kangoo feel gutless. But forget all about that now. With this replacement Kangoo E-Tech, there's a vastly bigger 45kWh battery giving a considerably improved 186 mile range figure. Yes, again you've to engage a rather restrictive 'Eco' mode to get close to achieving that, but because power output from the new electric motor has almost doubled to 90kW (121hp), that's no longer such a problem. There are three selectable levels of regenerative braking, the most dramatic slowing the vehicle so much when you come off throttle that you hardly ever need to use the brake. This second generation model is significantly more refined too. With some other EV vans, all the deletion of a combustion engine does is to emphasise wind and tyre roar, but there's little of that here. And there's a whole range of advanced camera drive assist features available which could never have been fitted to the previous model.