2024 LDV eDeliver 7 electric van review: Australian first drive

LDV has been an innovative force in the electric commercial space, even before the arrival of this new eDeliver 7.

Although it’s not without its shortcomings, the eT60 was the first to bring electric power to the ute segment Down Under.

The eDeliver 9 – another first for a van of this size in Australia – is more impressive as a total, cohesive offering and a big step in the right direction. But a six-figure asking price holds it back from making rational sense. 

What about a smaller van, fully electric, but at around half the price? 

The 2024 LDV eDeliver 7 – a fully-electric competitor to the Toyota HiAce – could be just the thing to turn buyers away from internal combustion and towards electric propulsion for a working vehicle.

Unlike the eDeliver 9, this smaller eDeliver 7 was built electric first. A diesel-powered Deliver 7 will be coming, with an arrival pencilled in for the end of 2024.

The electric variant is here first, however. It’s available now, and LDV can produce and deliver as many examples as the market wishes. Let’s sweat the details. 

Because of the nature of electric car deductions and subsidies state by state, pricing of the eDeliver 7 isn’t as straightforward.

However, a good starting point is the quoted $59,990 plus on-road costs for the short-wheelbase variant, for those with an ABN.

All in all, there are four variants of eDeliver 7 to choose from. It starts with a short-wheelbase variant, with a low roof and 77kWh battery. This is the only variant under $60,000 before on-road costs are calculated.

Opting for a long-wheelbase variant – which takes interior storage space from 5.9 to 6.7 cubic metres – represents a $2000 premium.

If you want a larger 88kWh battery, which boosts the claimed driving range from 310km to 362km it will cost an extra $3000, taking the before-on-roads price to $64,990.

And finally, opting for a high roof on the 88kWh long-wheelbase model will knock the claimed range back to 328km and cost an extra $2000 (going up to $66,990), but increases cargo space to 8.7 cubic metres. 

Standard kit includes keyless entry, push-button start, tyre pressure monitoring, a reverse-view camera, heated outboard seats and steering wheel, an 11kW AC charging cable, a 12.3-inch infotainment display, parking sensors front and rear, and automatic wipers and headlights.

There are three choices of colour for the LDV eDeliver 7: Blanc White, Mica Blue and Metal Black.

What else do you get instead? The only other electric van at this size is the Mercedes-Benz eVito, but it costs around $30,000 more as a starting point. Most buyers would be cross-shopping a popular Toyota HiAce ($48,886–$60,196) or kooky Hyundai Staria Load ($46,240–$51,240).

Others will stay in the LDV range, but look at the old-but-cheap choice of the G10 and V80.

LDV’s eDeliver 7 is what I would call a ‘regular-sized’ van. Not small like a Renault Kangoo, but not a big van either. For example, a Toyota HiAce is either 5265mm or 5915mm long, while the Staria Load is 5253mm long.

The eDeliver 7 starts at 4998mm in length, but grows to 5364mm as a long-wheelbase model.

Step inside the eDeliver 7 and you’ll see that there is a lot in common with the larger Deliver 9 van. The dashboard looks similar, with big cupholders on the outside edges and a useful shelf in front of the passenger. There is plenty of storage in the doors, but no overhead storage (even on the high-roof models).

There are two USB-A power outlets, as well as a flip-out 12V plug and ashtray down below the infotainment display.

The seats are comfortable and supportive, with a good range of adjustment available. This isn’t matched by the steering column unfortunately, which only offers tilt adjustment.

Under-seat storage is helpful, as well as being a logical place to store your AC charging cable.

There is room for three up front, but the middle seat can also become a pseudo workbench with twin cupholders.

The hardy foam-backed vinyl material throughout the footwell bodes well for long-term durability, and is a little bit cushy for comfort. General build quality, like the larger Deliver 9 van, seems very good on first look.

The amount of space in the back of the eDeliver 7 varies from 5.9 to 8.7 cubic metres. For reference, the HiAce has from 6.2–9.3 cubic metres.

The eDeliver 7 gets either six or eight sturdy tie-down points in the back, and the same hardy vinyl finish on the floors. There are holes aplenty for mounting and wiring, and the side-hinged rear doors can open to 90 or 180 degrees with a smartly designed catching hinge.

One impressive element of the eDeliver 7 – which is a clear step up over LDV’s older generation of vans – comes through the infotainment display. And if you’re planning on spending bulk hours behind the wheel of the van in your line of work, having a quality, crisp 12.3-inch display would be a great ally.

The operating system seems to be good on first impressions, responding quickly to inputs and firing up the smartphone mirroring side of things. Apple CarPlay is there, and our test of Android Auto yielded no issues.

One negative here we find is that controlling some of the active driver assistance features through the infotainment system could be annoying to do regularly, especially if you’re turning it off and on regularly.

Another is the lack of a digital speed readout in the instrument cluster, which could be a real asset for those looking to avoid minor speeding fines.

At the time of writing, the LDV eDeliver 7 is yet to be crash-tested by our local crash-testing authority ANCAP or Euro NCAP. However, LDV representatives tell us this is something they are working on, and are actively working with crash-test authorities to get a score published.

And when that time comes, we’ll cover it with a news story at Drive.com.au.

Along with clear improvements in the look and feel of this electric-powered van over older-generation LDV vans, safety has also been brought right up to speed. There’s a good range of standard active safety equipment included, and all variants get the same treatment in this regard.

The driver monitoring camera, which is mounted on the A-pillar, doesn’t look for distractions but fatigue (like closed eyes), so it doesn’t ding and dong distractingly every time you look away from the road. Speed sign recognition beeps noisily when it detects you going over the speed limit, but does misread some signs annoyingly. It can be turned off, but that needs to be done through the infotainment display.

However, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assistance and the autonomous emergency braking systems all seem to be well calibrated for local conditions. LDV told us that 13 engineers came over from China before the launch of the eDeliver 7 to work on calibrating some of this equipment, and it shows (mostly) in the end product.

One advantage of an electric van like this is certainly running costs, when compared to a similar diesel-powered offering.

Servicing costs are cheap, totalling $1165 over six years or 90,000km (whichever comes first). And depending on where you are sourcing your power from, electricity will be cheaper (kilometre versus kilometre) than diesel, even if you need to account for approximately $2000 to install a wall charger.

If you’re consuming diesel at a rate of 9.0 litres per 100 kilometres, and you’re paying $2.10 per litre, then you’re going to spend $3780 on fuel in order to cover 20,000km.

Doing the same thing with electricity – paying 25 cents per kilowatt – will cost less than one-third, at around $1000.

So if servicing and fuelling/charging is cheaper, then it makes sense even if you need to invest initially in some additional charging hardware.

But of course, you’ll need to sweat the details on whether having 300km of range between each day is enough for your practical needs, and what the kind of knock-on effects will be if you overstep that limit. Because instead of just fuelling up in about five minutes, you’ll need to return back to base and wait until the next day, or pay three times as much for a fast charge (and wait up to 40 minutes) at a public charger.

Being so new to the market, the LDV eDeliver 7 is yet to be populated on our go-to insurance quote generator. However, this will change in the future.

All examples of the LDV eDeliver 7 can go for more than 300km, with the low-roofed 88kWh example being the pick of the bunch in terms of outright range.

And while we haven’t been able to do an exhaustive test of the overall driving range (as well as recharge times), an indication of 20kWh per 100 kilometres being consumed around town (when unladen, and driving for economy) points towards the possibility of the claimed driving ranges of the manufacturer being accurate.

The driving experience of the eDeliver 7 is unsurprisingly inoffensive, considering how well-sorted the latest-generation large van (the Deliver 9 and eDeliver 9) is first-hand.

It might be a cheap electric van compared to other options in the marketplace, but it doesn’t feel like it.

The usual benefits of anything electric are present here: 150kW gives plenty of poke for a van like this, and 330Nm comes on tap instantly for a smooth and easy takeoff.

Being front-wheel drive, we didn’t have any issues with power delivery to the ground through Giti tyres. In inclement weather and on inclines that might change, however.

There are three modes of regenerative braking available, the strongest of which can feel a little elastic in its application. However, you soon learn how to modulate through the accelerator pedal and can drive with mostly only one pedal in smooth traffic.

But if you’re driving in Sydney, the brakes will get a workout because of this city’s obsession with cutting each other off. In that case, firmer applications of the brakes in the eDeliver 7 feel on point. Although, we didn’t do a full emergency brake test in this short first drive. 

The ride quality of the eDeliver 7 is typical of a van when unladen, firm and slightly crashy at times, with an echoing road noise coming from the large empty cavity behind. Once this electric van is properly by couriers, companies and tradespeople, the driving experience will likely smooth out and quiet down with payload on board. 

We were unable to do any load testing and full driving range testing this time around in the eDeliver 7, but that is something that will be remedied in the future. 

Its steering is a little slow and dull-feeling when compared to a passenger vehicle, but it feels well suited for the application. Not overly eager off-centre means driving is painless, and general decorum through corners (once again, we were unladen) feels good.

The turning circle of the eDeliver 7 isn’t as good as a Toyota HiAce, despite the latter having a longer wheelbase. This would be because of the front-wheel-drive architecture underneath, and limitations in steering lock from associated driveshafts and CV joints.

Despite being a relatively heavy electric van, with at least 2.3 tonnes of kerb weight to contend with, a healthy GVM of 3650kg means there is at least one tonne of payload left over for your fit-out and gear.

And if you want to drag more stuff around, the eDeliver 7 can tow a braked trailer of 1500kg. However, we would be wary of what this kind of additional drag would do to the remaining battery capacity you have.

In most respects, the LDV eDeliver 7 stacks up as a smart choice for business purposes. The asking price and running costs get you a clear advantage over a diesel-powered competitor, which will make itself apparent after a few years of operation.

However, we would need to load the van up more thoroughly, and undertake a more strenuous range and recharge test to see what the van is really capable of before needing to be plugged in.

Buyers will need to also weigh up the cost benefits of this electric van against the claimed driving range. If shorter distances, lots of regenerative braking opportunities and lighter loads are on your dance card, then there is a better chance this electric van will be a fit.

But if you’re plugging longer kilometres each day, with heavier loads and big doses of joule-sucking highway driving, then you’ll need to consider whether electric is up to snuff yet or not.

Unlike other electric vehicle releases in recent years, LDV executives told us there was no issue with the supply forecast and the supply capacity of the factories in China is “phenomenal”.

Demonstrator vehicles are rolling into electric-ready LDV dealers now, and buyers will be able to place an order (with a short turnaround) on the spot if they would like.

And if we were buying, we would look at the long-wheelbase variant with the larger battery and low roof. More load space would be helpful, the longer wheelbase will settle the ride quality, and extra driving range feels valuable as well. It might cost $5000 more, but it feels like money well spent.

The next steps on the purchase journey are to check the LDV website for stock of your preferred eDeliver 7 variant. You can also find LDVs for sale at Drive.com.au/cars-for-sale.

We strongly recommend taking a test drive at a dealership before committing because personal needs and tastes can differ. Find your nearest LDV dealer via this link. We’d also recommend test-driving the Toyota HiAce, because the only other electric van (Mercedes-Benz e-Vito is significantly more expensive). The Ford Transit Custom is coming with electric power as well.

If you want to stay updated with everything that’s happened to this car since our review, you’ll find all the latest news here.