ABT eTransporter 6.1

[BognorMotors]

Who’s driven one? I’ve actually been to the factory in ABT Kempten, and seen them being built before ‘mass’ production, a few years back.

Now I won’t hide my lack of love for electric.....and this van proved why!

Starting price of £42.5k after grant
Range of no more than 80 miles on a good day
Limited to 56mph

On the plus side the heated seats were nice, and for me thats about it.....

This electric vehicle is certainly not what the future is about. There was nothing about it that made me think wow, I need this van.


Be interesting to hear if anyone else has been in one?

 

[Andyf]

Not been in one
But not for me going forward
would have to be a big improvement

 

[Deleted Member]

We’ve got some electric E-NV200’s on our fleet, they are great for nipping around town doing deliveries and viewings.

The thought of an electric Transporter does nothing for me, I’d rather they dropped the diesel V6 under the bonnet instead.

 

[Loz]

Personally, I think this van does a disservice to the cause.

 

[benp1]

It's perfect for the guys that do yodel/DPD etc deliveries locally. Say 40 stops and cover no more than 40 miles. But that's quite nice, and you might not have enough range to get to the depot and back. Perfect for a particular niche, but I think it's more about saying you have an electric van available at this stage. This the Transit plug in hybrid looks to be a much better option

 

[coullstar]

Interested in how it drove with the instant torque, this as an exercise seems flawed but once the range etc is improved I can see a market for sure. I hate diesel if Im honest, reason I went for the Tsi, so I would have one over a diesel if it worked. It doesnt where I live but it will be the future or there will be a massive market in retro fits.

 

[Kind of Blue]

The capability and range are pitiful. How long do the batteries last and how much to replace them. I already can imagine a market developing for stolen batteries!

 

[Keeff]

For me if its not got adblue or a ERG valve it the only new t6 I would buy . Very happy with my old t6 euro 5 so to change it would need min 300 mile range for me and do 90 mph so it’s safe to drive on the motorway.

 

[Mysticboer]

The most disappointing thing about this van for me is that, in an age and time where electric vehicles are starting to outperform ICE on more or less every other aspect except range (but even then most - admittedly mostly non-commercial - vehicles now do 200+ on a charge), this represents VW’s best effort...I mean, seriously?

 

[rover220]

I did 1200 miles over 3 days last week with 500 done on one day. There is no way an electric vehicle can do that mileage and still carry 1t aswell.

 

[Jamie2.0]

The few miles ours does this would be ok in the week but anything further afield a bit useless.

I’m waiting to see what the boys over at THQ manage to build...

 

[andys]

I think the company that are building that Transporter for THQ are aiming for massive power rather than range and usability. Expect stunning drag performance but no real world relevance.
Can’t help thinking we’re near to the limit of the compromise between power and weight as far as lithium is concerned, we need the next battery technology before we can move forward in electric vehicles.

 

[dubber36]

For me if its not got adblue or a ERG valve it the only new t6 I would buy . Very happy with my old t6 euro 5 so to change it would need min 300 mile range for me and do 90 mph so it’s safe to drive on the motorway.

Why do you not feel safe not been able to do 90mph on the motorway? Have you never towed and been limited to 60mph? Trundling in lane 1 with the lorries does wonders for fuel consumption and I can't say I've ever once felt in danger.

 

[andys]

Won’t be many years til we’re all limited to 50 on motorways.

 

[DaveD]

Won’t be many years til we’re all limited to 50 on motorways.

I said exactly that in another recent thread, I think about dual class vehicle speed limits, more and more stretches of motorways and dual carriageways are restricted to 50 or 60. Soon having a T6 that qualifies for car limits will be irrelevant.
I notice that ABT T6 EV is limited to 56mph, presumably to extend battery life. That means you'd sit in Lane 1 of a motorway causing a ridiculous amount of congestion as every HGV, which can now do 60 on motorways, crawls past in lane 2.
I assume the person who thought of restricting it to 56 has never driven on a motorway.

 

[Kind of Blue]

I said exactly that in another recent thread, I think about dual class vehicle speed limits, more and more stretches of motorways and dual carriageways are restricted to 50 or 60. Soon having a T6 that qualifies for car limits will be irrelevant.
I notice that ABT T6 EV is limited to 56mph, presumably to extend battery life. That means you'd sit in Lane 1 of a motorway causing a ridiculous amount of congestion as every HGV, which can now do 60 on motorways, crawls past in lane 2.
I assume the person who thought of restricting it to 56 has never driven on a motorway.

Hardly anyone overtakes now on normal roads and so plugs of cars getting ever longer form. It can be very frustrating for many, especially in the holiday seasons It is like a long piece of elastic. Compressed on the twisty bits and stretched along the straits. Few know how to overtake properly and efficiently now and they also seam to become very upset if anyone overtakes them. Some accelerate and some even try to block by driving wide when they seance some one might be going past or try to stop some one pulling in after they have completed the initial pass by accelerating up to the bumper of the car in front. It is criminal behaviour I believe. It is much better to drive later at night or in the early morning. I should imagine after Covid 19 shut down roads and people will resemble a cork in a shaken champaign bottle.

 

[Scruffy]

This van is about ticking boxes and marketing ( and given the spec's, not a very good one) and is only relevant for a tiny, tiny section of the market. It's barely worth the effort discussing this particular vehicle so move on.

 

[Keeff]

Why do you not feel safe not been able to do 90mph on the motorway? Have you never towed and been limited to 60mph? Trundling in lane 1 with the lorries does wonders for fuel consumption and I can't say I've ever once felt in danger.

Sorry if I sound like a boy race I have towed a caravan for 30 years but never with a car restricted to 56 mph. I just don’t think it’s safe when a lorry takes 1/2 a mile to pass another or even has to slow down and pull back in as it runs out of speed . I just like the idea of being able to put my foot down and get out the way. They could make it fun and have a overtake button on the wheel.
my next car will be a hybrid and if they made a good hybrid van for sensible money I would go for it as we have charging points at my places of work. On some days I could drive around and manage with 25 miles between charges so will be looking at the new sodas estates to replace the t6 in the future.

 

[JOG]

I think they should market it as a special edition eg “VW COVID-19 SE”. Such marketing could reflect that neither charging nor range is an issue as you’re going nowhere anyway, being stuck at home.
Multiple market segments could be targeted though a judicious use of colour for the SE badges:
Red - for the boy racers
White - for the snowflake generation
Green - for the tree-huggers
Black - fashion matters
Rainbow - for them/those/Sam Smith

 

[Mkgolfnutters]

Has anybody had a look at this as an option over the ice version