What's the difference?
Long before Tesla EVs, there were electric golf buggies.
From the first half of last century, they began quietly ferrying birdie and eagle enthusiasts around their favourite courses.
For many, these have been their first (and only) experience of electric vehicles (EVs) at work.
Now, the blue-collared Blue Oval mob has this – the all-new E-Transit Custom.
Designed to take on other electric mid-sized vans such as the LDV eDeliver7, Peugeot E-Expert and the Mercedes-Benz Vito Electric, it is the brand’s second – and more affordable – foray into van electrification.
Does the E-Transit Custom score above par? Let’s dive straight in!
The number of Chinese players in Australia’s 4x4 ute market continues to rise, with BYD, GWM and LDV recently joined by JAC Motors (Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Company Ltd) with its T9 offering.
Although unfamiliar to most Aussies, JAC has more than six decades of experience in Chinese automotive design and manufacture, starting in 1964 as a domestic truck maker before diversifying into passenger vehicles, utes and minivans. It now exports to 132 countries.
We recently assessed the new T9 from a tradie’s perspective, to see if it has the credentials needed to become a serious player in the local 4x4 ute market for budget-priced utes.
Wow. This is state-of-the-art EV van engineering – complete with sporty handling and an excellent ride – yet it maintains all the usual Transit attributes.
The Tesla of electric vans? Maybe.
The only thing remains is pricing and how the E-Transit Custom behaves and drives on Australian roads… and we’ll have the answer to those by the end of this year.
But as it stands, Ford's European mid-sized van is keeping the innovative spirit of the original alive.
Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.
The budget-priced JAC T9 Haven is a traditional one-tonne turbo-diesel ute with plenty going for it. Sure, there are things that could be improved like any ute, but those issues are more about refinement than major design flaws. And when you consider it has five-star safety and is backed by a generous warranty, capped-price servicing and a 60-strong Australian dealer network, it represents excellent value for tradies on a sub-$50K budget.