For the driving set, there can be no better endorsement of a product than it being awarded an accolade by the What? consumer group. Their programs are, unlike other consumer groups, based on series of tests that drivers want to know about, that businesses look to for efficiency and cost-savings and that have no bias to one manufacturer or another.
Not that Renault will change their tack by winning the What?Van Van of the Year Award 2012 – they have a strong vision of where the future lies and are one of the very first companies to put their Euros where their mouths are and invest in production line facilities for the all-electric power driven Kangoo ZE before many other manufacturers have finished road testing their prototypes.
It is perhaps this blind commitment to their own cause, being able to deliver a light commercial van that is a known winner fuelled by diesel in an electric format, that has seen them make this leap before any of their competition. With zero emissions and a limited top speed, owners of this nippy city model will not only see fuel savings and be exempt from charges in the LEZ, but should also, in time, see cheaper van insurance, too.
What has failed to convince the LCV market about going electric in the past is the sacrifice of payload due to pulling power. But What?Van have not only tested the pre-production model, that you think as a sampler for such an institution would be made guaranteed as infallible by Renault, but What?Van have now, in order to include the Kangoo in this year’s award, test-driven a production model, with similar findings.
Although their admiration for this light commercial vehicle is limited, addressing the obvious point about the van’s limited range on one charge, the statement made by Renault holds true that the average van driver does only drive a limited number of miles every day, and they have taken this very much into consideration with the size of battery they have market tested and installed (and retain ownership to – you have to pay a rental fee for the battery, irrespective of the outlay for the rest of the van). Again, if this set driving range is within your scope of business, not only should you be considering the Kangoo ZE as an investment, but you should be using limited mileage to ensure you are getting the respective cheap van insurance from your broker!
The more cities that introduce congestion charges or low emission zones, the greater the rate of appeal of this type of van will grow amongst the commercial sector. I guess for Renault, the question really is: how soon is now?
To compare your existing premium with a cheap van insurance quote for going green, ‘get a quote‘ using our comparison facility.
