Farizon SV van review (2025)
An all-new Chinese electric van with some big-name backing
PROS
- Excellent ride
- Simple and easy-to-use cabin
- Backed by big-name company
- Clever design features
- Brand has AA partnership and plans for growth
CONS
- Doesn’t make the most of drive-by-wire tech
- Lots of loud bongs
- Cheap feeling cabin
- Not much in the way of external protective cladding
- Still an unknown brand
Summary
The tidal wave of new Chinese electric vans continues. The last few years, and the coming ones no doubt, have seen new names pop up on a regular basis, coming from many different backgrounds. The Farizon SV is another of these, but this is no ordinary start up. Don’t get me wrong, it is a comparatively new company, having been established in 2016, but it was founded by Geely, the automotive giant that is also a parent company to, among others, Volvo, LEVC, Lynk & Co and Lotus.
Unlike those companies, Farizon was set up to create commercial vehicles, starting with trucks and buses – so its branding won’t have appeared on anything else. The SV is the first van to come to the UK, and it is being imported by a company named Jameel Motors. The arrival of Farizon also marks the arrival of Jameel, but the company is not a new one – it has acted as the importer for big-name brands such as Toyota in other markets around the world.
I say all this to give some context to where the Farizon has come from – this is not a little start up that is going to run out of money before it gets its first vehicles on the ground. In fact, there will only be a few months between the announcement of Farizon’s plans to launch and the vans going on sale. It’s available to order as of now and the first vehicles will head out to customers as soon as May 2025, after the CV Show where it will be shown to the public for the first time.
As for the van itself, this newness allows it to take a fresh approach in several areas. Some of these are technological and some design based. The key one is the drive-by-wire technology, which removes several components from the drivetrain which are instead controlled by remotely. It's a bit like the driving-game wheel setup on your console, except with wires rather than operating by Bluetooth. This speeds up steering response, improves stopping ability and means that Farizon can engineer the vehicle for both right- and left-hand-drive markets more easily and at a lower cost.
The feature that is perhaps more immediately obvious is the lack of a B-pillar on the passenger’s side, which allows for greater flexibility and a wider side opening aperture. This might not be as immediately useful on a panel van with a bulkhead in place, but the versions with more flexible cargo dividers or seats instead of storage will see the benefits.
How much will the Farizon SV cost?
I’d normally address costs lower down in the review (and do in more detail later) but pricing is often a key factor with new entrants into a market that has some dominant leaders. Companies often go for the ‘pack it with kit and sell it cheap’ approach, but Farizon has only done one of these, presumably confident that it can back up its pricing.
The Farizon SV starts at a fairly punchy £45,000 and the top model works out at £56,000 (not including VAT in both cases). This puts it right up against the electric version of the UK’s best-selling van, the Ford E-Transit Custom.
There is only the one trim, though, so you get plenty of equipment for that price at least. The only two decisions to make are on body shape – there are three lengths and three heights – and battery size, with 67kWh, 83kWh and 106kWh units offered.
What are the Farizon SV’s rivals?
This is a good question, as the Farizon SV sits squarely in between two categories. The shorter and lower model is closest to a mid-sized Ford E-Transit Custom, while the longest and highest model is into Ford E-Transit territory. These are the models that Farizon named as the ones it had in mind while pitching the SV, but you can add in the likes of the Parkers Award-winning Renault Master E-Tech, too.
On that basis, it could be legitimate to compare the SV to pretty much any electric van on sale, including the best medium vans and the best large vans alike.
Is the Farizon SV any good?
There are some good things about the Farizon SV, and it takes a new and different approach in some interesting areas. Some buyers will find these appealing, while others might be completely unfussed by them.
It does some of the fundamentals very well though – it drives very nicely, it promises a good electric range (we'll need to verify that when we spend more time with the van) and it has a practical loading bay.
It feels like it could have gone a little further to be genuinely innovative, though. It doesn’t make the most of that clever drive-by-wire technology, with Farizon constrained by costs. And the clever lack of B-pillar will only offer a benefit to some designs of van.
There are some other missed opportunities too – the cabin is sorely lacking in storage and the materials and finishing feels cheap and flimsy in some areas that you will interact with regularly.
Its huge-company backing and a partnership with the AA to provide aftersales support will lend a great deal of reassurance to those who are unsure about going for an unknown name, though. It’s not as much of a leap in the dark as a brand-new startup might be, but I wonder if it might have been a little braver to really stand out.
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- Quiet and smooth motor
- Solid steering and strong brakes
- Notable difference between driving modes
The first thing to say about the Farizon SV is that it is remarkably unremarkable in how it drives. Is that damning with faint praise? Unfair to a good van? Missing the point? All of the above?
Let me clarify. Vans are comparatively simple in how they are set up, generally speaking, and a drive-by-wire system is an innovative approach that could make the SV feel somewhat different to anything else out there. The good news in many ways is that it doesn’t. The steering is really solid, reacts well at slow speeds and is happy to self-centre itself when you release it.
It’s perhaps a little sharp to respond to steering inputs when you are travelling at higher speeds, but certainly nothing that is untoward. There could have been a really artificial feel to it – similar systems I have tried in the past have felt really disconnected and more akin to a virtual reality driving game than actually driving a vehicle on the road. This doesn’t, which is great.
The brakes are fantastic, too, with a really sharp response but without offering too much and feeling like an instantaneous on-off switch. A good amount of resistance has been factored in and it gets progressively harder to push it down as you go, which is what you want so you don’t end up braking more than you want.
The other excellent feature is the ride - a purpose-built skateboard-style platform tends to result in a composed and settled approach to bumps on the road, and this has proven to be the case in my experience so far.
Missed opportunity?
On the flip side, though, by-wire technology is expensive and Farizon had to consider this while making a van that it is aiming to sell to people with a keen eye on costs. There are restrictions on what Farizon can offer without pushing the price up too far, despite what it might have wanted and might be possible.
For example, features such as a really light city driving mode would have been a good feature – such things are possible even without drive-by-wire technology, but it would certainly be a great upgrade in the future. The beauty of the tech is that it would be possible to offer such an upgrade though.
The oddity is that there are still some physical elements there, so it isn’t a completely disconnected ‘by-wire’ setup. This means there is still some of the weight and physical elements of a more classical system.
Drive modes
There are three driving modes in the SV, Eco, Normal and Sport, and you toggle between them using a button to the right of the steering wheel. There is a pronounced difference between the three, and it makes sure you know you are switching between them courtesy of a loud (too loud really) beep when you prod the button.
Normal has the least brake regeneration, Eco ups it a bit and really dials back the throttle while Sport gives you a fair amount of engine braking and loads more accelerator response. It really does feel quite sharp for a van, given many really dial it back and only offer a Normal and Eco mode.
There is no mode that really allows for a one-pedal driving experience, though.
- Smart minimalist look
- Large clear screen
- Some plastics and fittings feel cheap
The SV’s cabin looks smart, with some colour accents on the doors and dash that lift the atmosphere a little inside. It’s a fairly minimalist design, with a medium-size screen and a neat little digital display in front of the steering wheel with the basic driving information on it. It’s easy to navigate and pleasingly modern and simple.
The screen isn’t packed with features, with only a couple of simple options on the main menu, including the phone mirroring and the weight monitoring display.
The latter of these is a clever feature that tells you how much the van weighs at any given point and therefore how close you are to maximising your payload. It’s handy, but on the evidence I saw it should very much be taken as a general guide rather than a totally accurate representation of the vehicle’s weight. Unless the passenger that helped me test it by getting in and out of the van several times was fibbing about his weight and really was 40kg rather than 75kg. I somewhat doubt it though.
Storage and finish not the best
The storage in the SV isn’t the best, with only a couple of relatively small spaces dotted around. There is a fairly tight glovebox and a couple of door pockets on each side, with the top one only really big enough for a set of keys or a wallet while the bottom one can take a medium-sized bottle.
There are two other spaces in the lower part of the middle of the dash, round about where the middle passenger’s knees would go. One slides out to give you your two cupholders – so don’t plan carrying many drinks if you are riding three up – and a space for a phone. It’s just a phone-sized slot though – there is no wireless charging here.
The lower one is like a little glovebox. The doors to both this and the cupholder slot above feel quite flimsy, as does the plastic across the dash, meaning that the overall feeling of perceived quality isn’t as high as it is in the mainstream rivals.
Good space for three
When all those containers are closed, though, there is a good amount of room for three adults across the cabin. There isn’t loads of space between the two passengers but a good amount of legroom for the middle seat means that you won’t feel too cramped in.
The other bonus is that the driver can slide their seat back further than is often possible in a van. Usually the bulkhead stops taller drivers from getting truly comfortable, leaving you a little closer to the wheel than you would like.
In the SV, however, there is enough room for longer-limbed drivers to adjust the seat to their desire. I’m 5ft 11in (180cm) and had space to spare. What is disappointing, though, is that the steering wheel only goes up and down and not in and out, so drivers with longer legs and shorter arms might find themselves stretched out a bit. This is a rarity and a shame in an otherwise modern cabin.
- Punchy pricing
- Simple model range
- Dealer network growing
Pricing is a tricky subject for a new entrant like Farizon. Do you go super budget to entice new buyers or have courage in your convictions and price up to rival the established big names?
In this case, Farizon has gone down the latter route, with the SV’s list prices not a million miles away from the existing class leaders. The caveat here is that the SV is yet another van that seems to straddle a couple of classes, with the smaller L1H1 model closer to the likes of the larger Ford E-Transit Custom in terms of size while the largest L3H3 is more akin to the Renault Master.
The pricing should be viewed in this context therefore, and it is pretty close to both, starting at a clean £45,000 (not including VAT) for the L1H1 with the smallest 67kWh battery. The steps up through the range are fairly simple, too, with going up a battery size adding £3,000 where it is offered.
The 83kWh battery is the only one that comes in all sizes, and it is generally a case of adding £1,000 every time you go up a size. The exception is the step from L1H2 to L2H2, which adds £2,000. If that's still confusing, then the full pricing is below:
| 67kWh battery | 83kWh battery | 106kWh battery | |
| L1H1 | £45,000 | £48,000 | - |
| L1H2 | - | £49,000 | - |
| L2H2 | £48,000 | £51,000 | - |
| L2H3 | - | £52,000 | - |
| L3H3 | - | £53,000 | £56,000 |
Farizon SV electric range
There are three battery options to choose from in the Farizon SV range, a 67kWh or a 83kWh lithium ion phosphate unit or a 106kWh nickel manganese cobalt version, the latter only being offered on the L3H3 that is designed for higher mileage use cases.
All can be fast charged, at up to 140kW, which means it can get from 20 to 80% in 36 minutes.
The 67kWh battery is available on the L1H1 and L2H2 with maximum electric ranges of 188 and 177 miles respectively.
The 83kWh is the only one that can be had on all five sizes of the van, with the L1H1 the most efficient with a maximum electric range of 234 miles.
The 106kWh is the one that offers the longest electric range of all, with a maximum of 247 miles - that's also the biggest version you can buy, the L3H3.
Farizon SV servicing
The Farizon dealer network is just as new as the van itself, so isn’t in a position to rival the big-name established brands when it comes to aftersales just yet. To get past this, it has partnered with The AA, which will be providing servicing and repair services.
On the repair front, I'm a little wary about some of the exterior details. There is nothing in the way of protective cladding and the front bumper is a single-piece affair - often vans have three-piece bumpers so you can replace individual sections to keep repair costs down. Farizon assured me that the whole bumper would be as cheap to replace as one of those sections if it came to it, but that does seem a little wasteful. In any case, it heightens the need to make full use of those sensors and cameras to avoid any dents and scrapes.
Farizon SV warranty
The Farizon SV warranty is a decent one, with four years and 120,000-miles of cover.
Farizon SV standard equipment
The Farizon SV only comes in the one trim, as is often the case with a new entrant to the vehicle market. This means you don’t run the risk of missing out on kit or ramping up the price for an unknown vehicle.
- Manual single sliding door (nearside as standard; offside no cost option)
- Lack of B-pillar on the door side
- LED headlights with automatic high beam control
- Front and rear fog lamps
- Heated front windscreen
- Automatic rain sensing wipers
- Three-seat front layout
- Heated and ventilated driver’s and main passenger’s seats
- Heated multi-function steering wheel
- One 12v power outlet and two USB-C power outlets
- 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen
- 360-degree surround view display
- Wireless Apple Carplay
- Automatic air-conditioning
- Fixed rear bulkhead
- PVC cargo bay load liner
- Payload monitoring system
This is not only a brand-new van but a comparatively new manufacturer, and not just to the UK – Farizon was only established in China in 2016. Granted this doesn't make it a complete start up, it does mean that it doesn't have decades of former models to guide us when it comes to reliability.
However, before you run for the hills due to a lack of historical evidence, there is more to it than that. Farizon might be a new brand, but it is part of the Geely group. As mentioned earlier, this behemoth is also the parent company to Volvo, LEVC, Lynk & Co and Lotus.
This doesn’t mean you get the same technology as these companies – the SV’s underneath elements belong to it and it alone. But this is far from being a solo start-up with nothing around it to glean intelligence from.
It’s certainly confident, given that four-year, 120,000-mile warranty.
- Wide range of safety equipment
- All included as standard
There is a wide range of safety kit on the Farizon SV, and they certainly make their presence known with plenty of beeps when you transgress. Highlights are as follows:
- Adaptive and intelligent cruise control
- Traffic sign interpretation
- Forward collision warning
- Autonomous emergency braking
- Lane departure warning system
- Lane keep assist with emergency assistance and lane change assist
- Forward collision warning
- Rear cross traffic alert and rear collision warning
- Speed limit reminder and intelligent speed assist
- Driver monitoring system and advanced driver distraction warning
- Hill hold and hill descent control
- 360-degree Surround View
- Driver and passenger airbags
- Full-size spare wheel
- Driver and primary passenger airbags
- Door open warning
- Automatic door locking
- Overspeed alarm
- Automatic collision power-off and door opening systems
- Electric parking brake with auto hold
- Four-point front and rear parking assistance
- Keyless start
- Immobiliser and alarm
- E-call+ emergency / rescue services alert system
Which FARIZON SV is best for me?
Farizon’s single-trim approach makes this simple – it’s a case of choosing which battery and body suits you best.
The biggest battery might be calibrated for longer journeys, but it doesn’t offer a vast step up in electric range, so if you have a mixed-use requirement then the 83kWh is the most appealing in terms of combining range without sending the price too high.
