Fiat E-Doblo electric van review (2024)
Fiat E-Doblo electric version offers attractive small van using tried and tested formula
PROS
- Excellent electric motor and battery combo
- Strong payload for an electric van
- Tried and tested formula
- Good to drive
- Generous standard equipment
CONS
- Little to set it apart from fellow Stellantis small vans
- Range could be better
- Longer warranty only optional
- No bigger battery version
- Cabin tight for three adults
Summary
The Fiat E-Doblo might feel and look slightly familiar to you and you wouldn’t be wrong to think that - it's from a family that has produced some of the best electric vans you can buy.
This is the fifth van to appear from the family that has also produced the Citroen Berlingo, Peugeot Partner, Toyota Proace City and Vauxhall Combo – it’s fair to say that it is an established formula. This comes about as a result of Fiat having joined the Stellantis group in 2021 and is good news for Fiat and its customers – the van on which the E-Doblo is based is a really good one.
The changes are minimal versus its relatives, with a revised front end about all you get. The interior is identical bar the modified badges on the steering wheel although there will be slight variations on the levels of equipment.
What versions can you get of the Fiat E-Doblo?
Fiat has launched the E-Doblo with a full range of versions, with two lengths, two trims, and a panel van and five-seater crew cab model. There is no bespoke passenger-carrying version planned for the UK, though.
You get a choice on trims, too, dubbed simply Doblo and Primo. If these don’t offer enough in the way of equipment, or if you have specific needs, then you can add on a selection of packs.
There is just the one electric powertrain on offer, which sees the E-Doblo come with a 136hp motor and a 50kWh battery. This results in an official range of 173 miles and the standard-fit rapid DC charger means you can plug it into a public 100kW socket to get to 80% capacity in half an hour.
Strength of a diesel
One of the core strengths of the small electric Stellantis vans is their ability to take a large payload. The 2024 update and the increase in standard equipment has resulted in the maximum payload taking a slight hit, but it is still impressive with a top figure of 781kg, which is right up there with the best in class.
This is admittedly short of the payload offered by the petrol and diesel versions of the Doblo, but that is the case for all the rivals in this class too.
What are the Fiat E-Doblo's rivals?
In addition to the Fiat's many siblings, which will count as rivals in the eyes of those tasked with selling the Doblo if nothing else, there are a few small electric vans on offer. Chief among those are the Renault Kangoo E-Tech, the second generation of which was launched in 2022. The Nissan Townstar and Mercedes-Benz Citan will both also have electric versions when they go on sale.
Ford and Volkswagen are lagging behind somewhat, though, with no electric versions of either the Transit Connect or Caddy planned. There is, however, an electric Ford E-Transit Courier, although this van is slightly smaller than the rest of the small-van rivals.
Verdict: Is the Fiat E-Doblo any good?
If you’ve paid any attention to any of the other small Stellantis vans over the last few years then it will be of little surprise that the Doblo is a great van in many ways. It’s not perfect – the restricted range means it won’t work for everyone, and those who don’t have access to private charging might find a petrol or a diesel works better for them, but it makes the transition to electric a lot easier than it could be.
It’s good to drive, can carry a lot of weight, has a strong towing ability for an electric van and is largely stress free to live with. There is no specific reason to pick it over its Stellantis siblings, but there is no reason to avoid it in favour of a Citroen, Peugeot or Vauxhall either. The Toyota has the edge due to its superior warranty and the Transit Courier is a smarter and more modern van, albeit slightly smaller.
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- Smooth and quiet to drive
- Excellent urban performance
- Driving modes make drastic difference
The Fiat E-Doblo’s single motor and battery combo is nothing new, but it is an excellent setup that works wonderfully well, particularly around town. The 2024 update doesn't change this in any way, other than to add more range courtesy of the tweaked battery.
Fiat E-Doblo power and performance
The motor in the Fiat E-Doblo is a familiar 100kW (136hp) one, which is teamed up with a 50kWh battery pack that sits underneath the loading bay. The motor and battery are the same as in all the rest of the Stellantis small vans, but the 2024 update brings a slight upgrade to the latter's efficiency, bringing about an improvement in the electric range.
It is marginally the most powerful model in the Doblo range, but it is limited to 82mph so this doesn’t translate to performance in that sense.
In fact, you won’t get access to all of the power the majority of the time. There are three driving settings, which restrict the output in all but ‘Power’ mode – Eco limits you to 82hp and Normal only allows you 110hp. The latter is what the van defaults to whenever you start it up, so you will have to make a conscious decision to get that extra boost of performance.
The majority of the time it isn’t needed – the E-Doblo is capable of nipping away from lights and around town without ever feeling like it is struggling to keep up with urban traffic. Power mode will take you from 0-62mph in just over 11 seconds, but the immediacy of acceleration is more important than this sprint. It is far more useful for a quick overtake or for tackling a steep hill with a heavy payload.
The mode of note is, perhaps confusingly, activated by a separate button, marked ‘B’ and sitting beneath the electronic parking brake. This notably increases the amount of regenerative braking, which helps slow you down simply by lifting your foot off the pedal. It won’t take you to a standstill but it will make crawling in traffic that bit easier.
Comfort and refinement
The E-Doblo is a smooth, quiet and settled vehicle at all speeds up to the national limit, with the majority of wind and road noise being kept to a low level. Inevitably the lack of insulation in the rear half of a commercial vehicle means it is noisier than a passenger car, which has seats and carpets to soak up road and wind noise, but it isn’t far off.
The suspension is excellent, too, although it is a little more settled when there is a payload in the back – when empty it can feel a little jittery, but it deals admirably with the usual pockmarked surfaces of the UK’s winter roads and the various speed bumps around our towns. This firmness means it keeps its body comparatively settled around corners, too.
Fiat E-Doblo real-world driving range
We, and thousands of buyers, have had a fair bit of experience driving these small electric vans now, and they are all happiest in the environment that they are most designed for – around town. There the range is more likely to treat you best and be true to its predictions.
Head onto higher-speed roads and the range is more likely to be scrubbed off at a faster rate, even more so if you have a hefty weight in the back. From experience with this group of vans, they work out about 50% as efficient if you spend all your time driving quickly. They aren’t yet all things to all users, although the 2024 updates and the additional range are a welcome upgrade on this front, bringing more wriggle room in terms of battery ability.
- Smart cockpit
- Cramped for three
- Identical to siblings
Fiat might have been able to let its designers loose on the front end of the Doblo, but the cabin is very familiar to anyone who has been in one of these small vans before. The styling, switchgear, technology and layout is identical to the Berlingo, Combo etc, just with a Fiat badge in the middle of the steering wheel.
What is different about the electric Fiat Doblo’s cabin?
While there is little to set it apart from the other Stellantis vans, there are some differences between the electric version and the standard models. Namely the instrument cluster, which has a digital display and contains the sort of information you would want to know on an electric vehicle. It can also show the navigation directions, putting them closer to your natural eye movements and saving you having to take your attention further from the road to glance at the central screen.
The shape of the interior is much as it is in the standard vans though, which means that there is still a large chunk of the dashboard encroaching into the cabin, even though there is no physical gear level on there. This is no real issue on the two-seater model but it will restrict legroom for the middle seat passenger if you have the bench seat specified.
The compartments around the cabin is otherwise good, with an overhead area, some secure storage in the form of a glovebox and some small cupholders up on the top of the dash.
- Strong running costs
- Small premium for higher trims
- Longer warranty available but at extra cost
Electricity is not guaranteed to be a shortcut to running a van on the cheap, such is the state of prices at the moment, but it should still work out notably cheaper than diesel.
The initial purchase could well be aided by the fact that there is still a government grant for electric vans, although the E-Doblo is still notably more expensive in terms of list price than the non-electric versions – by almost 50% in some cases.
Fiat E-Doblo electric range and charging
The 2024 update brought about a small but useful upgrade to the 50kWh battery, with the official electric range now upped to 213 miles. The usual caveats apply to this, as this will be impacted by the weather and the amount of weight you carry, so if you push the payload to the max then you won't see that. But that's the same for all electric vans.
It will take 7h 30m to charge from 0 to 100% on a domestic 7kW Type 2 charger, while a 100kW DC charger will be able to get you from 0-80% in just 30 minutes.
Fiat E-Doblo servicing
The servicing intervals on the E-Doblo are set at two years or 25,000 miles, although the first service is due after one year or 12,500 miles. This is pretty much the same as the diesel van’s servicing schedule, but petrol buyers (the Doblo is the only version to offer a petrol in the UK right now) will have to get their van seen to twice as often, so the E-Doblo should work out cheaper on this front.
Fiat E-Doblo warranty
The standard warranty on the Fiat E-Doblo runs for just three years and covers you for up to 100,000 miles in that time. The battery, however, is guaranteed to provide 70% of its capacity for eight years or 100,000 miles.
There is an extended warranty available on the E-Doblo, which comes under Fiat’s 555 Peace of Mind deal. This brings you five years of warranty, five years of servicing and five years of roadside assistance. It is an optional extra, though, which means it is not as appealing as Toyota’s comprehensive 10-year warranty offer.
Fiat E-Doblo standard equipment
You get a decent amount of equipment on the Fiat Doblo range generally, which is then replicated on the electric version.
The two trims are Standard and Primo, with highlights listed below.
Standard:
- Smartphone station with two USB connections
- Air conditioning
- Cruise control and speed limiter
- Electric parking brake
- Automatic lights and wipers
- Full-height bulkhead
- Carpeted cabin floor
- Twin sliding doors (L2 model only)
- Single passenger seat
- Rear parking sensors
- Auto lights
Primo:
- Eight-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, DAB, Bluetooth and satellite navigation
- Steering-wheel mounted controls
- Height adjustable driver’s seat
- Rear parking sensors
- Reversing camera in rear-view mirror
- Digital rear-view mirror and side-view camera
- Passenger bench seat with writing table
- Magic cargo load-through hatch
- Auto lights
- Body-coloured rear bumper and door handles
Fiat is also bundling up a selection of options into packs, to make choosing them easier. The packs are as follows:
Drive Assist Pack
- Highway assist
- Adaptive cruise with stop and go
- Lane positioning assist
Worksite Kit Pack
- Raised ground clearance
- Engine protection
- Mud and snow tyres
- Grip control
- Spare wheel
Cargo Pack
- Four stowage hooks
- LED lighting in loading bay
- 12V and 230V sockets in cargo area
Winter Pack
- Heated leather steering wheel
- Heatpump
- Automatic air conditioning system
Several of the packs aren’t available with Primo trim, and there is some doubling up of equipment so many will not seem necessary.
The Fiat Doblo is part of a huge group of small vans, which means that any recall problems should have been ironed out by the time it arrives in the UK in 2023. There have been a few recalls on the sibling vans, but these won’t apply to the Doblo as it goes on sale after these have been sorted.
- 2024 update brings a big improvement in equipment
- Not everything as standard yet
The 2024 facelift has brought about a welcome update to the safety equipment that comes as standard on the Fiat Doblo, although this is down to changes in laws mandating that more systems are fitted rather than manufacturers becoming more generous. The additions are across the board, with the number of driver assistance systems and passive safety kit such as airbags all increased. In addition to the driver airbag you now get one for the passenger and a side and curtain ‘bag on both sides.
It's a shame that one thing has disappeared off the standard-kit list, though - you now only get an alarm on the higher of the two trims.
The standard safety equipment highlights are as follows:
- Driver, passenger, side and curtain airbags
- Rear parking sensors
- Hill start assist
- Hazard light activation on sharp braking
- Digital rear and side mirror view
- Front and rear park assist
- Blind spot detection
- Lane keep assist
- Advanced emergency assist
- Speed limit assistance
- Driver attention alert
Which Fiat Doblo E-Doblo is best for me?
Standard trim has everything you need in terms of tech, although the lack of touchscreen and alarm are two notable absences. The former will pay dividends in boosting ease of navigation and communication for those who don't head out on a predictable and regular driving route for example, as it means you can use your phone as a navigation system.
There are two lengths and one height of Fiat E-Doblo.
Fiat Doblo parked in front of building
The increase in safety kit means that the payload has taken a slight dip in 2024.
Fiat E-Doblo rear driving
Fiat E-Doblo cabin
The E-Doblo is the most powerful model in the van's range.
Fiat E-Doblo parked side on
Fiat E-Doblo rear end in front of building
The Fiat E-Doblo has three different driving modes.
