The What Van? Road Test: Nissan Townstar EV (2022)

Date: Monday, November 27, 2023

Cabin Copy

Interior and equipment

At the centre of the Tekna+’s dashboard is an 8in touchscreen that controls a number of the van’s key functions, including its satellite navigation system. A DAB radio is provided with remote controls on the steering wheel along with Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth connectivity.

Good to see though that the heating and ventilation system and the air-conditioning are controlled by chunky, user-friendly knobs mounted just below the screen; makes life a lot easier if all you want to do is turn the temperature in the cabin up a notch and don’t want to spend time prodding a screen.

Tekna+ comes with keyless entry and ignition and an electronic parking brake. Also included in the deal are front, rear and side parking sensors and front and rear-facing safety cameras, with a birds-eye view that shows how close you are to a potential obstacle.

You can alter the bird’s-eye setting to allow you to see exactly what is happening in the van’s nearside blind-spot; a valuable safety aid.

Other features include a driver’s airbag, electric windows, heated and power-operated exterior mirrors that fold in electrically and a smartphone holder. An instrument panel display tells you how much charge is left in the battery and the range you have available.

The heated leather-trimmed steering wheel is height-adjustable, as is the driver’s seat.

In-cab storage facilities are plentiful. They include a capacious lidded box between the front seats along with a pair of big cup-holders, shelves above the windscreen, bins in the doors, a roomy glovebox and a lidded compartment above the instrument panel that contains a pair of USB sockets and a 12v power point. You will find another 12v point in a tray at the bottom of the dashboard.

Tekna+ comes with all the usual safety systems found on a modern van in a package which includes ProPilot.

Designed to be of help if you are travelling down a stretch of motorway or dual carriageway, it includes intelligent adaptive cruise control that should keep you a safe distance from the vehicle in front.

Featured too are lane departure warning and lane keeping assist. They are designed to prevent you from lazily drifting out of the lane you are supposed to be in, and potentially into the path of another vehicle.

Over and above ProPilot, Intelligent Brake Assist is installed as well. It alerts you if you are getting too close to the driver in front, and applies the brakes if you ignore the warning.

Blind Spot Detection with Intervention Assistance is present too. It detects vehicles in your blind spot and triggers an audible and visual alert, applying the brakes if necessary.

Hill Hold Assist is there to prevent you from rolling backwards if you are moving away from rest on an incline, Driver Attention Alert kicks off if it thinks you are tired and losing concentration, and Traffic Sign Recognition is present as well. It flags up the speed limit on the road you are travelling down.

Traction Control System is fitted, and can be switched off if necessary.

The wipers trigger automatically when raindrops start spattering across the windscreen and the headlights illuminate automatically at dusk.

Our test van’s 16in alloy wheels were shod with Continental EcoContact 205/60 R16 tyres. They are covered by a pressure monitoring system.

We spotted a Parking Assist button and it would be interesting to see how many van drivers press it. Doing so will initiate technology which will help guide them into a parking space.

Bear in mind that you can communicate with the Townstar EV with your smartphone by means of the NissanConnect Services App. By using it you can for example find out where your vehicle is parked and control the cabin temperature remotely.

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