Battery size: 43kWh
Max charge rate: 100kW
WLTP Range: 177 miles
Seats: 5
Introduction and model history
While the idea of turning a van into a family friendly MPV-type car isn’t new – the Citroen Berlingo and Renault Kangoo have been doing it for decades, the former now available in electric guise – Ford’s e-Tourneo Courier can trace its history back one generation.
The 2014 model was an oddly proportioned thing based on a van that was itself based on the Fiesta supermini, and if you wanted a decent family MPV based on the Fiesta you had the neat little B-Max that was very underrated.
Nine years on sale and finally the Tourneo Courier was upgraded to a new model in 2023 – still based on the same underpinnings as a Fiesta (which is now off sale, RIP), but the MPV alternative has morphed into a neat little bestselling SUV. And the Puma has a very good electric version. (We've driven the van version, the E-Transit Courier, incidentally...)
So what does the latest Tourneo Courier have going for it? Well, it has an electric option, otherwise we wouldn’t be driving it here, and the styling has been massively upgraded. The aggressive grille writes a few cheques that that the car can’t cash, but the overwrought styling does just enough to balance out the top heavy van look.
You’ll be wanting the E-Tourneo Courier for its practicality, and likely weighing it up against the Berlingo quartet. The Citroen, Vauxhall Combo Life Electric, Peugeot E-Rifter and Toyota Proace City Verso EV are all the same car with different badges on the front, thanks to the wonders of platform sharing. Sadly just the one E-Tourneo Courier though.
Range, battery and charging
Ford describes the E-Tourneo Courier as a multi-activity vehicle, but with 177 miles of range one of those activities is going to be charging. On paper that’s significantly short of the 200 or so miles that’s offered by the Berlingo and its siblings, but we have found that those cars are often rated a little optimistically in real world driving, whereas the E-Tourneo Courier is a little more realistic.
We drove the car over a hundred miles or so of mixed roads in winter and averaged 3.6 miles/kWh, which worked out at 155 miles of range from the 43kWh usable battery (it’s 50kWh in the Berlingo too). The E-Tourneo Courier does come with a heat pump as standard, which goes some way to keeping things efficient. We’d be interested to see what it could do in warmer weather.
The battery will charge at up to 100kW, which means a 10–80% charge of around 35 minutes, plus there’s 11kW AC charging. The one negative note here is that the charge port sits on the left rear of the E-Tourneo Courier, which means that the left passenger door is restricted from opening. There’s a safety tab that comes out to stop you from sliding the door into the plug, but you’re left with a fairly narrow opening.
Practicality and boot space
The E-Tourneo Courier has a usefully practical cabin without it feeling too precious about getting things scratched or dirty. There’s some good storage in the dashboard, and a brilliant overhead compartment above the front seats where you could probably fit a backpack if you jammed it in.
Boot space – like all of these van conversions – is where the E-Tourneo Courier really makes a case for itself. If you need to carry lots of stuff a lot, then it’s got to be on your shortlist. The luggage space at the back can take items that are over a metre long, and you’ve got 1,188 litres of space that increases to 2,162 litres with the rear seats tipped down.
I will caveat that slightly, in that a lot of that space comes from the car being very tall, and the rear seats don’t extend too far up to the ceiling for obvious reasons. If you’re regularly going to be filling the boot to the top you’d probably want to consider putting in a dog cage or similar to make sure that you can really exploit what the E-Tourneo Courier has to offer.
There are some neat little cubbies on either side of the boot, as well as a frunk under the bonnet that Ford says is 44 litres. The frunk feels like a bit of an afterthought, like it’s been moulded to fit whatever space they had left after they’d put everything else in. The charge cables fit in there, but only rolled up nicely in their bag, and there’s a dish at the front of the frunk for various other bits like your puncture repair kit.
It’s a fuss getting the bonnet open, but it’s marginally more attractive a proposition in most scenarios than trying to get anything out of the boot, where the tailgate is hinged at the top and it opens for miles. You’ll really get your steps in trying to find the button that releases the hatchback and then stumbling backwards to get out of its way.
I took the E-Tourneo Courier to the supermarket and ended up shoving all of my shopping in the floor and on the back seats, because the sliding doors are massively practical where the boot lid isn’t (if a little low considering how tall the car is – hit my head the first few times). A mark down for the Ford – the Citroen e-Berlingo has a brilliant little opening glass hatch in the boot and a reinforced parcel shelf so you can chuck things in through there. The boot floor is at least low when you do open it, so the dog will appreciate that.
Interior, design/styling and technology
Ford interiors sit in a sort of mass market No Man’s Land, where it’s neither posh and nor cheap. It’s been that way for 40 or 50 years, so at least you can say that the company is good at it. There are no particular thrills, but it’s still well thought through and moderately stylish. It’s airy too, with all that tall glass letting plenty of light in.
The two 12in screens – one for the instrument panel and one for the central touchscreen infotainment – both work well enough. Ford has never gone in for the flashiness (some might say style and flair) of rivals, but you’ve got wireless Apple/Android connectivity at any rate and a wireless charging pad as standard. It worked over 50% of the time on my phone, which is better than most, but I still ended up plugging in. There are two USB sockets, and a 230V/400W three-pin plug socket at the bottom of the dash is a £120 option.
There are no dedicated buttons for the aircon, but a permanent row along the bottom of the touchscreen. It’s fussy, needing more jabs than should be necessary, especially trying to change settings on the move. The transmission selector behind the steering wheel was fine, though, and the steering wheel mounted controls useful for cruise control and music.
The electric Tourneo Courier hasn’t been through the Euro NCAP process, but the petrol version has and the rating counts across the range. The Ford has been given a four star rating, losing points for some of its electronic safety assistance systems.
Motors, performance and handling
The E-Tourneo Courier is a reasonable drive – it doesn’t have the natural handling prowess you would normally associate with a Ford, but then you don’t really expect it to. The damping on the suspension lets a lot of road noise through, so you feel the vibrations through the wheel and your seat, but the overall ride is pretty good. You’ll barely even notice driving over a speed bump, but you will feel if the road surface has got grainy.
There’s a bit of roll through corners, but with a car like this you won’t be driving it fast anyway. The 136hp motor is nothing remarkable, with a 10.4secs 0–62mph time. Though of course such numbers are functionally meaningless on the move, especially with the torque of electric cars that gives them a little extra sense of urgency around town.
If anything, the power could do with a little toning down, especially at that low end – the E-Tourneo Courier was spinning its front wheels all over the place when I tried it in cold weather, and that was in Eco mode. The Sport mode on these things isn’t much worth bothering with, but the Ford does have a Slippery mode that’s meant to be for mud and snowy conditions, but is useful in the rain.
It’s a bit of a shame that the E-Tourneo Courier doesn’t have regen levels you can play with – it’ll coast in its standard mode, but there’s nothing in between that and the one pedal mode that’s selectable in the touchscreen or the slightly less aggressive L mode you can select on the transmission lever.
Running costs and pricing
There are two trim levels available for the E-Tourneo Courier – entry level Titanium gives you pretty much everything you might need, and costs £33,690. You get heated seats and steering wheel as standard, auto lights and wipers, climate control, plus wireless phone charging and smartphone connectivity.
Active trim adds satnav, heated folding wing mirrors, adaptive cruise control, 360-degree parking sensors and upgraded safety kit like blind spot warning and collision assist. A tow bar is a £480 option on all trims (the E-Tourneo Courier is rated up to 750kg).
Though of course both get the £3,750 electric car grant, which is a very welcome discount and brings the car right back in line with the combustion versions, the Titanium trim slipping in under £30k.
Monthly company car BIK tax on both trims is around £17 at 20% tax rates and around £34 at 40%. Another area where you save over the combustion versions is first year VED and registration, which costs you £1,440 in the petrol car versus £90 in the electric one.
Service intervals are two years/unlimited mileage, which is nice, plus an eight-year battery warranty is a requirement for grant eligibility, so you’ve got that peace of mind too. Ford’s standard offering is three years/60,000 miles, but you can pay to extend that and there are servicing packages available from the company too.
Verdict
It’s not a car that will necessarily win anyone over, this – the prevailing winds of fashion have long ceased blowing in this direction. You have to really want an MPV that’s based on a van, especially one that’s got an electric powertrain underneath it.
But actually that shows up a snobbery that will mean you’re missing out on a great car – there’s loads of space for carrying stuff, a refreshing simplicity to the drive and a decent level of kit as standard, plus the extra bonus at the moment of getting £3,750 off thanks to the government’s electric car grant.
Not many people will get one of these, but maybe that oddball rarity somehow adds to the attraction. Or maybe I’ve just had too much coffee today. I really want a car with sliding doors though.
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