Nissan Townstar EV review

Overview

The Nissan Townstar EV is an electric van with 5 seats, a 45 kWh battery and a quoted WLTP range of 175 miles. On paper it suits families who want space without moving up to a van. Prices start at around £32,000, with leases quoted from about £299 a month.

Its headline specification point is straightforward: small electric van with car-like manners. The sections below break the published figures down and set them against the other electric cars in our Your UK region database.

Design & practicality

Bodystyle is a van with 5 seats and 775 litres of boot space. Against every EV in the database that puts it among the very best for outright carrying capacity, and among the very best among other vans.

Boot volume is generous enough for family holidays and bulky pushchairs without folding seats down.

Range & charging

The quoted WLTP range is 175 miles from 45 kWh of usable-plus-buffer capacity — among the weakest in the database for distance between charges. Real-world figures are typically 10–25% lower in cold weather and at sustained motorway speeds.

That is a small battery, which suits shorter trips and slower rapid charging. As with any EV, the running-cost picture depends far more on whether you can charge at home overnight than on the charging speed itself.

Performance

The published 0–60mph time is 11 seconds, which puts it among the weakest for acceleration here and makes it relaxed by the numbers. Electric drivetrains deliver that pull instantly from a standstill, so town-speed responses tend to feel stronger than the figure suggests.

Tech & features

We score cabin technology at 5/10 based on published equipment levels, which is among the weakest across the database. The specification highlight is that small electric van with car-like manners.

Technology is kept simple, which some buyers will prefer — fewer screens, more physical controls.

Price & value

New prices run from £32,000 to £38,000, with three-year-old used examples from around £22,000 and leases quoted from £299 a month. That sits at the affordable end of the electric cars in this database, and the affordable end of the vans specifically.

Our value score, which weighs the price against range, space and equipment, is 7/10. Whether it works out cheaper than your current car depends on your mileage, fuel price and charging setup — the cost calculator does that maths properly.