2025 Chevrolet BrightDrop vs Ford E-Transit vs Mercedes-Benz eSprinter vs Ram ProMaster EV : Big Batteries, Bigger Jobs – Real-World Testing of New Electric Commercial Vans

• Ford E-Transit offers excellent ride quality when loaded and real-world efficiency at the lowest price.

• Ram ProMaster EV is purpose-built for last-mile delivery with smart packaging and rapid charging.

• BrightDrop 600 brings huge range and payload, but at a price and with some refinement trade-offs.

If you were the kind of kid who’d sit on the curb to watch the garbage truck lumber down the street or if you still have a soft spot for delivery vans, you’ll understand why we got so excited pulling this test together. We gathered four of the most interesting electric commercial vans available in Canada and tested them the way they were meant to be used: loaded up and working.

The contenders? A Ford E-Transit, Ram ProMaster EV, Mercedes-Benz eSprinter, and a BrightDrop Zevo 600. Though we would have liked to include a Rivian RCV in the test, there was no way for us to get one.

This wasn’t a lab test; we loaded each van with between 600 and 1,200 pounds of wheels from our friends at Fastco, given the available space, and hit the road to appraise ride quality, real-world efficiency, drivability, interior practicality, and value.

Each vehicle was driven unladen and loaded and evaluated for efficiency and drive comfort over a 24 km loop. The route consisted of a highway portion that covered just shy of half of the total distance, while the remainder was a mix of semi-urban surroundings and country roads with some elevation changes. The average speed throughout was no more than 50 km/h. Following the drive, we plugged each van, without preconditioning, into a 50-kW charger for exactly 15 minutes to note the gains.

Ford E-Transit: Basic, Familiar, and Surprisingly Refined When Working

The Ford E-Transit is what happens when a brand electrifies a proven workhorse without reinventing the wheel. And in this case, it works. Starting at roughly $73,000, our long-wheelbase 350 test unit was equipped with a low roof and rear-wheel drive, and it rang in at $81,000 as tested. Power comes from a single rear-mounted motor producing 266 horsepower and 317 lb-ft of torque, which is more than enough to motivate the van, even when loaded with approximately 600 lbs of wheels.

What makes the E-Transit different from the others is its coil-spring rear suspension, unique in this group. That setup gives it a comfortable and stable ride when loaded, better than you’d expect from a utility-first machine. Unladen, however, the E-Transit could best be described as choppy. The 89-kWh usable battery delivers an estimated 256 km of range, which felt very achievable in our real-world test. DC fast charging tops out at 115 kW, meaning you can get from 10% to 80% in about 45 minutes.

Inside, it’s textbook Ford: a 12-inch SYNC 4 touchscreen, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, functional bins and storage, and most impressively, the optional Pro Power Onboard system. This feature provides 2.4 kW of usable AC power with household plugs in the cargo area, making it a perfect partner for tools and jobsite gear. While the low roof may limit interior flexibility for some trades, the E-Transit’s simplicity, comfort, and real-world usability make it an easy recommendation for budget-conscious fleets. The good news is that the van is available in three roof heights.

The test loop returned an average of only 26 kWh/100km, or the best result of the group. The 15-minute boost also produced the biggest range gain at 13%.

Ram ProMaster EV: Urban Efficiency and Clever Design

Where the Ford is familiar, the Ram ProMaster EV feels purpose-built for the job. Base pricing starts at just over $78,000, but our test unit, equipped with the super high roof, 159-inch wheelbase, other options and the game-changing $12,000 Delivery Package, came in at just over $105,000. This package transformed the van: a sliding mid-front entry door with a step, no front passenger seat, shelving that holds up to 200 lbs per panel, motion-sensing lights, and more.

Power comes from an exclusively front-mounted electric motor rated at 268 hp and 302 lb-ft of torque. With a curb weight lighter than most in the test, the Ram ProMaster felt peppy, even with 800 pounds of cargo, and was probably the quickest off the line. The 110-kWh usable battery is good for up to 290 km of range, though our test showed that city use could potentially beat that number, likely by more than 10%. More importantly, the ProMaster has the fastest DC charging of the group, maxing out at 250 kW, which slashes charging time to 30 minutes or less from 10 to 80 %.

The lack of drive modes or extra tech is noticeable. Even so, the ProMaster is quiet, nimble, ultra-accessible, and thanks to its tight turning radius, shockingly maneuverable. Above all others in the test, the Ram proved to be the most entertaining to drive with a supple-enough ride and plenty of power even when loaded.

Although up-front interior storage is sparse compared to rivals, as a last-mile delivery van, it’s near perfect.

The ProMaster was the second most efficient in the drive, consuming an average of 31.1 kWh/100km. The charging test showed a 9% gain after 15 minutes.

Mercedes-Benz eSprinter: Comfort Without Speed

The Mercedes-Benz eSprinter doesn’t hide its luxury roots. It looks upscale, feels solid, and carries itself with a kind of premium commercial van poise that few others match – it’s unexpected, in fact. But you pay for it as the base price starts at $88,000, and our optioned-up tester reached $115,000. This van comes in three configurations in Canada: ours was a 2500-series, 170-inch wheelbase high-roof model. That means plenty of space.

The weak spot? Power. A single rear-mounted motor produces only 134 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. There’s a more powerful 201 hp version available for just over $1,500, but we didn’t get that one. As such, with a full load of 1,100 lbs worth of Fast wheels, acceleration was sluggish, fine in town, but stressful on an on-ramp. Still, the eSprinter is the only van here with regenerative braking paddles and four levels of regenerative force, which is excellent for customizing your driving style.

The 113-kWh battery is rated for up to 331 km, which sounds great, but in our test, it proved to be very thirsty. It charges at a max of 115 kW, putting it on par with the Ford for recharge time, but far behind the Ram.

Where the eSprinter shines is in ride quality and interior refinement. On the road, the Benz is the Benz of electric commercial vans, and by a significant margin. The seats are superb, the cabin is quiet even at highway speeds, and the 10.25-inch MBUX infotainment system is top-notch. If you’re running executive shuttle service or premium deliveries, this van brings the polish. But if you’re after flexibility, value, and power? You may want to look elsewhere.

The’big electric Benz van downed 34 kWh of energy per 100 km on average and saw its range increase by 10% after 15 minutes.

Chevrolet BrightDrop 600: Big Range, Big Power, Big Money

The BrightDrop Zevo 600, now officially wearing a Chevrolet, is a very different beast. While the others are modified ICE vans, this is a dedicated EV platform. The result is purpose-driven packaging, more interior space, and commercial features designed into the structure, not added afterward.

Prices start at over $100,000 for the FWD short-wheelbase 400 model, but our tester was the AWD 600 long-wheelbase model, which rang in at $108,000 before options and well over $140,000 as tested. It features dual electric motors for 300 hp and 390 lb-ft of torque, and it’s the only AWD van in the test. The drivetrain pulls hard, even with over 1,000 lbs of tools, gear and approximately 700 lbs of Fastco wheels in the back.

It also has the biggest battery: 176 kWh usable, giving it a whopping 437 km of real-world range, by far the best here. Its estimated efficiency sits in the 33–35 kWh/100 km range, but the size of the battery more than compensates. DC fast charging maxes out at 120 kW, which is acceptable, but will still take close to 60 minutes for a meaningful charge due to the battery’s size.

Cargo capacity is massive: payload tops out at 3,560 lb, and with the flat floor and customizable shelving, you can really build out your ideal mobile workspace. The integrated 120V and 240V outlets provide up to 7.2 kW of split-phase AC power, making it easy to run tools, charge batteries, or operate jobsite equipment directly from the work van. Our test van even had a second bulkhead for a personal office. The only downside? Noise, and lots of it. The composite body panels let in lots of wind and road chatter, and despite the high price, there’s little sound insulation. Despite this mild inconvenience and highly utilitarian nature of the beast, the OnStar-powered 11.3-inch display with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is highly evolved and quite user-friendly.

Still, for businesses that need true all-season capability, huge range, and serious cargo volume and capabilities, this is the no-nonsense electric truck disguised as a van.

The BrightDrop’s efficiency results are in direct correlation to its purpose. At an average of 41.7 kWh/100km and with only a 6% gain in range after 15 minutes, the van’s size and weight, and battery capacity impact power consumption and charging performance.

Conclusion: Four Vans, Four Roles

Let’s be clear, there’s no singular winner here. Each of these commercial EVs fills a different, though overlapping, role, and depending on your business needs, any one of them could be the right choice. The conclusion boils down to the following:

• Ford E-Transit: Most affordable, most familiar, and best-riding van when loaded in the group. A rock-solid all-rounder.
• Ram ProMaster EV: Last-mile delivery king. Smart packaging, strong power, and blazingly fast charging.
• Mercedes-Benz eSprinter: The luxury choice. Comfortable, composed, and refined, but underpowered and inefficient.
• BrightDrop Zevo 600: The heavy lifter. Massive range, payload, and potential. Bring your wallet, the big one, though good deals should be easy enough to come by.

This test wasn’t just about numbers; it was about how these vans work. And having now driven them loaded, over city streets and highways, I can confidently say: the future of commercial transport is electric and far more diverse than you’d think.

If we had to pick an overall winner, most of us would go with the Ram ProMaster.

2025 EV Van Comparison Test |

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