We Drove the 2024 Ram Promaster EV Delivery: Is it a Driver’s Dream?
The 2024 ProMaster EV Delivery leads the Class 2 commercial van expansion charge, and a cargo model ready to upfit is soon to follow.
Who knew the first high-volume EV from Ram and Stellantis would be a delivery van? We certainly didn’t—the Ram Rev comes to mind—but Ram expects the Class 2 commercial van segment to grow until 2026, where it will stabilize though the end of the decade. The 2024 ProMaster EV is Ram’s electric entry into the segment, and with two electric models planned, it hopes to capture as much of that business as it can.
Electric Power
The first question that seems to come up anytime an electric vehicle enters the conversation is “what’s the range?” It’s less of a concern when it comes to most fleet or delivery vehicles because the routes have a known length or are kept short but with a high density of stops along the way. Ram estimates that the ProMaster EV can cover up to 164 combined city/highway miles with a 110-kilowatt-hour battery pack. That comes out to a mere 1.5 miles per kilowatt-hour—matching the least efficient EV MotorTrend has ever tested without cargo, which you won't be surprised to learn is a Hummer EV—but it’s great considering the load demands. The first criticism of electric trucks is usually how their range is decimated once you attempt to tow or haul anything, but Ram conducted range testing of the ProMaster EV at 50 percent of maximum payload to simulate the average weight of delivery vehicles, since they become lighter as the route goes on.
As for charging, the ProMaster EV will support Level 2 AC charging up to 11 kWh and Level 3 DC fast charging up to 150 kWh. Most fleet delivery vehicles are expected to use Level 2 charging overnight, but peak Level 3 charging will charge the battery from 10 to 80 percent in less than 55 minutes—quick enough to be efficient during a lunch break or shift change.
For now, the ProMaster EV will be exclusively front-wheel drive with a 200-kilowatt (268-hp) electric drive module with 302 lb-ft of torque. There's no word yet on an AWD or extended-range model. The BEV is based on the same platform as the ICE version, so keeping it FWD simplifies some engineering, keeps the cargo floor flat to leave room for the battery underneath it, and keeps cargo space the same between the two powertrain options.
Two Configurations
The ProMaster EV launches in 2024 with a delivery model, new for ProMaster and exclusive to the EV, with a 159-inch wheelbase, 13.5-foot cargo floor, best-in-class 86-inch cargo height from an overall height of 112 inches with the highest roof available, and an overall length of 251 inches. It features a roll-up rear door, pocketed passenger side door with no seat (a folding jump seat stows against the rear bulkhead), heated steering wheel, heated windshield, 10.1-inch center touch screen, seven-inch driver cluster, proximity-sensing cargo lighting, and two rows of shelves on each wall. Additionally, Ram answered customer pleas with an available digital rearview mirror, and standard 360-degree surround view camera. The delivery model has a 2,030-pound payload capacity and a Ram-estimated range of 162 miles in the city at half payload.
Cargo models of the ProMaster EV will be available in 2025, with the standard hinged doors in the rear, side sliding door, and standard passenger door and seat. The largest variant, dimensionally the same as the delivery model, has 524 cubic feet of cargo space and a cargo width of 75.6 inches. For perspective, that’s roughly 40 cubic feet more than a comparable Mercedes-Benz eSprinter, Ford eTransit, or Rivian Delivery 500. Its maximum payload of 3,030 pounds beats the Benz and Rivian but falls 300 pounds short of the Ford. (However, the Rivian Delivery 500 out-hauls the ProMaster EV delivery model by 700 pounds.)
As the cargo van rolls out, four more models sitting on the 159-inch wheelbase will become available with options for a 12-foot cargo floor and an eight-inch lower roof. Shorter wheelbases and the lowest roof will only be available with ICE ProMasters.
On the Road
Anyone driving an ICE ProMaster probably won’t find much to be different about the electrified version, but that isn’t a bad thing. One surefire way to ruin the day of an entire workforce is to replace the heart of their job with something they don’t want, don’t need, and don’t understand. Put any personal opinions or preconceived notions about electrified vehicles aside and there is nothing to loathe about the ProMaster EV. Hell, Ram even made sure to put the charging door in the exact same place as the fuel door.
Inside, it starts like any modern vehicle would, with a push-button start and a rotary shift dial like the ICE version; Just put it in “drive” and you’re off. The state-of-charge and range are readily available on the driver cluster screen, must-haves for any EV. The electric motor is quieter than the combustion option, and anything that keeps noise down is a bonus. By nature, commercial vehicles can be noisy inside, and the ProMaster EV is no exception. The roll up door on the delivery model rattles around, you can here the movement of the side body panels, and road noise comes straight through the floor. We expected some mechanical isolation from the battery pack to keep road noise down, but it was not noticeably different than the gasser, or any other commercial cargo van.
The instant torque available from the electric motor makes taking off a cinch. Although it seems to have plenty of power, we would like to drive one with some kind of load to draw firmer conclusions. Commercial vans can have a harsh ride when they are empty, but this one won’t rattle your teeth out. The suspension is stiff enough that it we can guess that it handles a full payload well and shouldn’t cause much driver fatigue in any loading condition.
One thing we did not get to experience was the ProMaster EV's regenerative braking. We drove preproduction models that were not updated with the latest software. The regen is supposed to be adjustable with one-pedal and creep modes in the Uconnect 5 EV Pages screen, but we drove in the standard mode with little noticeable regen. We didn’t get to experience how it functions, but we do think a hard button inside would be better than navigating through the infotainment screens.
Between the available digital rear-view mirror and 360-degree birds-eye view camera array, visibility is as good as it gets in the ProMaster EV. We took notice of an updated mirror design that makes the blind spot mirrors more visible, where the current mirrors on the gasser can be blocked by the pillars and window openings depending on the driver’s height and seat position. Ram tells us those mirrors will make their way to the ICE ProMaster as well.
Getting in and out of the ProMaster EV Deliver was obstruction free with the passenger pocket door, and the cab has more than enough room to move about. How do we know? At one point, before we knew for sure the regen function was not available, no less than four lost and confused journos were scouring the Uconnect system for the right page inside the cab without being on top of each other. The bulkhead door to the rear is light and easy to move, and a generously sized rear step makes entering the delivery van easy from any angle. Automatic cargo lighting turns on quickly to make packages easy to see once inside.
Pricing and Availability
The Promaster EV delivery starts at $79,990 and is available to order now. The cargo model will come next year, and pricing will be announced closer to its launch. Ram is expanding its commercial dealer network to improve accessibility to the ProMaster, and all dealers will be approved to service them. In addition to expanding financing options from Stellantis Financial Services and fleet management solutions, the ProMaster EV is ready to go as-is with a robust network of support behind it.
Cars should look cool and go fast. At least, that was Matthew’s general view of the world growing up in Metro Detroit in the early ’90s, and there was no exception. Raised in the household of a Ford engineer and car enthusiast, NASCAR races monopolized the television every Sunday and asking, “what car is this?” at every car show his dad took him too before he could read taught him that his favorite car was specifically, the 1971 Chevelle SS. (1970 can keep its double headlights, it’s a better look for the rear!) He learned the name of every part of a car by means of a seemingly endless supply of model car kits from his dad’s collection and could never figure out why his parents would drive a Ford Taurus Wagon and F-150 to work every day when a perfectly good 1967 Chevy Impala sat in the garage. Somewhere between professional hockey player, guitar player, journalist, mechanic, and automotive designer, he settled on the University of Northwestern Ohio (UNOH) with the hopes of joining a NASCAR pit crew after high school. While there, learning about electronics and the near-forgotten art of carburetor tuning (give him a call before you ditch your “over complicated” Rochester Qudarajet) were equally appealing, and the thrill of racing stock cars and modifieds weekly on the school’s dirt oval team was second to none at the time. And then sometime late in 2009, Matthew caught wind of the Tesla Roadster on YouTube and everything changed. Before it, electric cars we not cool, and they were not fast. A budding and borderline unhealthy obsession with technology would underpin a 12-year career at Roush Industries that would take him from a powertrain technician for the Roush Mustang, to building rollercoasters, NVH engineering, and finally to a state-of-the-art simulated durability lab working with nearly every EV startup you’ve ever heard of, and some you never will. And then it was time to go, and by a stroke of luck Nikola Tesla himself couldn’t have predicted, MotorTrend’s test team was looking for the exact kind of vehicle testing background he had to offer. And with it, his love of cars, art, engineering, and writing all suddenly had a home together. At this point in life, Matthew has developed a love and appreciation for all cars and methods of propulsion. He loves reviewing minivans as much as luxury cars and everything in-between, because the cars people need to haul their kids around are just as important as the ones we hang on our bedroom walls.
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