Farizon SV test drive

Make and model: Farizon SV
Description: Under 3.5-tonne electric panel van
Price range: £45,000 to £53,000

Farizon says: “Farizon vans are born 100% electric. All our energy goes into engineering the best range, power and payload from the ground up.”
We say: A new contender that offers all the advantages of being designed from the start as an electric vehicle, with its range minimising the compromises. It should do well.

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Introduction

Farizon will be a name unfamiliar to the majority of UK light-commercial operators, the Chinese brand only launching into the British market in 2025. And while the mass influx of new badges to UK buyers are almost entirely mounted on cars, Farizon (pronounced far-eye-zon) will be confident of soon making its own mark with its fully electric range of light-commercial vehicles.

Why? Because while being launched in the UK and across Europe by a long-established distributor called Jameel Motors, this brand is actually the commercial arm of Geely – one of China’s oldest and largest automotive manufacturers and unusually still privately-owned instead of being state-controlled.

Geely is a global automotive giant, and while also only now launching its own-brand vehicles into the UK, has been here for years, controlling such brands as Volvo, Polestar and Lotus, and in the commercial market, LEVC. In China, Farizon was the first brand to develop an electric powertrain and today makes everything from vans to buses and heavy trucks – this is no insignificant operator.

The SV, the first Europe-bound product from Farizon, reflects this ethos. What is on offer is not a traditional van converted to plug-in operation but designed from the start as an electric vehicle (EV) – on first viewing, it even looks distinctly more 21^st century than its long-established market rivals, with swept-back aerodynamic lines that during our test had other van drivers taking a good long look at the Farizon.

The SV offers three length and three height options, making use of one of three battery pack capacities depending on model. This is combined with the clean-sheet design focusing on light weight, a major example being the use of ‘drive-by-wire’ steering employing electronics rather than physical hardware.

As a result, the SV does probably the best job yet of meeting the biggest concern of van operators switching to electric power – how far it will go before needing recharging. The official combined cycle range is quoted at 188 to 247 miles, 347 in the city, with 20 to 80% charging taking a little over half an hour.            

Who is this van aimed at?

The Farizon SV should certainly be on the consideration list for any operator of mid to large-sized vans seeking to go electric, particularly those for whom range is a primary concern – the whole design of this van puts it at the forefront of such considerations, while it offers payload and capacity advantages over electric rivals.

Who won’t like it?

The Farizon SV will likely not appeal to those who have long been loyal to particular marques, especially the Ford Transit, and are therefore wary of untried names, especially new Chinese brands. However, such views are likely to become a minority as the Farizon brand becomes established.

What do you get for your money?

For now, the SV line-up comprises eight variants, starting at £45,000 (CVOTR) for the L1 H1 version with the smallest 67 kWh battery. Our test vehicle, with the larger 83 kWh battery, adds £3,000 to the price. L2 versions start at £48,000, and the largest L3 from £53,000.

Note, however, that at the time of writing (January 2026) the SV is eligible for the government’s plug-in large van grant, which can cut £5,000 from the price.

The van comes well specified, with an onboard load-monitoring system as standard. Other features across all versions include heated and ventilated outer front seats, heated steering wheel and windscreen, auto wipers, keyless start, Apple CarPlay connectivity, a 360-degree around-view monitor, and a liner for the rear load bay. 

Safety is a strong point – the SV comes with a long list of driver-assistance aids. Although Euro NCAP does not typically test vans for impact protection, it does evaluate the technology systems for safe driving, accident avoidance, and post-crash performance. In these tests, the Farizon SV scored a five-star commercial vehicle safety rating. Please note that these tests differ from passenger car tests; therefore, the results are not comparable.

What can you get in it?

The Van Expert’s L1 H1 test vehicle has the smallest load volume of the SV range at 6.95m³ – the largest capacity in the L3 H3 is 13m³, which Farizon claims is some 20% better than rivals can manage. Effectively, this van offers options that span most of the van market, rivalling the Ford Transit Custom and the larger Transit.

The load bay in our van is sized just shy of 2.7 metres in length, 1.64 metres in height and 1.8 metres at floor level, its maximum width which reduces to just under 1.4 between the wheelarches. You won’t get anything longer in it as one feature not available is a load-through hatch – but you can choose the L3, for example, which stretches the load length to almost 3.2 metres.

Where this van really scores is in payload – often an issue on EVs due to the battery weight. The dedicated electric design sees the SV tipping the scales at some 40kg less than rivals, with consequent increases in payload – between 1,035 and 1,350kg, depending on model- and is again claimed as class-leading.

One highly useful item of standard equipment in this respect are the onboard load-monitoring electronics. A flick of a switch shows the exact weight of the vehicle and its load on the cabin touchscreen, leaving no excuse for illegal overloading – perhaps this should become an industry standard?

Towing capacity is quoted at 750kg unbraked and 2,000kg braked.  

What is the Farizon SV like inside?

Dealing first with the most important area, the load bay – this is practically laid out, the under-the-floor electric powertrain enabling a perfectly flat surface which is fitted as standard with anchor points along its edges. There are also numerous mounting holes on the interior side frame, and a load liner is standard.

The rear doors open to 180 degrees with 270-degree versions available as an option, and the 550mm floor height also makes for easy loading. As does the side door – it slides to reveal a one-metre opening, but if you also open the passenger door, it’s effectively a 1.8-metre gap due to the van’s design doing without a traditional B-pillar. Yes, the bulkhead between cabin and load bay is still there, but it does make manoeuvring awkward-shaped items into the vehicle just that bit easier.  

The cabin offers three seats and is generally well-designed, though somewhat lacking in storage areas and weirdly, sufficient cupholders. While the controls are centred like all of today’s EVs on a central touchscreen and a digital driver’s display, Farizon points out that several physical buttons for essential controls are retained “to minimise distraction” – something that is becoming an industry concern with today’s screen-centric designs.

What’s under the bonnet?

All Farizon SV variants use a single permanent-magnet synchronous motor driving the front axle, delivering 170kW (231hp) and an impressive 336Nm of torque.

Battery capacity depends on model; the L1 H1 and L2 H2 versions have a choice of a 67kWh or 83kWh lithium-ion unit, the latter standard in the L1 H2 and L2 H3 variants. The largest L3 H3 model can be specified either with the 83kWh lithium-ion pack or a 106kWh nickel manganese cobalt variant.

Range depends on the vehicle and battery size – the vans are WLTP-certified from 177 to 247 miles on the combined cycle, 233 to 342 on the city cycle, and as an example, our 83 kWh L1 H1 is quoted at 234 miles combined.

All three batteries can be plugged into 120kW DC rapid chargers and the 106kWh version will accept a 140kW unit. A 20 to 80% recharge will take about 40 minutes while AC charging from 15% to full on an 11 kW wallbox is quoted at up to 10.5 hours.

What’s the Farizon SV like to drive?

Farizon makes a big play of the drive-by-wire steering and double-wishbone suspension, both virtually unheard of on vans, to describe the SV as offering one of the most car-like driving experiences – and they are not wrong. This is a very easy vehicle to take charge of – light in touch, highly manoeuvrable, with a very comfortable ride quality.

Farizon offers the usual selection of normal, eco and sport driving modes, while the regenerative braking can also be dialled up to a level which has a significant retardation effect once one takes the foot off the accelerator pedal.

One noticeable aspect is that this is an EV that is not silent – Farizon has endowed the SV with a low electronic audio note that is by no means irritating; actually, it’s a rather agreeable feature on the move.

The driver’s view is excellent out front, with large side mirrors also helping out. The effective double A-pillar slightly affects the three-quarter view but not greatly.

The standard equipment includes a reversing camera, but for such a technology-based machine, a permanent digital rear-view mirror would be a desirable addition.   

Overall, this reviewer has driven few large vans that feel quite as easy to handle on the road as the Farizon.  

Verdict

It’s always brave, and often foolhardy, to suggest a new brand and model will shake up the van market, but the evidence of the Farizon SV is very much on that route. This van looks good, but much more importantly, proves to be one of the most practical electric vehicles yet offered in the LCV market. It deserves to be a success.    

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