Battle of the Tippers: Peugeot e-Boxer vs Volkswagen E-Crafter

By 2030, all new vehicles being sold in the UK must be electric, with the exception of hybrid vehicles until 2035, as per government rules – this includes vans. Why not get a headstart and invest in your electric van now? If you are a tradesperson who specifically requires a tipper van for your work, then fear not, because there is an electric van for you – multiple, in fact.

Two of such vans are the Peugeot e-Boxer Tipper and the Volkswagen E-Crafter Tipper, which are both efficient and environmentally friendly alternatives to diesel tippers, whilst still offering reliable loading, unloading and transportation capabilities. Read on below as we compare the two side by side to see how they perform as tipper vans.

Engines and Spec

As is standard with all fully electric vehicles, an electric motor and battery pack is used in place of an engine. Looking first at the Volkswagen E-Crafter, this van uses a 35kWh battery, which has an approximate range of 100 miles (Volkswagen quote the maximum range to be 107 miles, whilst acknowledging that a more realistic real-world range is 93 miles). This makes it very much suited to urban environments or exclusive settings (such as construction sites) rather than long-distance or cross-country journeys.

Though this may not be considered particularly impressive, it can be seen as an average range for an electric van, especially when compared to the Peugeot e-Boxer. The e-Boxer differs slightly in that it comes available with two different battery units, either a 37kWh or 75kWh battery pack. Despite being ever so slightly larger than the battery in the E-Crafter, the 37kWh battery in the e-Boxer has a limited range of 73 miles, though this could be down to the fact that the E-Crafter has a limited top speed of 50mph that prolongs its range.

This low range is perfectly suited for those who exclusively use their tipper van for work to transport and unload materials on-site throughout the day, rather than needing it to transport materials and/or equipment between different locations. For those who do the latter, the larger battery pack that the e-Boxer offers is much better suited to this, covering a maximum range of 154 miles with a full charge.

As for when these vehicles run out of charge, there are multiple solutions to charging them back up again. Using a standard AC wall charger, the small battery size of the E-Crafter means a full charge can be reached in a reasonable 5 hours and 20 minutes, whilst DC rapid charging allows it to reach 80% in as little as 45 minutes. As for the e-Boxer, AC charging will take between 5-12 hours depending on the power capacity of the charger (for the larger battery pack), whilst DC charging takes an hour to reach 80%.

Interior

Looking at the tipper body and function on these vans, both Volkswagen and Peugeot work in partnership with van body-conversion specialists Ingimex to design and create the tippers for their Crafter and Boxer ranges. Looking at the available load space, then, the e-Crafter Tipper offers an internal length and width of 3,119mm by 2,026mm, whilst the e-Boxer Tipper offers slightly less, the length being 2,870mm by the same width of 2,026mm.

As well as generous loading spaces to suit your needs, both these tipper platforms are made from high tensile steel to resist denting from loads such as rock, stone and aggregate, whilst protective coatings are applied to all parts of the body to ensure durability. As for the tailboard, this features top and bottom locks that allow either ‘tip-over’ or ‘tip-through’ discharge.

Now for the interior of the cabin areas; if you’re looking for space, comfort and storage options, then the e-Crafter offers all three. There are three lipped, open-top compartments, two cup holders, large door pockets and a central storage compartment in the dashboard. Speaking of the dashboard, this is highly functional, with an infotainment display in the centre and a clear analogue display behind the steering wheel.

This same analogue display, unfortunately, cannot be found in the e-Boxer. Since it is not a factory-built electric Boxer, rather an electric conversion by conversion specialist BEDEO; one of its quirks is that the relevant information regarding the vehicle’s status is displayed in the wing mirror, rather than behind the wheel, which only shows the speed. This aside, it does still have plentiful storage and space, which is aided by the lack of a gear stick, as we discuss more about in our e-Boxer Tipper Review.

The Verdict

If you require a van that is comfortable to work in, has space to store all your important tools and documents, has sufficient loading and unloading capabilities and works best spending the day driving back and forth across a worksite, then we highly recommend the Volkswagen E-Crafter Tipper. Not only is this suitable for your needs, but should you need to make any unforeseen journeys on top of this it can quickly be charged in a pinch.

As for those of you who require longer their tipper van for longer journeys with less speed restrictions, then the Peugeot e-Boxer tipper is an excellent choice for you, getting you from A to B whilst meeting your loading needs.

It’s fair to say that both these vans can be considered investments, being upwards of £50,000. It is understandable that many people are not willing or able to pay this price outright, which is why you need to contact Van Sales UK.

We offer both of these vans brand new on low rate, zero deposit finance, starting at £489 plus VAT. Get in touch with us today to learn more about the finance options we can offer you and for help finding your perfect electric tipper van.