New Nissan Townstar: prices, specs and on sale date

The new Nissan Townstar has arrived to take on the light commercial vehicle segment. If you’re familiar with the latest Renault Kangoo you’ll instantly spot this new Nissan van shares its parts, but as van drivers will testify, the slightest edge can make all the difference in this competitive market. 

The Townstar is available in petrol or fully-electric guise and with a short or long-wheelbase body. As with the new Kangoo, the Renault-sourced 1.5 dCi diesels found in the old Nissan NV200 haven’t been carried over to this new model. 

Pricing for the Townstar kicks off at £19,475 excluding VAT. For that you get the short-wheelbase model with a 1.3-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine putting out 128bhp and 240Nm of torque. Coupled with a six-speed manual transmission, it’s a detuned version of the powertrain found in the new Qashqai, indeed, the new Townstar actually sits on the same CMF-C platform as the family SUV. 

The electric version of the Townstar, meanwhile, is Nissan’s successor to the e-NV200, and the brand has made several improvements to its motor and battery technology in an effort to make this new electric van easier to live and work with.

Nissan says the Townstar’s 45kWh battery provides a maximum range of 183 miles.The Townstar’s electric motor has also been swapped for a more powerful 120bhp unit, compared with the 107bhp model in its predecessor.

Connected up to a 75kW DC rapid charger, the Townstar’s battery will charge from 0-80 per cent in just over 40 minutes. That’s a little longer than the 30 minutes it took the old e-NV200 to charge to the same level, but the Townstar features a larger battery. The van also supports both 11kW and 22kW AC charging, although the latter system is optional.

For petrol models there are four trim levels to choose from, Visia, Acenta, Tekna and Tekna+ – each with varying amounts of equipment on board. The electric models start from £29,945 (excluding VAT) and can be had in a short or long-wheelbase body. The all-electric long-wheelbase variants start from £31,245 in Visia trim and range up to £35,845 in range-topping Tekna+. 

When it comes to carrying capacity, the Townstar’s 4.3-cubic metre load bay has enough space for two Euro Pallets. Both the petrol and electric versions of the van can carry a maximum payload of 800kg (600kg in SWB guise) and tow a trailer weighing up to 1,500kg.

Nissan says it made a conscious effort to keep the Townstar’s styling consistent with its flagship electric vehicle, the Ariya. So, the electric van sports similar narrow LED headlights.

The petrol model looks slightly different, as it requires a radiator grille to feed the engine with cooling air. However, the van also features active aerodynamic vanes to shutter the front end and improve fuel efficiency when the engine’s cooling requirements aren’t as great.

Inside, the Townstar features a 10-inch digital dashboard and an eight-inch infotainment system, also lifted from the Qashqai. The latter screen comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and buyers will be able to specify wireless smartphone charging.

There’s plenty of safety equipment on offer, too, including trailer sway assist, hands-free parking, intelligent cruise control and emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection. Nissan will also offer a 360-degree parking camera.

Every petrol version of the Townstar comes with a five-year/100,000-mile warranty. As per Nissan’s fully electric passenger cars, the Townstar EV features an eight-year vehicle warranty and a 100,000-mile battery warranty.

Sales for the new Townstar will begin 1 October for the petrol version and 1 December for the pure-electric version. Nissan says pre-orders will open from 22 August.

What does the new Nissan Townstar have to beat? Click here for our run-down of the best electric vans on sale now…