Farizon SV review
New Farizon SV Chinese electric ‘supervan’ aims to tempt drivers out of Transits and Trafics
About the Farizon SV
You may not have heard of Farizon yet, but the firm specialises in zero-emissions vans, trucks and buses, and is already a sizeable operation in China, where it has a 20 per cent share of the market. It’s owned by Geely, the automotive giant that produced 3.3 million vehicles in 2024, of which the best part of a million were hybrid or electric models.
The name is pronounced ‘Far·rai·zn’, as a short form of ‘Far Horizon’, and if you want to buy an SV van, there’s another new name to get to grips with, because the Farizon brand has been launched in the UK by Jameel Motors. That’s a Saudi-based family firm that began importing Toyota to the Middle East in the fifties, and now has a presence in 30 countries across six continents.
Farizon’s electric van may be all-new to the UK, but it was launched a year ago in China where it’s known as the SuperVan. That name can’t be used over here - van enthusiasts will know about the line of high-performance Ford Transits bearing the Supervan moniker - so it’s just the SV here. Orders are open now for deliveries starting in the second quarter of 2025, and the entry price of £45,000 (plus VAT) for the smallest L1, H1 variant puts the SV head-to-head with its key rival, the Ford E-Transit Custom. The full SV range will comprise of three vehicle lengths (L1, L2 and L3) and three body heights (H1, H2 and H3), with the biggest L3, H3 variant priced at £56,000 (plus VAT). The line-up launches with 67kWh and 83kWh LFP battery options offering a WLTP range of up to 247 miles, while the L3, H3 van will be available with a 106kWh NMC battery. There’s a 228bhp electric motor driving the front wheels, and there are three drive modes - eco, comfort and sport - plus three levels of regenerative braking, which are all selectable by the driver.
Unlike the E-Transit Custom, the SV is a ‘ground-up’ EV design, and has some unique features as a result. These include so-called ‘drive-by-wire’ control for the brakes and steering. The latter has never previously been homologated for road use on a van in the UK, and could potentially be a big deal for anyone with an intrinsic distrust of electronic systems. However, as you’d expect, dual-redundancy systems have been designed to provide an effective failsafe for the steering function should anything go wrong.
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Cash £21,576The body design is eye-catching too, and fleet managers will doubtless admire the LED headlamps set high-up and away from potential damage, promising cheaper repairs after low-speed bumps. The stiffness of the battery-encasing platform has also allowed designers to do away with the traditional B-pillar, giving a very spacious side-loading option via the nearside-only sliding door. That means the passenger seatbelt is mounted inside the door itself, but the driver’s seatbelt is mounted more traditionally.
The SV van comes very well equipped as standard with a full range of safety features, all-round cameras and luxuries such as heated and cooled seats, a heated steering wheel and automatic climate control. Factory options are limited to special cyan, black, blue, gold or grey paint at £550 (white is the standard colour), a vehicle-to-load power system costing £500, a £400 towing package - all models can pull two tonnes - and 270-degree rear door hinges at £300.
Dealers will provide a range of typical options such as linings or racking, and a relatively small national network will be backed by AA service vans to help keep vehicles on the road, we’re told.
MPG, CO2 and Running Costs
We’re still waiting for essential predictions around depreciation that will be key to the overall cost of owning an SV in most cases, but as with all electric options, the day-to-day running costs will look appealing for users who have access to home or company charging facilities. The official combined-mileage WLTP figure is 247 miles for the smallest van, but that goes up to a possible 342 miles in city driving. Fast charging at up to 140kW means you won’t be off the road too long if you need to charge away from base - a 20 to 80 per cent charge can be completed in as little as 36 minutes, Farizon claims. The standard lithium iron phosphate batteries are optimal for urban use, while the higher-powered nickel manganese cobalt option is offered for higher-mileage use cases.
As an all-electric vehicle, your zero tailpipe emissions will also be rewarded by the government in the form of a £5,000 plug-in van grant, which was due to end in March 2025 but has been extended for a year until March 2026.
Load Space and Practicality
The smallest L1 H1 SV is 4,990mm long and can carry a 6.95 cubic metre payload and up to 1,350kgs with the lightest battery fitted. The L3, H3 measures 5,995m from nose to tail, and will load up to 13 cubic metres of cargo with a maximum payload of 1,045kgs. Farizon claims the SV’s relatively lightweight construction allows it to offer the highest load capacities in its class, saying they’re between 5 and 20 per cent greater than in the class-leading Ford Transit, depending on the model.
An interesting feature of all variants is a payload-monitoring system that uses ride-height sensors to calibrate vehicle weight, which is then displayed to the driver clearly on the LCD dashboard display - no excuses for overweight vehicles here.
The platform chassis has an efficiently packaged battery pack that allows for a decently low load height of 550mm, and the lack of B-pillar on the sliding door side means loading access is very good from the kerb with a 1.8m-wide opening on the L1 model, and a 2.1m opening on L2 and L3 models - including the passenger door. The sliding doors are 1,000mm and 1,300mm on L1 and L2 models respectively.
Rear doors open to 180 degrees as standard if the retaining straps are released, but a factory hinge option allows them to swing around to 270 degrees - although there’s no mechanism to hold them in place when they’re fully open.
Inside, there’s a fixed bulkhead fitted as standard along with a plastic floor liner, while the interior side panels are pre-drilled for racking or shelving. There are multiple anchor points fitted in the floor, too.
Reliability and safety
There’s an impressive roster of safety kit fitted as standard to the SV, and Farizon also boasts about robust construction using 70 per cent high-strength steels, while coming in at nearly 40kg lighter than its rivals, with the lightest body in the class.
As a result the vehicle has the highest Euro NCAP Platinum rating for crash safety, while the standard-fit list of active and passive safety features includes adaptive cruise control, traffic-sign interpretation, forward-collision warning, land-departure warning and lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert and rear-collision warning; 360-degree surround cameras also help to keep low-speed manoeuvring safe. One aspect of visibility that’s not so good, however, is the front three-quarter vision from the cab, because the thick double pillars on each side obscure the view quite markedly.
Reliability is not something we discuss yet, but Farizon is part of one of the world’s leading EV makers, Geely, which should provide some reassurance. While there’ll be a limited number of dealers nationally, Jameel says it will team up with the AA to provide mobile technical support wherever you want to go. Over-the-air software updates should help to minimise any potential downtime due to glitches with the operating system, too.
Driving and Performance
Electric vans are a revelation when it comes to providing a relaxed operating environment for drivers and passengers, and the Farizon SV is no exception - although there is one fly in the ointment. Jump behind the wheel, which adjusts for rake only, and the ground-up approach to this EV means you can simply tip the column stalk selector into drive or reverse, and get away with a touch on the accelerator. The electronic parking brake disengages automatically, and there’s an automatic hill hold function when required. The vehicle generates a futuristic ‘whirr’ up to 20mph to alert pedestrians of your presence, which is not too intrusive in the cabin. However, go much faster in town and you’ll soon be alerted to speeding infractions or other notifications by an overly loud and shrill warning that very quickly becomes annoying.
Otherwise, the driving experience is very good. Double-wishbone independent front suspension absorbs road imperfections well and runs smoothly and quietly over ragged tarmac, as well as soaking up bigger potholes and expansion joints without a fuss. The steering is nice too, because the SV’s engineers have been able to use the fine-tuning capabilities of the steer-by-wire set-up to dial out much of the vagueness you’d find in a traditional electrically assisted system. The steering wheel may have no direct mechanical connection to the front tyres, but it’s better weighted, more responsive and accurate than in plenty of rivals. Selecting sport mode at higher speeds adds a little more reassuring weight, and the van also has an impressively small turning circle of 12.2m for L1 variants.
Braking is also performed using digital control over wires, but again there’s no shortage of pedal feel, while the brakes are smooth and powerful. Faster brake-by-wire response times mean the stopping distance from 62mph is 39m, compared with a class average of 45 metres, Farizon claims. Interestingly, although there are three levels of regenerative braking selectable by the driver, they’re all very unobtrusive, so the SV won’t be demanding that drivers learn new one-pedal driving techniques – although it’s claimed the highest level can help to increase range by five per cent on a typical urban drive.
You’d expect an electric van to be responsive to the accelerator pedal, and the SV is capable of getting off the line smoothly and smartly, with the seamless torque and power delivery enabling 0-62mph times of around 12 seconds, as well as confident progress while overtaking or joining carriageways from sliproads. A maximum speed of 83mph means you’re unlikely to be tailgated by an SV in the motorway overtaking lane, but the van has plenty of performance for A-road journeys and feels stable and secure at all times, with the predictable tendency to understeer that you’d expect when pushed hard.
Cab and Interior
The Farizon SV features a three-seat set-up as standard, but anyone taking advantage of that fact will quickly run into a challenge the first time they stop at a drive-thru McDonalds. The SV comes with large water bottle holders at the front of each of the door bins, but there’s literally not a single cup-holder to be seen - apparently because the fastidious Chinese prefer not to eat or drink in their vehicles. It’s a glaring oversight for the UK’s van market, although there is the option to pull out a drawer on the dash, which limits the central passenger’s knee-space, but has a segmented compartment that will hold a single coffee cup, albeit with nothing to grip it in place.
The cabin itself is more attractive than those of many rivals, with a stylish contemporary design that doesn’t impinge on practicality and feels refreshingly free of distractions, thanks to a row of centrally placed physical buttons for climate control and most of the functions you’ll need on the move. That said, the separate heater display panel is behind a tinted plastic panel and proved impossible to read in various light conditions.
The steering wheel controls are intuitive and easy to use without more than a glance too, while the central 12.2-inch touchscreen infotainment uses the Android operating system. A smaller LCD panel in front of the driver shows essential info, including the vehicle’s weight with any given load, and the information is presented in a clear and uncomplicated fashion.
The designers have quite cleverly achieved an engaging modern look, and there’s even a hint of the VW I.D. Buzz about the cabin feel, even if the overall fit and finish is not up to the much pricier German car’s standards; some plastics look a bit brittle even if they may prove to be durable in use, and the centre console switchgear looks and feels built to a price.
| Van dimensions | |||
| Body style | Height | Width | Length |
| L1 van | 1,980mm | 1,980mm | 4,990mm |
| L2 van | 2,180mm | 1,980mm | 5,490mm |
| Load area dimensions | ||||
| Body style | Height | Width | Length | Volume |
| L1 van | N/A mm | N/A mm | N/A mm | 6.95m3 |
| L2 van | N/A mm | N/A mm | N/A mm | N/A m3 |
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