LEVC TX
2018 onwards
Whilst the styling has changed a little over the years, the current LEVC TX is instantly recognisable as the iconic 'London Taxi'.
The company, with funding from parent company Geely, developed a new electric version of the taxi in order to meet Transport for London's new taxi policy, which banned the licensing of new taxis that weren't capable of zero emissions from January 2018.
Apparently. the old diesel black cabs cost about £45,000 brand new and rumours put the new electric one at a starting price of £55,000.
And yet, I've seen numerous posts on Facebook groups claiming that the electric taxi costs £100,000.
It doesn't. It's expensive, but not that expensive.
As I said, it's expensive.
On the Road
As a newbie private hire operator / driver, the opportunity to drive the LEVC electric taxi was something I didn’t want to pass up. So, one Monday morning the Business Development Manager from LEVC Somerset arrived at my home with the vehicle. After a brief chat and a signature to confirm the four day loan, I gave him a lift to the local train station so that he could make the return journey to Yeovil.
I actually gave him that lift in my own licensed private hire vehicle, the MG 5, as he had said that he hadn’t driven (or been a passenger in) any other electric cars other than the iconic black cab. Once back home, I took the LEVC out for a drive with my girlfriend and youngest daughter as passengers.
There are three drive modes to choose from:
Smart - in this mode the LEVC will automatically choose between the power sources in order to deliver maximum efficiency;
Pure EV - the car operates purely on battery power, with absolutely no tailpipe emissions; and
Save - the vehicle uses the range extender engine to ensure that the battery is kept at maximum charge.
The LEVC Business Manager had used the ‘Save’ mode to ensure that the car had a full charge when he handed it over and I, in turn, tried to use the ‘Pure EV’ mode for virtually all of my journeys. I say ‘tried’, because the default setting is ‘Smart’ and each new journey will start with it, unless you swipe the screen and select the mode you desire.
I would not describe the performance of this large, specialised taxi as ‘electrifying’. There is an instant throttle response, as you get in all electric vehicles, but the power isn’t sufficient to launch the huge black cab rapidly. Those used to ordinary petrol and diesel cars might well find it to be very quick of the mark, but those of us used to driving electric vehicles will feel the weight of the LEVC holding you back.
But quick acceleration isn’t the critical decision influencer for most people when buying a car, and really shouldn’t be when buying a taxi or private hire vehicle.
The factors that should be important, are things that the LEVC really does do well.
The LEVC can transport six passengers in comfort, with plenty of space; no issues with leg, head or elbow room. If they’re travelling in or around our towns and cities, they can also comfortably take their ‘daily baggage’; their laptop bags and pilot cases. If they’re off on their holidays, they might find some of their luggage encroaching on their foot space. You might think to look in the boot for space for suitcases, but behind that hatch you will find barely enough room for the charging cables, and definitely insufficient capacity for a case of any decent size.
The LEVC is a great vehicle to be driven in. I gave lifts to family members and other private hire drivers whilst I had the car and they all enjoyed it. My girlfriend and adult children preferred being driven in it, than in my own electric vehicle, an MG5, or in their own cars (an electric Kia Soul and a Peugeot e208). Whilst you have passengers in the back, if you want to have a meaningful conversation with them, you just need to press a button to use the intercom system. My children particularly liked this, as they were able to push a button to silence me!
One of the big points of the LEVC TX is the incredible turning circle. It was the case with the old diesel London taxis, and is similarly the case here. You can turn the car around in relatively small spaces, without having to resort to a three point turn. Each of the professional drivers that I took out were pretty impressed at how tightly it could turn and there are clearly benefits to this when you are working as a taxi or private hire driver.
For the driver, the TX is a comfortable place to be. The seat is large and supportive, far better than in the MG5 that I use for my private hire work and, therefore, a real bonus when you spend so many hours behind the wheel. You are also sat quite high up, which always affords you a more commanding view of the road and aids both comfort and safety.
So, storage for travellers (other than around their feet) has to go in the space where you might ordinarily expect to find a front passenger seat. What I didn’t do, and I apologise for this, is actually check to see what amounts of luggage could be stored there. Information online suggests the storage space is 440 litres, which isn't significant bit might just be enough for most scenarios.
Range and Charging
One of the interesting things about the TX is that it comes with three charge port connections. It has the CCS and type 2 connectors that my MG5 has, but also has the CHAdeMO connector that my old Nissan Leaf and my girlfriend’s 2018 Kia Soul electric have. This might be considered a bit of overkill, given that every rapid charger I’ve seen in the UK has CCS. There are some that don’t have CHAdeMO connector, especially where there are multiple units, but none that don’t have the more popular CCS. So it seems unlikely that you’d need to use the CHAdeMO very often, although if a unit that had both connectors, and allowed dual charging, had a vehicle on the CCS, you would be able to grab a charge. This is unlikely to be a regular benefit, but I doubt you’ll ever be actually complaining about the additional charging connector.
The electric only range of the TX is, according to LEVC, just 78.1 miles. This is from the 34.6kWh traction battery, which is a fair bit larger than the battery in my girlfriend's Kia Soul EV, or my old Nissan Leaf. Given that an average London Taxis, apparently, does 70-80 miles a day, that would suggest it is possible to achieve most of that work on a charge. However, you have to consider what the 'real range' of the batteries are and it seems from what I can tell that this might be quite a bit less. One user suggested it would be just 50-55 miles.
The LEVC TX is, without doubt, a great vehicle and one that is particularly suited to the rigours of private hire and taxi work. On a recent visit to London, to visit Winter Wonderland, it was impressive to see just how many of the iconic black cabs on the streets of our capital city were the electric powered version, rather than the old diesel ones. There are obviously still loads of the diesel cabs on the road, but the impression I got (from our drive into the city) was that the new TX electric cab were popular. Data suggests that a third of London's black cabs are electric.
And it was good to see them plugging in to charge up. When we used the charges at a well known supermarket early on Sunday evening, we saw five TXs plugging in for a charge. There were three there when we arrived, using all three of the available chargers, one of which left almost as soon as we arrived. The other two departed and were replaced by another, as well as a Kia eNiro, and then another arrived too. Whilst these vehicles can recharge using the on-board petrol engine, it is much better for the environment, both globally and locally, if they charge from one of the many rapid charging points available in London and across the UK.
Interior
The interior space of the standard TX is great. Most journeys are taken with less than four passengers, but it's obviously good to have the room for more. The seats are comfortable and there's plenty of leg room.
However, it's also possible to upgrade the interior. LEVC themselves have a relationship with a firm called Clive Sutton, who offer luxury conversions, but there are other firms doing similar work.
Verdict
The LEVC TX is a great car and a really superb vehicle for taxi and private hire work.
However, carrying the huge weight of the 1.5 litre petrol engine, along with the rest of the mechanics required to have it available as an electricity generator, is - in my humble opinion - a huge mistake. I would far prefer to see LEVC drop the internal combustion engine and, instead, use the savings in weight and money to increase the size of the battery storage significantly.
Dropping the engine and the associated items would probably, even without the addition of further battery cells, increase the range of the car beyond the average daily mileage of London cabs. But, using the weight savings to slightly increase the battery size would improve things further. Moreover, binning the engine and associated items would also potentially create space for a decent frunk (luggage space under the bonnet).
The added benefit would be to drastically reduce the level of servicing required for these vehicles.
I did send an email to LEVC back in August 2022, when I was test driving the car, asking whether there were any current plans to do this, but received no response. In mid to late December, when trying to finally finish this review (delays caused by the stresses of moving home, illness and the tragedy of the loss of a loved one), I phoned LEVC to try and get some answers.
The response I got was that the range extender version would continue for at least the next few years, but that future vehicle plans were commercially sensitive and they could not provide any further information. I hope that they will read this, reflect on the comments, and accelerate the move to a proper pure EV taxi.
The ranges stated in the above table are approximations based upon the combined cycles (city and main roads) in the cold and in warmer weather. These are not guarantees and they are not based upon the experience from my test drive.
You can find lots of information about electric vehicles, past and current, at http://www.ev-database.org but the data above was not collated from their site, as they haven't reviewed the LEVC TX.
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