Big news in the world of vanning – you can now buy a Renault Kangoo with a Nissan badge on the front. Yep, welcome to the all-new (kinda) Nissan Townstar. Great name. 

You can only have the Townstar in the Kangoo’s smallest configuration, and Nissan has plucked just two powertrain options – a 1.3-litre petrol with 130hp and an all-electric version with a 44kWh battery and a 120hp motor. That’ll do 285km on a single charge, reckons Nissan. 

That’s a 43 per cent increase in range over the current e-NV200, which Nissan will retire when the Townstar comes on sale.

The Townstar will get a whole heap more tech than the e-NV200 too, with loads of active safety and driver assist features, as well as Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and wireless phone charging. It’ll also get an ‘Around View Monitor’ system that sets it apart from the Kangoo and displays a 360-degree view of the area around the van.

Its face takes cues from the Ariya and Nissan promises “passenger-car-like comfort” – doesn’t everyone when launching a new van? This is built on the Alliance’s CMF-C platform though, which underpins the really-rather-good new Nissan Qashqai.

Important bits – there’s 4.3 cubic metres of space in the back, and it can transport two Euro pallets and up to 800kg of cargo. There’s also a 1,500kg towing capacity.