News Published on : 25-Oct-2021 12:54:55

A new study by Fiat Professional has revealed the quieter driving cabin of an electric van makes drivers feel less stressed when compared to driving a traditional ICE vehicle. The Van Delivery Stress Test a first of its kind study when looking at vans was commissioned to gain a greater understanding of the physiological and psychological impact on drivers when comparing the different levels of cabin noise in an electric and internal combustion engine light commercial vehicle. Fiat Professional carried out the trial in conjunction with leading psychoacoustician Dr Duncan Williams formerly of Oxford University to mark the recent arrival of its first fully electric van the E-Ducato. Focusing on the noisiness of the cabin and its link to stress drivers biometric responses reported the E-Ducato as being less stressful than its ICE counterpart. Overall it found drivers produced significantly lower levels of sweat had a lower heart rate and lower body temperature when compared to the ICE van. Drivers also reported marginally lower levels of stress when answering the Perceived Stress Questionnaire for the electric E-Ducato. Some of the comments stated the all-electric version had very low in-cabin noise levels and no noticeable sound or engine noise . Other respondents added that the EV was quieter which I like and more peaceful to drive . Interestingly drivers biometric markers suggested higher levels of stress than reported in the questionnaire indicating drivers physiological stress indicators were higher than their perceived level of stress. Acoustically the diesel engine was 10dB louder than the E-Ducato - nearly four-times the volume of the electric van - which is approximately the difference between someone talking from one metre away versus shouting from the same distance. The diesel was also 55 per cent sharper than its EV twin. In the field of psychoacoustics sharpness and shrillness are commonly associated with how annoying a noise is considered with there being a logical correlation between annoyance and stress. A common example of a sharp shrill sound is the sound of nails on a chalkboard.