Van and Commercial Vehicle Awards 2024: Overall Winner

Priced from £32,350 (Excl. VAT) Economy 34mpg CO2 emissions 178g/km Load space 5.8-6.8m3 Payload 1100-1350kg Power 108-167bhp Torque 228-28617lb ft

Britain’s love affair with the humble Transit van has been going on for more than half a century now, and that’s reflected in Ford’s utter dominance of the commercial vehicle sales charts. Indeed, the first-generation Transit Custom has been the UK’s top-selling van ever since its launch in 2012, and with the sheer brilliance of the second-generation version, we can’t see that love affair souring any time soon.

Quite simply, the Custom does what Transits have always done, and that’s to go above-and-beyond in every area. It’s by far and away the best van of its type to drive, with peerless comfort, impressive refinement and more driving engagement than a van has any right to offer. It’s also among the most practical and versatile vans of its type, and with a high-quality cab and lots of tech, it’s a genuinely pleasant place in which to spend large portions of your working day.

What we really like, though, is the way that Ford has listened to the feedback of customers and solved problems. This has resulted in clever features like Delivery Assist, which is designed to speed up deliveries by automating actions like switching on the hazard lights, closing windows, and locking the doors when the driver leaves the van. There’s also the picnic table add-on to the steering wheel that allows drivers to eat their lunch in comfort – a clever touch which makes a big difference.

Of course, all this would be in vain if Ford hiked prices to prohibitive levels. Sure, they’ve crept up a fraction, but the Custom still looks like great value for money compared with rivals – meaning businesses won't have to break the bank to get one onto their fleets. As an all-round package, then, the new Ford Transit Custom is nigh-on impossible to fault.

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