Look at the Wheels on That: Ford Transit

No other vehicle which become such an important part of our lives. If you've not driven one, you've been driven mad by one. Stuart Milne says the Transit is the backbone of Britain.

The first Transit appeared in 1965, but not one of the team behind it could have predicted how much of an impact it would have on all of our lives.

If you call a tradesman for some work on your house, they'll arrive in a Transit. Get a parcel delivered, and what'll it arrive in?

You've guessed it; a Transit.

Every rock band that's grafted around Britain's pubs and clubs has driven, slept and sweated in one.

They've been converted to motor homes, ice cream vans, burger vans, recovery trucks, police riot vans, even TV license detector vans.

Some packed Formula One engines and tore up the race tracks of Europe.

Today more than 60 versions of the Transit are available: high top, long wheelbase, dropside, minibus, chassis cab…the list goes on.

Our army of Transit-driving white van men are one of the most infamous groups on the road, complete with their regulation copies of The Sun, McDonald's wrappers and half finished packets of cigarettes.

Even the slogans etched along the dirty flanks have a huge following.

So why is the Transit so popular?

Its success was assured in the mid sixties, where the first generation Tranny was a world away from its rivals.

It was wider than most of its rivals from Commer, Austin, Leyland and BMC and more reliable thanks to parts which were already appearing on its passenger cars.

And compared to other vans available, it was pretty too.

But best of all was its space. It could swallow acres of gear, and the amount of configurations available meant there was something for everyone.

Unlike some icons, the Transit has lost none of its appeal. Each new model - in 1978, 1986, 1995, 2000 and 2005 - went one better than the last, and the latest incarnation is a better drive than some passenger cars we could mention.

To date, more than five million Transits have been sold, so there's plenty to choose from. The Mk1 has become a very collectable item, and fans will pay dearly. But if you're on a budget, models from the nineties can be had for a few hundred pounds.