Best Medium Vans In 2024

Medium vans dominate UK roads – outstripping the sales of small vans and large vans – excelling in carrying weighty loads while still offering manoeuvrability, especially in congested urban areas. Tom Roberts delves into the best medium vans currently available in the UK. It's not easy to identify a trade or industry that doesn't find medium vans indispensable. Unless you find yourself needing to carry loads of a large volume and therefore need a bigger vehicle, a medium van will prove itself to be incredibly versatile and capable. Medium vans are highly mobile and able to fit into most car parking spaces – including multi-story car parks with height restrictions. Manoeuvring on residential streets or into private driveways is also completely possible in medium vans. You’ll also find that medium vans aren't confined to business use – there are many available in crew or double cab configurations. These variants accommodate additional passengers, enabling drivers to go on weekend trips with friends or family while packing bags, camping gear and leisure equipment into the loadspace area. Anyway, let's explore some of the best medium vans on UK roads today and discover why they occasionally outshine larger vans.

A cornerstone of the British van industry, the Vauxhall Vivaro medium van always stands out thanks to its practical loadspace, comfortable cabin, excellent payloads of up to 1400kg, and economical diesel engines. The range also includes the Vivaro Electric, a fully electric medium van with an impressive official combined range of 205 miles.
Recently updated, the Vivaro continues to prove popular with large fleets and now looks incredibly modern thanks to LED lights and a new front-end design.

A reliable, no-nonsense choice, the Renault Trafic boasts a practical load bay capable of carrying payloads circling 1200kg, a bold new front end, LED headlights, and an updated cabin interior. It's also one of the few medium vans equipped with a volumetric internal alarm system as standard.
It can’t be overstated how important this is – while a perimeter alarm system will only measure is someone breaks into a door or window and can be easily bypassed, volumetric alarms measure movement inside the vehicle and are considered the best type to have fitted to commercial vehicles.

Offering strong flexibility, the Citroen Dispatch comes in various loadspace lengths, weights, trim levels, and engine outputs. It even includes a fully electric version, the Citroen e-Dispatch, with a range of up to 196 miles and advanced driver and safety aids available.
You’ll see a lot of Dispatch vans on the road – being related to the Peugeot, Fiat, Toyota, and Vauxhall vans means they’re from good stock and often recommended. 1400kg payloads are perfectly within this vehicle’s capability to carry – depending on which length and height options you choose.

Not just the best-selling van, the Ford Transit Custom is one of the best-selling vehicles (!) in the UK. It’s the benchmark of medium vans because it seems to effortlessly combine durability, practicality, a car-like driving experience and 1400kg payloads into an affordable package.
With a range of efficient diesel engines and electric and plug-in hybrid options to choose from, I’d be surprised if the Ford Transit Custom isn’t already on your wish list… and if it isn’t, you need to add it now.

Sharing its platform with the hard-wearing Renault Trafic we touched on earlier, the Nissan Primastar delivers practicality with two lengths, a generous load length, substantial payloads over around 1200kg, and a well-designed cab.
It also offers a healthy dose of confidence-boosting with its 5-year/100,000-mile warranty. A big warranty length is a real show of confidence from the manufacturer that they believe in their product. 5 years is a long time to cover a vehicle that’s been built for site work!

A stylish contender, the Toyota Proace proves that medium vans can be both functional and visually appealing. Available in all-electric format, it stands out with sharp looks and optional metallic paint. It platform shares with the Stellantis medium vans, but you’d be hard pushed to tell from the outside – Toyota’s commercial partnership on the Proace allowed for input on its design.
Inside is relatively similar, but it does feel like a new van when stacked side by side with its relatives. It therefore offers the same payloads of up to 1400kg, depending on which version you choose.

A recent entrant to the medium van marketplace, the Fiat Scudo features distinctive branding, up to 13 safety systems depending on trim level chosen, optional safety features, and up to 1400kg payloads.
It offers a modern and safe driving experience – like all the Stellantis platform sharers – but the striking Fiat badge on the front really raises its profile on the outside. I think Fiat’s dashboard might be slightly slimmer than other Stellantis vans, because the cabin does feel slightly roomier.

Boasting a rich heritage, the Volkswagen Transporter T6.1 showcases its manufacturer’s reputation for reliability and build quality. With a new cab interior, various trim levels, and a powerful engine, it effortlessly combines work and driving pleasure – while still being perfectly capable of carrying loads of up to 1300kg.
And never forget that this van is the basis of the famous camper vans – every new iteration that comes out is a new campervan just waiting to happen.

Sharing features with other Stellantis group vans the Peugeot Expert stands out with its impressive payload capacity, reaching up to 1446kg. The e-Expert variant, an all-electric medium van, adds eco-friendly efficiency to its list of merits.
All Expert vans feature the iCockpit layout made popular by Peugeot’s cars, which replaces the van steering wheel with a low-profile slim steering wheel and makes various other aesthetic changes that have a transformative effect on the standard Stellantis cabin.

Built by the same company as the iconic London Taxi, the LEVC VN5 features a distinctive design that most people will recognise immediately. As a hybrid van with a petrol engine charging the battery, it offers versatility and convenience for drivers who may need to balance petrol and electric power.
The extra weight of the hybrid power train does mean a smaller payload of around 800kg, but its front wheels can pivot way beyond normal turning and reduces its turning circle to just 10.1m. You must see it to believe it!

You can find new vans and used vans on the Auto Trader marketplace available for competitive prices with a variety of payment methods to choose from.