Best medium vans 2024
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The medium van market is especially popular among small business owners and tradespeople, thanks to the majority of models being sufficiently compact to park on a household driveway and usually low enough to fit into garages and covered parking areas.
Their modestly-sized footprints, coupled with functional, spacious load areas, means that the majority of medium vans are among the most versatile vehicles money can buy, with strong resale values and widespread availability.
Many are also available with electric motors, which we cover briefly here but you can read our top electric vans guide if you want to know which are the top plug-in vans in the UK right now. Most medium vans sold at present are diesel and there are some great, practical and good-to-drive choices in our top 10.
Here are the best medium vans on sale right now.
Best medium vans
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Ford Transit Custom
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It’s the market leader for a reason, so it’s no surprise to find that the Ford Transit Custom is one of the best vans money can buy. This time time around it's been co-developed with VW, meaning it will share mechanical components and bodywork with the current Volkswagen Transporter's replacement. Refined, good to drive and extremely functional, the Ford Transit Custom ticks all of the boxes, while it's also offered in Ford E-Transit Custom fully electric and plug-in hybrid formats, as well as a sporty Ford Transit MS-RT performance variant.
Vauxhall Vivaro
British-built and proud of it, the Vauxhall Vivaro is an extremely competent mid-size van that benefited from a substantial facelift and technological upgrade in 2024. It now has a much smarter cabin including wireless phone charging technology and a much-improved infotainment system, as well as advanced safety kit. It’s offered in both diesel and Vivaro Electric variants, as are the mechanically and bodily identical Citroen Dispatch, Fiat Scudo, Peugeot Expert and Toyota Proace.
Renault Trafic
It may be one of the older medium-sized vans on the market, but the Renault Trafic is still a very competent van with a well-designed cab and a spacious, practical cargo area, virtues shared with the rebadged Nissan Primastar. It has a strong engine range and handles well, despite being one of the biggest vans in its class. There’s also an electric Renault Trafic E-Tech, though this can’t match the range of some newer rivals.
Mercedes Vito
The Mercedes Vito was given a facelift in 2024 to keep it fresh ahead of an all-new generation's 2027 arrival. It has a superb diesel engine as well as a class-competitive Mercedes eVito electric option, while the cabin has also been updated to include the latest MBUX infotainment system. It’s still classy, well-made and comfortable, but some aspects of the Mercedes Vito are starting to show its age, such as its old-fashioned and clunky dashboard buttons and switches.
Peugeot Expert
Peugeot’s mid-size van is near-identical in terms of its bodywork, interior and mechanical elements to those badged as the Citroen Dispatch, Fiat Scudo, Toyota Proace and Vauxhall Vivaro. It’s a comfortable and well-equipped van with elevated levels of technology and safety equipment following its 2024 facelift, while there’s also a highly competitive electric model – the Peugeot E-Expert.
Citroen Dispatch
There’s not much to choose from between the Citroen Dispatch and its near-identical sibling models sold as the Fiat Scudo, Peugeot Expert, Toyota Proace and Vauxhall Vivaro. There's a great range of punchy diesel engines and a very competent electric version in the form of the Citroen e-Dispatch, while the infotainment system and safety equipment were upgraded as part of a 2024 facelift.
Volkswagen Transporter
Despite it having been around for several years now, there’s still something very satisfying and upmarket about the Volkswagen Transporter, which stands out as one of the classiest and best-engineered mid-size vans there is. It’s well-made and has a good reliability record, with a reputation for holding its value well, too. It's replacement is imminent, though, the newcomer co-developed alonside the Ford Transit Custom, with which it will share bodywork and mechanical components.
Fiat Scudo
Essentially the same van as the Citroen Dispatch, Peugeot Expert, Toyota Proace and Vauxhall Vivaro, but with less brand familiarity in the UK, the Fiat Professional dealer network is known for offering some cracking deals on the mid-sized Fiat Scudo. If you can find one, then it’s a hard opportunity to ignore as its every bit as good as its sister models in both diesel and electric Fiat E-Scudo formats.
Nissan Primastar
Sold through selected dealerships only and targeted at small-to-medium businesses, the Nissan Primastar has an attractive warranty and some keen pricing. Behind the badge, it’s the same van as Alliance partner Renault’s Trafic, so while it is starting to show its age in a few places, it’s still a cracking choice if you want a dependable, spacious and well-made medium van. The Nissan is diesel-only, though, with no fully electric versions offered.
Toyota Proace
Less well known than the other vans that it shares hardware with, the Toyota Proace is the result of a venture with Stellantis, being based on the mid-sized models also sold as the Citroen Dispatch, Fiat Scudo, Peugeot Expert and Vauxhall Vivaro. The Toyota Proace uses the same engines and transmissions as the Stellantis models, including fully electric versions, but is offered with an impressive warranty that could last up to 10 years, providing you adhere to the servicing terms and conditions.
