In association with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
Best large vans 2025 – tried and tested
Big load spaces and decent road manners are the order of the day for buyers of large vans, but which ones should you choose and which are best avoided?...
If you need to move a lot of cargo from A to B, but aren't in a fully fledged lorry, then chances are that you'll need to get a large van. Such vehicles make up around a third of the light commercial vehicles on UK roads, and are as popular with builders as they are with bakers – and, we think, a few candlestick makers as well. Indeed, the best large vans are incredibly versatile, offering a spacious and comfortable interior, powerful engines, and enough cargo space to store whatever you might need.
Most are sold as 3.5-tonne vans, the maximum weight of vehicle you can drive on a standard car licence, but large vans can go as high as seven tonnes. Large vans tend to use fairly powerful engines with high torque outputs to help with towing and make easier work of driving off with a heavy load, but there are also an increasing number of electric options to consider.
Our experienced van testers have driven and rated every large van on the market, testing them back to back against their key rivals and making sure they can handle anything which a buyer might expect of them. The result of all that testing is the story you see here, where we've named the 10 best large vans you can buy, as well as the one we think you should avoid.
If any of the vans below take your fancy, just click on the relevant links to learn more about them in our in-depth reviews. We've also answered your most commonly asked large van questions at the bottom of this story. Or, if you're in the market for a small van, a medium van, or an electric van, we've got separate top 10 lists for each of those categories.
FAQs
In the large van market, nothing can match high-roof, long-wheelbase versions of the Mercedes Sprinter. In its largest form, this behemoth offers up to 17m3 of space inside, along with a payload capacity of 3175kg. In short, that's enough space to move just about anything you like. If you need more space than that, then you'll be looking at a lorry or Heavy Goods Vehicle. While the Sprinter impresses with its carrying capacity, however, it is out-matched in other areas which matter to large van drivers, including costs and safety tech. That's why it doesn't climb higher up our top 10 rankings
While both the Fiat Ducato and the Ford Transit appear on our top 10 list, we ultimately think the Transit is the better option. The Ducato has no shortage of space, and combines that practicality with a pleasant interior and steering which gives this large van surprising agility, which is handy on urban roads. Where the Transit takes the lead, however, is with a punchy range of engines and the fact that it comes with most of the kit you're going to want as standard. By contrast, once you've added a couple of options to the Ducato, it can become rather expensive.
We don't measure the reliability of individual vans as part of the What Car? Reliability Survey, but in terms of brands making vans which appear on our top 10 large van rankings, Citroen was in 7th place out of 31 brands featured, with Renault in 9th place. Ford was in 14th position, ahead of Volkswagen in 18th place and Peugeot in 19th place. Fiat rather brings up the rear here, sitting in 25th position. Since MAN is purely a commercial vehicle manufacturer, it was not included in our Reliability Survey.
The size of van you can drive depends on your driving licence. Anyone with a full, B category driving licence can drive any van weighing up to 3500kg, while drivers with the older C1 licence can drive vans weighing up to 7500kg. Generally speaking, if you passed your driving test before 1 January 1997, you'll have the C1 licence.
How we choose the best large vans
As our van reviewers put large vans through their paces, they assess them on their performance, interior, practicality and costs. What Car?’s thorough testing procedure allows them to rate and rank each van against rivals to give you an up-to-date and definitive list of the best large vans you can get in the UK.
To make sure our reviews are informative and useful to large-van buyers, we make it our job to understand their needs, so we’re particularly focused on assessing vehicles in the following key areas:
If you’re buying a large van, it almost goes without saying that you’re looking for a vehicle that’s strong on carrying capacity – both in terms of volume and weight. Our reviews tell you how much you’ll get in the load bay of each model, and how the payload and carrying capacity figures compare across the model range and against rivals. We use a Euro pallet as a benchmark, test the ease of loading and also consider whether you get useful mounting points to secure cargo.
A large van needs a lot of muscle to get itself and a big load around, so as well as looking at raw 0-62mph sprint times and power figures, we test how that power is delivered across the rev range. We’ll let you know about the van’s handling prowess and manoeuvrability (a vital element of day-to-day usefulness) and engine efficiency.
A long shift driving a large van can take its toll, so you can save yourself a lot of pain by picking a model that keeps you comfy behind the wheel. Our testers give the driver’s seat a good going over, checking it for adjustability and lumbar support. We also let you know if there are quirks such as offset pedals that might grate after a few hours on the road. We also measure the noise levels experienced at various speeds – a key factor if, for example, you’ll be spending a lot of time on motorways..
There is, of course, much more to reviewing a large van than those three factors. To find out more see our how we test vans feature.
