The Ford Transit has been named the country’s most reliable van in the largest survey of its kind.

This is the third year running that the Transit has taken the coveted title of the country’s most reliable van in the annual FN50 research paper.

The survey, which was carried out by Grant Thornton on behalf of Fleet News, quizzed the UK’s 50 largest fleet companies to discover the most reliable vans in their combined fleets of 183,000 light commercials.

The Vauxhall Astravan took second place, with the Ford Transit Connect in third. Topping off the charts were two impressive rivals for fleets to consider, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in fourth place and the Volkswagen Transporter in fifth. Both were award-winners in the recent Fleet Van Awards.

FN50 Most Reliable Van

The results were a resounding success for Ford, which was also named most reliable van manufacturer, with Mercedes-Benz in second place, ahead of Volkswagen in third.

Only multi-marque leasing companies were included in the survey, covering the most reliable vans according to the number of breakdowns per 100 of each vehicle model on the fleet.

Points are awarded according to the number of times brands or models appear in the reliability tables supplied by leasing firms and for the position in which they are placed based on a listing of the top five.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter was named the best panel van of the year by members of ACFO, the car and van fleet representative association.
 
The Transit Connect shared the light van of the year title with the volkswagen Caddy – the first tie in the 26-year history of the awards.