The study, carried out by Moneybarn, aims to identify the level of reliability of the 30 most popular vans on UK’s roads. This report takes into account MOT pass rates, the average consumer rating for each model from Parkers and Auto Express, and the servicing demand based on the number of Google searches for servicing for each model.

Ranking first in the list is the Ford Transit Custom, which was found to be the most reliable van on the market, with a reliability score of 10/10, and an average consumer rating of 4.7, the highest of the list (together with the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter).

The Volkswagen Crafter and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter come in second and third place, both obtaining a reliability score of over 9/10.

The most reliable vans on the market:

At the other end of the rankings, the Nissan Primastar receives the lowest reliability score (1.26/10). The Primastar has a concerning MOT pass rate of just under 47%, and received the lowest average consumer rating on the list (3/5). Coming in second place is another Nissan, the Nissan NV200, earning a reliability score of 1.72/10. 

Not far in front of the NV200 is the Vauxhall Vivaro, which gets a 2.41/10 reliability score. The Vivaro has an average consumer rating below 4, and has seen a high 990 searches for servicing in the UK.

The least reliable vans on the market:

The most common reason that vans fail their MOT, according to HonestJohn, is problems with electrical equipment, including lamps and reflectors, with 653,352 failures in 2019. This is followed by suspension (406,488 failures) and brakes (369,863 failures).

The Ford Transit has seen the largest number of servicing searches than any other model - there have been 3,870 searches for Ford Transit Servicing in the UK in the past 24 months.

To build the final list, the rating is based on the average rating of reviews from Auto Express and Parkers. Servicing sources were taken as “vehicle x servicing” from Google Keywords, as the total number of searches for these terms in the UK over the last 24 months.

MOT pass rates were acquired via a Freedom of Information request to the DVSA. The total MOT pass percentage was calculated by summing up all successful MOT tests for each vehicle model and dividing this number by the total number of MOT tests recorded.

However, not all models have been tested the same number of times. Percentages were calculated using data from tests for specific models, and not variations or updates on these models. The UK’s top-selling vans for April 2022 were taken from Parkers.