Shortlist for What Van? awards for safety 2024
This year, Euro NCAP is collaborating with the What Van? Awards in the UK and judging a specific award for van safety.
The vehicle safety assessor has published van safety ratings since 2020, and has today revealed a shortlist of 10 vans in the running for this safety award 2024.
For the award, vans are said by Euro NCAP to be considered and judged for their market availability, standard vs optional fit of safety systems and value for money as well as class leading safety performance.
In alphabetical order the vans on the shortlist are:
- Fiat Ducato – 2022
- Ford Transit – 2021
- Ford Transit Courrier – 2023
- LEVC VN5 – 2020
- Mercedes-Benz Sprinter – 2018
- Mercedes-Benz Vito – 2014
- Nissan Primastar – 2022
- Renault Trafic – 2014
- Volkswagen Crafter – 2017
- Volkswagen Transporter – 2019
Euro NCAP says it aims to provide better information to those buying vans, whether they are an individual tradesman or a fleet ordering several thousand vehicles. The costs and consequences of vehicles being involved in collisions can be reduced by operating the safest vehicles possible, leading to higher productivity, reductions in reputational risk and more favourable insurance premiums.
Put to the test, Euro NCAP adds that it has seen some noticeable differences in vans compared to passenger cars. Not all commercial vans offer the latest ADAS functionalities, such as pedestrian and cyclist detection. Some vans offer lane support systems, blind spot detection, lane departure warning or lane keep assist. Speed assist technology, if present, is mostly manual set and lacking a speed limit information function. Seat belt reminders are mostly standard for driver but absent for front passengers.
Euro NCAP has tested around 95 per cent of the European market vans from the smaller car derived N1 vans based on passenger cars, to the larger N2 category vans with all weights of up to five tonnes.
The top 10 performers in the competition for this year’s What Van? Awards 2024 are vans that have made huge strides in improving safety, according to Euro NCAP. All vans have either achieved a Platinum, Gold, or Silver, rating under Euro NCAP’s strict and independent safety assessment.
