Best crew cab vans in the UK: Top picks for 2026

The Ford Transit Custom Double Cab-in-Van – DCIV for short – has been the gold standard crew cab van for well over a decade. Its excellent driving manners mean it feels planted and refined, rather than bouncing around and making a din like a noisy old diesel van.

Yet it’s also very practical, with a well-designed and hard-wearing interior, seating up to six people without sacrificing too much of the load space you’ll need. Choose the longer L2 model and there's still enough room behind the second row for two Euro pallets, making it ideal for builders, electricians and maintenance teams.

The dashboard offers plenty of storage, the infotainment system is among the best in the van world, proving simple to use on the move, while the driving position feels like a big SUV’s. There’s also a wide choice of power: Diesel models return up to a claimed 39.2mpg, making them a sensible option for high-mileage users, while the Ford E-Transit Custom DCIV offers up to 226 miles of quoted driving range. For businesses ready to make the switch to electric, it’s a mint option.

The latest Volkswagen Transporter Kombi is all-new and shares much of its engineering with the excellent Ford Transit Custom DCiV. That's good news, because it combines Volkswagen's solid build quality with one of the best van platforms currently on sale. The Kombi version is especially good if your van has to do a bit of everything. It has seating for up to six people, a smart, modern cabin and a generous load area that still has room for tools, bikes or camping gear.

Volkswagen has also expanded the range to include fully electric models as well as diesels, giveing buyers plenty of choice. The electric Volkswagen e-Transporter Kombi is the best version: Not only is it quieter and smoother than the diesel, it has significantly more torque – 430Nm compared with 390Nm in the most powerful 170PS diesel – meaning it’s better equipped to handle a full load. Residual values have traditionally been strong, too, making the VW Transporter Kombi an excellent long-term investment.

Updated significantly in 2024, the Volkswagen Crafter Double Cab is difficult to beat if your business needs to carry a full crew and plenty of kit. It’s significantly bigger than the Transporter. Available in multiple lengths, heights and body styles, the Double Cab version seats six while still offering up to 14.4 cubic metres of load space. That's enough room for several Euro pallets, bulky building materials or all the tools and equipment a busy trade team needs for a day's work.

Despite its size, the Crafter is easy to drive. Visibility is excellent, the controls are light and the recent update brought a much improved touchscreen and the latest driver assistance technology.

Running costs are respectable rather than exceptional. Official fuel economy tops out at around 34mpg, and bigger tyres, larger service bills and a higher purchase price mean it's not the cheapest van to own. But if the alternative is sending two vans to every job, the Crafter quickly starts to make financial sense.

If comfort and style matter just as much as practicality, the Mercedes-Benz Vito Crew Van deserves a place near the top of your shortlist. The Vito remains one of the most refined double cab vans you can buy - albeit, you pay for it. The cabin looks and feels more expensive than most vans – the combination of impressive build quality and the same badge you’ll find on an S-Class makes the Vito’s extra cost feel like money well spent.

There's space for up to six adults and enough room behind the rear bench for tools and equipment, while the latest MBUX infotainment system is lifted almost directly from Mercedes' passenger cars. It supports wireless smartphone mirroring and voice control means you can change the navigation or make a call without taking your hands off the wheel.

Buyers can choose from several versions of Mercedes' lovely 2.0-litre diesel engine, with outputs ranging from 136PS to 190PS. The nine-speed automatic gearbox that comes as standard on higher-powered models is one of the best around - smoother than Barry White’s big book of pickup lines. Official fuel economy of up to 39.2mpg is decent rather than groundbreaking, but the Mercedes Vito Crew Van tends to hold its value well, which means overall it’s a wise purchase.

The Renault Trafic Crew Van has been around for a while – it was last updated in 2022 – but it's still one of the strongest all-round double cab vans on the market. The cabin is spacious, comfortable and well laid out, while the rear bench provides enough room for adults rather than feeling like an afterthought.

One of its most clever features is the load-through bulkhead, which lets you slide longer items like timber or ladders under the passenger seat. That increases the maximum load length to more than four metres in L2 models.

Running costs are reasonable, too. The latest 2.0-litre Blue dCi diesel engines can return up to 42.2mpg, plus Renault’s fixed-price servicing helps make ownership costs easier to budget for. It may not have the prestige of a Mercedes Vito Crew Van or the popularity of the Ford Transit Custom DCIV, but the Renault Trafic Crew Van is a dependable, practical choice that should prove inexpensive to own.

Like the Trafic, the Vauxhall Vivaro Double Cab is getting on a bit, but it continues to be one of the UK's most popular medium vans for lots of good reasons. Available with efficient diesel engines or as the Vauxhall Vivaro Electric Double Cab – catchy name – it gives buyers plenty of flexibility depending on their business needs. The electric versions offer up to 230 miles of claimed driving range and is great for businesses looking to cut running costs or avoid Clean Air Zone charges.

Part of the appeal is the Vauxhall's car-like’ driving experience - as in, the ride quality is settled, the steering is a little sharper than the average van’s and refinement is… refined. For a van.

Its cabin is straightforward rather than flashy, but that's no bad thing in a working van. The infotainment system is easy to use and there's plenty of storage for paperwork, bottles and tools. Buyers can choose from a broad range of trims, from no-nonsense Prime models to better-equipped Pro versions with features such as a reversing camera, heated seats and keyless entry. There's even a sporty-ish GS specification.

For those that want low running costs, a wide dealer network and a van with the reassurance of millions of real-world miles behind it, the Vauxhall Vivaro Double Cab remains one of the safest buys among medium-sized commercial vehicles.

Let's address the big van-shaped elephant in the room: the Peugeot Expert Crew Van is – styling details and badges aside – essentially the same as its Citroen Dispatch, Fiat Scudo, Iveco Jolly, Toyota Proace and Vauxhall Vivaro equivalents. That's no bad thing though, because this platform has proved itself to be one of the best all-round medium commercial vehicles on the market. Which one you choose will probably come down to the best deal, or your nearest dealer.

The Expert Crew Van seats up to six people while retaining a useful load bay, but its relatively compact dimensions make it much easier to thread through busy town centres than a larger van. Like its platform-sharing siblings, it also gets the clever Moduwork load-through bulkhead, allowing you to carry longer items, such as lengths of timber or unbuilt Billy bookcases, with consummate ease.

Running costs are another strong point. The latest diesel engines can return a claimed 44.8mpg – so 36-38mpg in real life – while the all-electric Peugeot E-Expert Crew Van offers up to 230 miles of range. Again, bank on 180 or so in the real world, but it's still enough to make it well suited to businesses that spend most of their time in towns and cities. It may not be the most exciting double cab on sale, but it's practical, dependable and represents excellent value for money.

Not everyone needs a full-size van, and that's where the Volkswagen Caddy Cargo Kombi makes perfect sense. It's compact enough to fit easily into supermarket car parks and narrow residential streets, yet still offers impressive versatility. Five seats come as standard, with plenty of room in the rear for tools, luggage or sports equipment.

The Caddy Cargo Kombi feels more like driving a small SUV than a commercial vehicle, with sharper handling than most vans. A weird thing to say, true, but it matters because it means it doesn’t feel clumsy like vans often can.

The engines are economical too with low running costs being one of the Caddy's biggest strengths. The latest 2.0-litre diesel engines return up to 51.4mpg, meaning you'll spend less time at the pumps than you would with a larger crew cab van. Combine that with Volkswagen's strong resale values and the VW Caddy Cargo Kombi is one of the cheapest crew vans to own over the long term

If you don't need a large van, the Citroen Berlingo Crew Van offers impressive versatility in a much smaller footprint. There’s another elephant here – albeit a smaller one – because the Berlingo is nigh-on identical to other vans wearing Fiat Doblo, Peugeot Partner, Toyota Proace City and Vauxhall Combo Cargo badges. Hey ho, that’s van life these days.

There's seating for five people, a folding second row of seats and Citroen's clever Extenso load-through bulkhead means you can carry longer items below the outer passenger seat without sacrificing a second row of seating.

Despite its compact size, there's still enough room in the back of the Citroen Berlingo Crew Van for a Europallet, making it a genuinely practical option for many trades. Running costs are another big selling point. The latest Diesel 100 engine can return up to 54.4mpg, keeping fuel bills impressively low, while the all-electric Citroen e-Berlingo Crew Van offers up to 219 miles of range. That’s definitely the best choice for those working mainly in towns and cities, being quieter, quicker and just generally more pleasant to drive.

Sharing much of its engineering with the Citroen Berlingo, the Vauxhall Combo Crew Van version is - you won't be alarmed to hear - just as compact, practical and surprisingly spacious inside. It carries five people in comfort while still leaving enough room in the rear for tools or the classic Euro pallet. Vauxhall calls the load through bulkhead feature FlexCargo, which makes more sense than Citroen’s Extenso name.

Where the Combo often edges ahead is value. It tends to be aggressively priced against its platform-sharing rivals, and Vauxhall's extensive network of dedicated commercial vehicle centres makes servicing and repairs convenient wherever your business is based. Diesel models can return up to 54.4mpg, while the Vauxall Combo Electric Crew Van offers up to 219 miles of claimed driving range and near-silent running around town.

It might not have the strongest personality in the class, but if you're looking for a straightforward, hard-working crew van that offers plenty of practicality for the money, the Vauxhall Combo Crew Van is one of the smartest buys on the market.