Coaxing a panel van heavily laden with equipment and a crew of workmen up a steep and icy rural road miles from anywhere in the depths of winter isn’t the easiest of tasks. No matter how good a driver you are, you run the risk of slipping and slithering all over the place and ending up in a ditch.

When times are tough it is essential to reduce overheads without damaging your business. So why go to the expense of running a car as well as a van if you can make one vehicle do the job of both? Admittedly achieving such a compromise isn’t simple, but Peugeot has made it a lot easier with the launch of the Partner Crew Van. 

Renault has completely revamped its Master with a new internal and external design, a Ford-style choice of either front- or rear-wheel drive, gross weights that now extend up to 4.5 tonnes and load areas that go up to a roomy 17.0m³. Flip open the bonnet and you’ll be confronted by a new generation 2.3-litre dCi four-cylinder diesel up for grabs at 100hp, 125hp or 145hp.

For years Vauxhall has been looking for a van that could be a convincing rival to models such as Mercedes-Benz’s Sprinter, Volkswagen’s Crafter and the heavier-duty end of Ford’s Transit range. Now it has got one in the shape of the new Movano.