What Van? Britain's biggest and best van buyers' guide

The new Volkswagen Crafter has won the coveted What Van? Light Commercial Vehicle of the Year Award for 2018.

The Crafter is the most significant model to come to market in the last 12 months and gives its manufacturer the chance to really make its mark in the large van sector where it has historically punched below its weight and not matched its performance in the light van sector, with the Caddy, and in the medium van sector, with the Transporter.

What Van? editor James Dallas said: “Once in a while a model comes along that looks as though it could not only be a game-changer for its manufacturer but could also shake up an entire sector’s established order. VW’s large van is such a vehicle.”

Volkswagen collected the trophy for the Crafter, which was also crowned Large Van of the Year, at the exclusive What Van? Awards luncheon held in partnership with Alphabet, FORS (the Fleet Operators Recognition Scheme), Lightfoot and Allianz, ODO, Scot Seat, Sortimo and Trucksmith at the Brewery in central London on 13 December.

Last year’s winners of the top award, the Citroen Dispatch, Peugeot Expert and Toyota Proace retained the Medium Van prize, the new Isuzu D-max was named best Pick-up and other winners included Fiat Professional, Ford, Renault, Dacia, RoSPA (The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents), NextBase, the Royal Mail and Fleet Source.

What Van? welcomed Martin Flach, Iveco’s Alternative Fuels director who has worked tirelessly to make electric drivetrains a viable option on large vans, into its Hall of Fame and opened up the Converter of the Year Award to readers’ votes for the fourth consecutive year.