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

After a highly successful third year of the What Van? IVECO Daily Mission Awards, the prestigious event returns for 2024 with the competition for top honours shaping up to be more highly contested than ever. The first finalists to break cover this year are members of the Construction & Utilities category.

This is a demanding segment where a strong mission focus and durability are essential, but the IVECO Daily, with its class-leading capabilities has again proven itself the perfect partner for a wide variety of operators. Its strong truck-based chassis is an ideal platform for even the most challenging tasks.

Mission Award judges had a tough job selecting finalists from a large number of impressive entries, but there was a trio of vehicles that stood out as being truly exceptional within this category.

O’Connor Utilities  – Northern Commercials

Manchester-based O’Connor Utilities is one of the leading national utility and civil engineering partners, with its missions supporting the power, water, rail and telecoms sectors. This broad spectrum of disciplines meant that it needed a highly capable vehicle that was versatile enough to adapt to multiple roles, tow substantial plant equipment and carry materials to a host of environments. A total of 30 IVECO Daily panel vans (35S14 3520L H2) have now joined the fleet. 

Capable of towing up to 3.5 tonnes, the Daily’s truck DNA ensures that O’Connor Utilities has a strong vehicle that’s up to the towing challenge while also rugged enough to work across a range of punishing scenarios. A highly functional cargo area fitted with a racking system built by Vanliners Ltd secures a huge amount of equipment and tools. In addition to the enhanced specification offered by the Business Model, these vehicles were also specified with 270-degree rear doors allowing for easy access to the cargo area. 

Wigan-based Vanliners were responsible for numerous safety elements of these vehicles, including the fitment of LED beacon lights, Chapter 8 reflective decals, vehicle reversing alarms, and a driver alertness monitoring system.

Supplied by Northern Commercials, these vehicles impressed judges with their specifications that greatly enhanced the vehicle’s capabilities. O’Connor Utilities’ reassurance in the out-of-hours ANS breakdown service was also noted by members of the panel. 

AKV Cladding – North East Truck & Van

Nationwide commercial property cladding contractors AKV Cladding were in search of a robust vehicle capable of heavy-duty tasks. A 3.5-tonne IVECO Daily (35C16 HA8) and Daily 7-tonne (70C18 HA8) were selected for their exceptional load capacity. Specified with twin-rear wheels for optimum payload distribution, these Daily chassis were the ideal platforms for body builders AMS Bodies to create bespoke lightweight constructions for loading heavy cargo. Underbody storage neatly stows additional equipment without impacting on the load space for materials.

Delivering to building sites nationwide, AKV selected the range-extending 100-litre fuel tanks and Crosswind Assist that can help mitigate unwanted gusts. With many work sites being unpaved, Hill Descent Control and Traction Plus are great assets in ensuring safe deliveries. Both vehicles feature the smooth Hi-Matic 8-Speed automatic transmission to reduce driver fatigue.

Supplied by North East Truck & Van, these IVECO Daily are fitted with the Connectivity Box, allowing AKV to take advantage of telematics capable of monitoring vehicle health and installing over-the-air updates.