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

2nd Report

Lift your foot off the Corolla Commercial’s accelerator for a moment and you are immediately conscious of the regeneration system kicking in as you slow. Energy that would otherwise be lost is recovered and pumped into the hybrid van’s battery.

Unlike some systems we have encountered it is not aggressive, and there is no danger that you will end up with your nose pressed against the windscreen. You know it is there, but it does not make its presence felt unduly; and it does, of course, help keep fuel usage down.

If you want to take matters a stage further, however, then deploy the gearshift’s ‘B’ setting when you are going down a steep hill. Doing so slows you immediately, but again, not in an aggressive fashion, and sends more energy that would otherwise be wasted in the battery’s direction.

I’ve been using it at every opportunity, even on quite gentle inclines, and especially when there are speed cameras about. Being able to shave three or four miles off your speed immediately could help ensure that you are not penalised.

As well as the B setting, and again with the aim of saving energy, I’ve been making extensive use of the Eco driving mode. Resorting to it still allows you to make decent progress unless you happen to have a lot of weight on board.

Fuel economy remains steady at 55mpg, and I’m feeling quietly smug about the Corolla Commercial being petrol-powered. At the time of writing diesel was 18p a litre more expensive than petrol.

My eagerness to save energy does not prevent me from making full use of the heated driver’s seat though. It’s more than welcome on a chilly morning, or if you’re driving home after a hard day’s work and your back and legs ache.

Among the Corolla Commercial’s latest missions has been to collect a leaf blower powered by a small two-stroke motor from a local repairer. 

I’d managed to wreck it in my usual ham-fisted manner. Unable to fix the damage myself, I’d been obliged to take it to a specialist.

Clearly somebody that ham-handed needs a van fitted with every conceivable safety device to ensure he doesn’t inadvertently come to grief. So why let him loose in a van without reversing sensors?

That alas is one of the oddities of the Corolla Commercial. 

It has a rear-view camera but is minus the sensors that should go with it. They are an extra-cost option which will cost you £245.83, and, in my opinion, should be included in the price.

On the face of it their absence shouldn’t matter. If you’ve got the camera, then why would you need sensors as well?

The camera after all enables you to see where you are going, and should allow you to avoid walloping lamp posts, walls and other vehicles; not to mention unwary pedestrians.