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

For the second year in succession Dacia’s Duster Commercial has driven off with What Van?’s 4x4 Van of the Year Award.

Competitive pricing, a high standard of equipment, support by a comprehensive network that also represents Renault, plus an ability to keep going in mud and snow, all help its case. It is exactly what you want if you need to tackle rural lanes that have not been gritted in the depths of winter, or if you have to venture into a muddy paddock.

Fitted with selectable four-wheel drive that uses Renault-Nissan Alliance technology, the Duster Commercial is based on the five-door Duster SUV. Power comes courtesy of a 109hp 1.5-litre Euro6 dCi 110 diesel and you can also order the vehicle as a front-wheel drive 4x2.

Two levels of specification are listed: Ambiance and the more upmarket Laureate. All models come with
remote central locking, electric front windows, roof bars, a driver’s seat and steering
wheel that are both height-adjustable, and a MP3-compatible radio/CD player with steering column-mounted remote controls and Bluetooth connectivity. The deal includes front fog lights and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

Opt for Ambiance specification and you get plenty of black trim plus 16-inch steel wheels.
Specify Laureate instead and the vehicle comes with 16-inch alloys, manual air-conditioning, cruise control, electrically heated and adjustable exterior mirrors, a speed-limiter, and leather trim for the steering wheel. To all that can be added a seven-function onboard computer as well as satin chrome side sills plus front and rear scuff plates.

Access to the 1.6m3 cargo bay is by means of a rear hatch and a hinged door on each side of the body shell. Both the side doors are opaque – the windows are fixed in place and blacked out with film – but the hatch is glazed and equipped with a heater and a wash/wipe system.

The doors open to reveal a purpose-built toughened-plastic load bed. A lip at the driver’s end of the tray should help prevent unsecured items from sliding into the cab, and a mesh bulkhead is listed as an optional extra.

Payload capacity is 550kg; maximum braked towing weight is 1,500kg. Employing a particulate filter, the four-cylinder, eight-valve, turbocharged, common-rail, direct-injection diesel engine produces maximum power at 4,000rpm. Top torque of 260Nm bites at 1,750rpm.

All derivatives come with a six-speed manual gearbox. However, the one installed in the 4x4 differs from that fitted to the 4x2 because it has a shorter first gear ratio that is better suited to off-road work.
The 4x4 model offers 2WD, 4WD and Auto settings.

The last-named automatically distributes torque between the front and rear axles according to the prevailing road conditions – if you hit a stretch of highway covered in snow or by mud deposited by agricultural vehicles, for example. It uses an electromagnetic torque converter sourced from Renault’s partner Nissan.