With Covid-19 generating increased use of commercial vans thanks to the rise of home-delivery services, the Australasian New Car Assessment Programme (ANCAP) has tested 15 commercial vans for the efficiency of their collision avoidance and driver- assistance systems. The tests included auto emergency braking, lane-support systems, speed-assist systems, and occupant-detection systems.

Toyota’s HiAce and Ford’s Transit topped results and were the only two to achieve a collision-avoidance ‘gold’ rating. The Hyundai iLoad, Mitsubishi Express, Renault Master, Renault Trafic and Iveco Daily were ‘not recommended’ due to their poor active- safety specification.

Given the long model life of commercial vans, some ratings predate this latest testing, and others remain untested. Light vans do not necessarily crash more often, but their design makes them ‘more aggressive’ when impacting other vehicles and road users.