What is the safest van in 2023? ANCAP rates the best and worst vans for safety

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Australia’s vehicle safety authority ANCAP has released a report on the safety systems fitted to vans manufactured for the commercial market. 

While many of the vans sold in Australia have not been officially tested by ANCAP, the safety authority was able to score each van in terms of how comprehensive each van’s ADAS active safety systems were. 

Systems analysed in the test include car to car, cyclist and pedestrian autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane departure warning, lane keep assistance and driver monitoring. 

The best and worst vans for safety in the light commercial space

Of all the light commercial vans currently available in Australia, it was the Hyundai Staria Load that came out on top with a 90 percent ‘platinum’ score. 

The Staria Load is well equipped with active safety technologies including all forms of AEB (car-to-car, cyclist, pedestrian), lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning, blind spot monitoring, driver monitoring, speed limiter and a seat belt reminder. 

The van from Hyundai is one of only two vans to be officially rated by ANCAP, receiving a five-star rating in 2021. 

The ANCAP safety scores in the light commercial van space, ranked by performance, were:

• Hyundai Staria Load: 90% (platinum)
• Toyota Hiace: 77% (gold)
• Ford Transit Custom: 63% (gold)
• Mercedes-Benz Vito and e-Vito: 61% (gold)
• Volkswagen Transporter: 55% (silver)
• Peugeot Expert: 55% (silver)
• Renault Trafic: 45% (silver)
• LDV G10: 5% (not recommended)
• LDV V80: 5% (not recommended)

The Staria Load was followed by the Toyota Hiace with a 77 percent ‘gold’ score and the Ford Transit Custom with a 63 percent score.

Which light commercial vans performed poorly? 

The LDV G10 and LDV V80 vans were the worst of the lot in the small commercial space, scoring just five percent each. Neither van is fitted with any active safety systems and, in the words of ANCAP, are “not recommended”. 

Speaking with Chasing Cars, LDV public relations manager Oliver Peagam said this pair of vans would shortly come to the end of their lifecycle and be discontinued in Australia.

Additionally, the larger LDV Deliver 9 heavy commercial van did receive higher praise in ANCAP’s estimation, as detailed below.

The best and worst vans in the heavy commercial space

In the heavy commercial van space, the standout model for safety was the Fiat Ducato that scored an 88 percent rating and received the segment’s only Platinum score.

The Fiat Ducato has had a major shift from being one of the most poorly performing vans in terms of safety to one of the best and now has the full suite of active safety systems. 

The ANCAP safety scores in the heavy commercial van space, ranked by performance, were:

• Fiat Ducato: 88% (platinum)
• Ford Transit: 63% (gold)
• Mercedes-Benz Sprinter: 52% (silver)
• Volkswagen Crafter: 44% (silver)
• Iveco Daily: 41% (silver)
• Peugeot Boxer: 33% (bronze)
• LDV Deliver 9: 27% (bronze)
• Renault Master: 24% (bronze)

Following behind the Ducato was the Ford Transit with a 63 percent rating and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter with a 52 percent rating. 

Which heavy commercial vans performed poorly? 

Notably, the heavy commercial van segment no longer has any models with ANCAP’s wooden-spoon “not recommended” safety rating, which is a dramatic improvement for operators.

However, three vans did score the second-lowest rung bronze result.

The Renault Master was the van at the bottom of the field, having only minimal active safety systems. It has improved though, with ANCAP moving its rating from not recommended (six percent) to a bronze rating.

Also in the bronze category were the LDV Deliver 9 (27%), beating its older and smaller siblings from the light commercial van segment, and the Peugeot Boxer (33%).

Correction 22/2/23: an earlier version of this story omitted the score of the LDV Deliver 9, which has been added for additional context regarding LDV’s van safety performance. Additionally, the story now includes results for all vans rated in this ANCAP release to provide a full view of safety performance in each segment.