Van safety has long been overlooked, with many vehicles getting the absolute bare minimum in terms of protection. All the while passenger car safety improves as more equipment is released and tests get stricter. Even the best vans, meanwhile, often had to make do with a single airbag at best.
This is starting to change, though, and Euro NCAP’s introduction of commercial vehicle safety ratings in 2021 was a big step in the right direction. More crucial, though, was the EU General Safety Regulation (GSR2) that arrived in July 2024 for all new vehicles, which has effectively dragged manufacturers kicking and screaming to a safer future by mandating more tech.
Euro NCAP is pushing for slightly tougher standards still, it says, but despite this the assessments it carries out are not as thorough as the equivalent ones for cars. Rather than putting the vehicles through the same rigorous crash testing, the testers assess vans for their safety assist equipment. Partly because of this, they get a different set of scores to differentiate them from the ratings given to cars.
Where cars are given a star rating out of five, vans are given a colour-coded equivalent, with Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum all possible. Those that perform really badly, though, get a simple ‘Not Recommended’.
Rather than periodically assessing vans throughout the year, Euro NCAP has historically updated its list once a year, although it has upped the ante in 2024. We have seen signs of improvement since the regime started, with a significant percentage of the vans assessed in July 2024 getting the top Platinum rating.
What is new for 2024?
As of 7 July 2024, all new vehicles now have to comply to the EU General Safety Regulation (GSR2). This requires much more in the way of safety and driver assistance technology.
This mandates the fitment of a range of safety kit. All vehicles including cars and vans must now be fitted with intelligent speed assistance, reversing detection with either a camera or sensors, attention warning in case of driver drowsiness or distraction, event data recorders and an emergency stop signal. Cars and vans also need to come with lane keeping assist and automated braking.
Secretary general Euro NCAP Dr. Michiel van Ratingen said: ‘We have seen a significant improvement in the availability of ADAS as manufacturers comply with new legislation. Our Commercial Van ratings though are designed to drive the effectiveness and performance beyond what is required by GSR2.
‘It is pleasing that vehicle manufacturers are responding to Euro NCAP’s tougher requirements and surpassing GSR2 standards, and we would urge fleet managers to consider Commercial Vans that have the Euro NCAP Platinum rating. These are the vehicles which most significantly outperform GSR2 regulations and offer commercial fleets safer choices that prevent or mitigate the severity of crashes and protect company reputation and their drivers.’
How have the results changed?
In 2021, Euro NCAP assessed 19 vans, which accounted for the vast majority of the vehicles sold in the European market. The Ford Transit, the Mercedes-Benz Vito and the Volkswagen Transporter 6.1 were all given Gold awards while the Fiat Talento, Opel/Vauxhall Movano, Nissan NV400, Renault Master and Renault Trafic were all marked as ‘not recommended.’ No vans hit the top standards required to get a Platinum rating.
In 2022 things improved slightly, with only the Nissan NV400 (now the Interstar) rated as not recommended while the Fiat Ducato stepped up from Gold to Platinum.
The Ducato lost its Platinum rating for 2023, but this was down to the stricter ratings rather than a change to the van’s offering but it remained the highest rated vehicle in the list. The Interstar retained its position at the foot of the table.
The 2024 changes have seen the biggest leap, though, with seven of the 17 vehicles tested in July 2024 getting the top Platinum rating. Of the remaining 10, nine then got Gold and one – the LEVC VN5 – got Silver. An all-new Interstar means it is no longer the wooden spoon holder, and is the proud recipient of a Platinum rating.
The below list isn’t every van that is on sale – these are just those that got the top rating, as there are so many these days. To see the full list, head to Euro NCAP’s website.
8. Maxus eDeliver 5 – Platinum
This might well provide reassurance to anyone that might not know much about the ever-growing brand, Maxus. The eDeliver 5 is the fourth panel van the brand has launched in a few short years, and it marks the point that Maxus is starting to fill the gaps – it sits in between the small and medium size categories.
The larger eDeliver 7 and eDeliver 9 both picked up a Gold award, but the eDeliver 5’s 83% overall score tips it into Platinum territory. It scored a good rating in four of the six categories with the pedestrian AEB and Speed Assist Systems rated as only adequate. It was rated particularly highly for its cyclist crash avoidance and its car-to-car AEB though.
7. Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo – Platinum
The Volkswagen ID.Buzz Cargo is possibly the most interesting van currently available, with its retro-inspired styling, excellent driving manners and long electric range working in its favour.
It’s also highly impressive when it comes to safety according to Euro NCAP, and is one of three new vans available to be awarded a platinum rating, and boasts an 83% overall rating. Full marks were recorded for its occupant status monitoring, but adequate ratings for the autonomous emergency for pedestrians and cyclists stopped it being rated higher.
6. Volkswagen Caddy/Ford Transit Connect – Platinum
The VW Caddy has appeared in Euro NCAP’s test lists before, but was reassessed for 2024 and has upped it rating from 68% and gold to 83% and a Platinum result. The big change is that the Ford Transit Connect is also part of the same result and gets the same score.
The small van did relatively well across most of its categories, with an equal number of adequate and good results, but it did particularly well when testers looked at the lane support systems and occupant status monitoring. Both of these scored the maximum possible.
5. Nissan Interstar/Renault Master – Platinum
Two vans, one result – the all-new 2024 Nissan Interstar and Renault Master are fundamentally the same vehicle, so they share safety systems and resultant Euro NCAP score. This is particularly good news as the previous Interstar was a holder of an undesired ‘Not recommended’ rating.
This time around the pair both get an 84% overall score but are rated good in all bar one of the six individual areas – only AEB pedestrian gets an adequate result, while it is particularly good at spotting cyclists and recognising when there are people on board.
4. Mercedes Citan – Platinum
Not all co-developed vans are equal when it comes to Euro NCAP ratings – the Mercedes Citan might be fundamentally the same as the Renault Kangoo but the Merc picks up a Platinum score and 87% rating while the Kangoo only gets Gold. This is no newly acquired Platinum score, either, as the Citan has been ahead of the curve on this front.
With the exception of an ‘adequate’ performance in autonomous emergency braking for pedestrians, it scored good in all other areas. Just be aware that a lot of the equipment that helps the Citan to be ranked so highly is only available as an optional extra.
3. Mercedes-Benz Vito – Platinum
The Citan is no longer the brand’s highest rated van, with the Mercedes-Benz Vito nipping in with a very impressive score of 90%.
The ratings are excellent across the board, too, with only the AEB cyclist detection letting the side down a bit with its adequate result. Of the other areas the pedestrian detection’s 9.9/10 score was bettered only by the 15/15 result for occupant status monitoring.
2. Ford Transit Courier – Platinum
The Transit Courier might be Ford’s smallest van, but it’s certainly not compromised when it comes to safety, as it’s the second highest rated van from Euro NCAP.
The Transit Courier is heavily based around Ford’s Puma car, and that shows when it comes to safety. It scored a high 93% rating overall, and recorded ‘good’ scores in all categories. Top marks were also awarded for its lane support, speed assist and occupant status monitoring systems.
1. Ford Transit Custom – Platinum
The engineers behind the Ford Transit Custom were targeting a top score from Euro NCAP and they have managed it, with the 96% result the best of any van on sale.
In fact, it racks up high ratings across the board, getting the maximum possible score for its lane support, speed assist and occupant status monitoring systems. In fact, about the only thing that Euro NCAP highlighted was the fact that there is a ‘slight drop-off in performance of the forward-collision warning at the highest speeds.’ This doesn’t come close to preventing the Ford from being the safest van on sale according to Euro NCAP.
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