The Ford Fiesta Van is no more. Sadly, changes to the passenger car version of the Ford Fiesta mean that there is no longer a commercial vehicle version offered for sale.
Ford’s decision means that the car-derived van (CDV) sector is severely depleted as the Fiesta has long been the most popular vehicle in its small class – a class that recently also lost the Renault Zoe Van from its ranks. Now buyers after both will have to search the used van listings.
Why was the Ford Fiesta Van taken off sale?
The decision to cancel the Ford Fiesta Van wasn’t directly to do with the van itself, but due to a change in the passenger car equivalent’s line up. The Fiesta hatchback was originally offered in both three-door and five-door versions, but the decision was taken this summer to scrap the three-door model.
As the three-door model formed the basis of the van, it followed that this also spelled the end for the commercial version.
A spokesman said that there were discussions about whether the company should turn the five-door into a van, but ultimately it decided against it. Other car-derived vans, such as the Toyota Corolla Commercial and Dacia Duster Commercial, retain their rear doors, which act as a means of getting into the loading bay, so there is precedent for a five-door CDV. Given the previous one returned because of customer pressure, there is always an outside chance that Ford might go back on its decision this time – after all, if it talked about it then it should be possible…
What other small car-derived vans are there on sale?
With the cancellation of the Ford Fiesta Van and the Renault Zoe Van, the car-derived van sector looks really rather bare at the moment and there is nothing else of this size available.
The closest, in concept at least, are the Dacia Duster Commercial and the Toyota Corolla Commercial, based on an SUV and an estate car respectively. The former is your best bet for a cheap CDV as it one of the lowest priced commercial vehicles you can buy. The Toyota’s USP is the fact that it is the only self-charging hybrid van that you can buy.
Other options are slightly more leftfield. The Citroen Ami Cargo is on its way soon, but that comes with plenty of restrictions, while the Land Rover Defender Hard Top and Discovery Commercial are both based on cars but are unsurprisingly a fair bit more expensive. You can also get the cheaper but just as off-road biased Toyota Land Cruiser Commercial, while the Ineos Grenadier is set to join the ranks soon too.
