Mid-size Van of the Year 2025: Ford Transit Custom
Keep things basic, and the standard Leader model with 2.0-litre EcoBlue diesel power delivers a no-nonsense drive in two body lengths. But if you need to carry passengers, then the six-seat Double Cab In-Van could be for you. This comes in a wider range of trims, including the rugged adventure-inspired Trail option and racy Sport and MS-RT specs (which are also offered on the standard panel van), and given that the Transit Custom delivers such a grown-up drive, this could easily double as family transport.
Somewhere in between the two sits the MultiCab, with a five-seat layout (three in the front, two in the back) and an L-shaped bulkhead so long items can still fit in the cargo bay.
The strong diesel engines deliver good efficiency and power, while the electrified e-Transit Custom adds hushed refinement to the mix. There's even a performance-orientated model in MS-RT guise, where the electric powertrain is turned up to 281bhp (up from 215bhp as standard) to help give it the grunt to match the racier looks. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below
Overall, the Transit Custom sets the standard by which all other medium-sized panel vans must be judged, and it will have to be a very strong contender to knock the Ford off the number one position next year. Advertisement - Article continues below
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There's huge variety in the Transit Custom line-up, but the five-seat Double Cab In-Van variant stands out because it could be a more practical alternative to a pick-up truck, now that the tax regime for the latter has changed. It doesn't carry as much as the standard panel van, but the versatile second-row seats means it could double as family transport.
There's so little between the Citroen Dispatch, Fiat Scudo, Peugeot Expert and Vauxhall Vivaro that we commended all four. They deliver car-like driving characteristics and excellent safety features, plus the choice
of diesel and electric powertrains.
Volkswagen's new arrival picks up where the old Transporter left off, by offering quality and capability in a great all-round package. There are standard and long wheelbases, diesel and electric power, while the Standard, Plus and Pro trims offer an increasing amount of luxury through the range.
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The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Lewis Hamilton criticises delayed start to Belgian GP – but team bosses side with FIA
Lewis Hamilton believes the Belgian Grand Prix should have resumed earlier after a cautious approach from the FIA amid wet conditions at Spa-Francorchamps. After an 80-minute delay due to a heavy downpour, the race restarted with four laps behind the safety car, despite the track drying rapidly in most areas. The 44-lap grand prix begun with a rolling start, rather than the usual standing start and seven-time world champion Hamilton believed race control compensated for the last race at Silverstone, where a crash occurred due to lack of visibility in the rain. 'We started the race a little bit too late, I would say,' said Hamilton, who started in the pit-lane and finished seventh to conclude a wretched weekend. 'I kept shouting 'it's ready to go, it's ready to go'. They kept going round and round. So, I think they're probably overreacting from the last race, where we asked them not to restart the race too early, because the visibility was bad. 'I think this weekend they just went a bit too much the other way, because we didn't need a rolling start.' 'My car was set up for that [rain], they waited for it to dry pretty much. They definitely could have done a standing start, especially at the end there, because it was almost a dry line. There was hardly any spray.' Max Verstappen agreed with Hamilton, calling the delay 'silly' over team radio. However, Hamilton's boss at Ferrari, team principal Fred Vasseur, thought race director Rui Marques was correct to err on the side of caution, particularly given past crashes in the rain at Spa. 'The spray is coming from the floor, there is nothing we can do,' he said. 'The limitation is not the grip, the limitation is visibility. The helmet camera shows it, you can understand in this situation that they see absolutely nothing. 'Remember what happened in Silverstone with the crash, this is the most dangerous. We can't blame them, we would be the first one to give them s*** if something happened. 'I was comfortable in respecting their decision because they have a huge responsibility.' McLaren team principal Andrea Stella, whose drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris led home another one-two finish for the runaway leaders, also concurred with the FIA's decision-making. 'I think today the race was managed in a very wise way by the FIA,' he said. 'We knew there was a lot of rain coming. Delaying the race allowed us to race in wet conditions and we went into dry. We didn't even know how long the dry race would've been. 'I think from our position we always praise the work of the FIA when this is deserved and this is one of the cases.'
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Hamilton agrees with Verstappen that Belgian GP should not have been delayed
Lewis Hamilton said he agreed with Max Verstappen that the start of the Belgian Grand Prix should not have been suspended. Verstappen branded race director Rui Marques' move to bring out the red flag after a single formation lap in the rain at Spa-Francorchamps as 'silly' and 'way too cautious'. Following a delay of one hour and 20 minutes – which the FIA said was due to 'poor visibility' – the race eventually got under way, albeit in a rolling start after four laps behind the safety car. Hamilton was able to switch from intermediates to dry tyres after just seven racing laps. And when it was put to Hamilton, who made up 11 places to finish seventh, that Verstappen claimed the race should have started immediately, he replied: 'I would agree. My car was set up for that, and they waited for it to dry. Especially at the end. It was a dry line with hardly any spray.' There have been 49 driver/rider fatalities at Spa-Francorchamps in the last 100 years – most recently Dutch 18-year-old Dilano Van 't Hoff in 2023, and Frenchman Anthonie Hubert in a Formula Two race four years previously. The last Formula One race at Silverstone also took place in wet conditions, and Hamilton, 40, continued: 'It was just a reaction to Silverstone. 'We sat down and spoke about it after Silverstone. Lots of drivers in the last race said we shouldn't have restarted, because of a lack of visibility. And as soon as someone up ahead said, 'visibility is pretty bad' which, it wasn't great but it wasn't as bad as the last race, they just decided to wait. 'They still did a good job. Of course we did miss some of the extreme wet weather racing, which would have been nice. But for some reason the spray here is like a fog.' In 2021, the rain-hit race was abandoned after just two laps behind the safety car. Defending the decision to delay the start of Sunday's event, Hamilton's Ferrari team-mate Charles Leclerc said: 'On a track like this you cannot forget about the history and what has happened in the past so I would rather be safe than go early.' Oscar Piastri, who won in Belgium to extend his championship lead over Lando Norris to 16 points, continued: 'We have given the FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side. 'If you were being picky you might say we could have done one fewer lap behind the safety car but is the risk worth it? 'The first time we tried to start the race, with only Lando ahead, I couldn't see a thing, so you can imagine what it is like for the guys at the back.'
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Oscar Piastri profits to extend title lead as Lando Norris blows pole
Oscar Piastri had watched Max Verstappen breeze past him on the Kemmel Straight in the sprint race and had feared the worst would happen again in the main event on Sunday. Instead, it was his team-mate who had that same helpless feeling, Lando Norris losing the lead in the first proper racing lap of the grand prix — after an 80-minute rain delay — Piastri nursing his medium tyres to the end of a dull race in a gloomy Spa. Piastri extended his championship lead to 16 points, so won't mind the lack of activity, barely even given a fright by his team-mate on the harder compound who again made mistakes running wide, in his eagerness to close the gap. The new normal for Red Bull without Christian Horner, their long-serving former team principal and CEO, was rather similar to the old one; Verstappen did not have the pace to challenge the McLarens and was stuck behind the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc eventually finishing fourth. The most notable difference was perhaps on the grid, with Jos Verstappen, who had been openly critical of Horner, relaxed and stood alongside new team principal Laurent Mekies. Horner was watching from home, the first grand prix in 405 events (and Red Bull's entire race history) that he had not attended. Lewis Hamilton produced an excellent recovery drive to finish seventh, having started in 18th. Hamilton, Kimi Antonelli and Fernando Alonso started from the pitlane having opted for new power unit elements which were not permitted within their allocation. This meant they were able to make set-up changes with view of the conditions, whereas the rest of the grid were left with the decision they made ahead of qualifying. Carlos Sainz joined them at the back of the field, having also made setup changes. Yet, as the cars lined up on the grid, teams were erecting gazebos as a sudden shower hit the track. Drivers reported poor visibility on the formation lap behind the safety car, so the race start was delayed. It is the spray from the cars which is the main issue, rather than the standing water or grip itself from the intermediate or wet tyres. Nonetheless, frustration remains at the idea of wet tyres essentially being made redundant because of the spray. There is hope that next year's new regulations could mean slightly less spray is produced from the back of the cars. It was not an afternoon which produced great interest for the television fan, or those that had braved the weather in Belgium. Drivers spent an hour and 20 minutes twiddling their thumbs in the garage, as a heavier rain shower on the radar prevented the FIA starting the race in a brief dry period. Eventually it stopped by 4.20pm local time with the race resuming behind the safety car. On lap five, racing began in earnest with a rolling start after pole sitter Norris was one of those to report on the radio that one side of the grid was drier than the other, suggesting a standing start would not be fair. It did him little favour though — as having used much of his battery pack on the restart, he was easily passed by his team-mate on the Kemmel Straight. Hamilton had very little to lose after what he described a 'weekend to forget', after spinning in sprint qualifying, finishing 15th in that short format race, and then exiting in 16th of main qualifying after exceeding track limits at Raidillon. He called it an 'unacceptable' individual error. He carved through the field to reach 13th by lap ten, and then was the first driver to make the crucial decision to pit for slick tyres on the drying track. That dropped him to 17th, but as soon as he navigated the first corners, it was evident it was the correct decision. He moved up to seventh, while the rest of the grid came into the pits. He still apologised to his team at the end of the race, for his error on Saturday. The leaders, apart from Norris, pitted for mediums on lap 13. Norris was asked by his engineer Will Joseph whether he would prefer the hard tyre, which could last until the end of the race — and having already lost time to his team-mate, the British driver took the risk. That began a slow and steady race to close the gap to Piastri, which gave the race a slight sense of jeopardy — in the end, the gap was simply too large to bridge.
