Top 5 best medium vans by mpg

Choosing the right fuel-powered medium van for your business will depend on a range of factors including price, payload capacity, maintenance costs, cabin comfort, and fuel efficiency. It’s that last factor this article focuses on, because better mpg can lead to long-term savings.

All mpg figures below are the official WLTP combined cycle results, accurate as of September 2025 and sourced from the latest manufacturer brochures and price lists available. Just remember, more factors than mpg come into making your medium van choice, so this isn’t an order of preference.

Top of the list is the Ford Transit Custom PHEV, a superb medium van in its own right and one of a few PHEVs Ford has recently brought to market… check out our Ford Transit Custom PHEV and Transit Connect PHEV first drives article for more info. To get the excellent 176 mpg rating, you’ll want to choose the Trend or Limited trim level Custom PHEV packing the 2.5-litre Duratec hybrid powertrain under the bonnet. It was one of our favourite vans to drive in 2024, because… well… it’s a Ford Transit Custom that drives smoother than butter!

The Stellantis medium vans are good value for money and stack up neatly in this list of mpg ratings with the Citroen Dispatch, Fiat Scudo, Peugeot Expert and Vauxhall Vivaro all offering nearly 45 mpg. While it might feel like there’s not much to choose from between a gaggle of platform-sharing vans, each one has something different and a variety of trim levels to choose from. If you want one with this mpg rating, choose an L1 wheelbase model with the 1.5-litre diesel engine outputting 120 horsepower.

Despite being based on the Renault Trafic medium van, the Nissan Primaster is a good van in its own right and covered by an excellent five-year warranty. Some say the Primaster looks better than the Trafic… although that’s down to taste… and its mpg score is only slightly higher. It’s definitely worth digging into the specifications to see which one will suit you best before making a decision based on the mpg scores.

These two vans, although completely unrelated, offer the same mpg rating of nearly 41 mpg. The Renault Trafic received a revised look, more kit and a new automatic gearbox in 2020, and rather than making a series of minor tweaks, Renault has given the Trafic a totally fresh set of engines. The 2.0-litre manual models are the ones offering the mpg score above. As for the Volkswagen Transporter, the current model platform shares with the Ford Transit Custom, and it’s the models running the 2.0-litre diesel 110 horsepower manual engine you want if you’re after the mpg score above. Either one is a great van in its own right, just check out our reviews and you’ll see what we mean.

The latest version of the Mercedes-Benz Vito is definitely one of the more attractive medium vans on the market, and its mpg score is a bonus. To get the best mpg score in the range, you’ll want the 114 Van PRO trim model, specifically the L2 version running the 2.0-litre diesel engine. It’s a practical van, although there are still compromises you need to make with it… not least of which are the lower-than-average payloads and the drive selector stalk on the right side of the steering wheel. However, the removal of the foot-operated parking brake and the much-improved smooth automatic transmission go some way to make up for it.

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