MAN TGE
In previous years, we’ve grouped the MAN TGE together with the Volkswagen Crafter – they’re the joint reigning champions in the large van class. There has always been a good reason for this: they are exactly the same van beneath the branding and built alongside each other in the same VW factory. For 2022, however, we wanted to give buyers an even clearer decision by recommending a single vehicle as our Large Van of the Year award-winner.
And while Volkswagen is likely the more familiar marque as far as Parkers readers are concerned, we’ve made the tough decision to place the TGE above it because it is sold by a truck manufacturer. This makes a difference because it gives the TGE access to MAN’s truck servicing network – which operates much longer hours and with a laser-focused determination to minimise vehicle downtime. The evidence we’ve seen shows that TGE operators can’t praise this highly enough.
RUNNERS-UP
VOLKSWAGEN CRAFTER
So for 2022, a long-standing Parkers Vans favourite, the Volkswagen Crafter, has to make do with a runner-up spot in the awards class it has dominated since we started holding the Parkers New Car Awards. It is still the same great van, with an exceptional focus on ease of use and making life better for the people who drive them – it’s amazing that such a large van can feel so simple to drive, for example, while the cab design is second-to-none. But VW’s commercial vehicle servicing network doesn’t quite offer the same flexibility as MAN’s, and the TGE has all the same attributes.
MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER
Excellent choices all round in the large van category in 2022, as we would never put anyone off buying a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. The Sprinter has an unmatched reputation for reliability, backed up by a 30-year roadside assistance offering and some really impressive on-board technology that many rivals are still way-off competing with. Like the Crafter and TGE, the latest Sprinter offers plenty of drivetrain choice, too, with front- rear- and all-wheel versions, plus an electric variant. It just misses out on top spot because for us the TGE offers a better working environment for drivers – though all three vans here offer long-distance comfort.
