If you’re thinking of buying a new van this year but are not sure where to start – or are simply looking for an alternative to the flexible and trustworthy Ford Transit – then the What Van? 2010 awards might be a good place to start.

Journalists are never happy to leave a good thing alone, and the What Van? judges have scoured the van market for all possible contenders, choosing a completely new van model as their Van of the Year 2010. The Nissan NV200 is based on the same platform as a Nissan Micra but manages to squeeze a load length of just over 2m into an overall length of only 4.4m – considerably shorter than most short wheelbase panel vans.

Other interesting category winners include the little-known van versions of the Citroen C-Crosser/Mitsubishi Outlander in the 4×4 van category and the Ford Transit in the Minibus category. The Iveco Daily won the Large Panel Van category, its larger range of engines and weight choices helping it to pip the Mercedes Sprinter to the post.

Both large vans contenders offer some of the cleanest engines ever seen in this sector – all Sprinter models are now compliant with Euro 5 and some Daily engines go one further, complying with the voluntary EEV (Enhanced Environmentally-friendly Vehicle) standard, which is designed as an intermediate step between Euro 5 and Euro 6.

For a full list of the What Van? 2010 Award winners and the judges’ thoughts on them, click here to visit the What Van? website.