If you've ever lied awake in bed at night and thought 'just who makes the best medium sized van', then you're probably as sad as us.

And as you're reading this blog, it's officially taken as part confirmation. But have no fear, along with discovering the origin of the pyramids and just how old Bruce Forsyth is, this modern conundrum needed answering, and in the most thorough way possible...

Ladies and Gentlemen, make way for the Commercial Motor Group Van test.

To make this the ultimate test we gathered six of the most high profile vans on the market - Citroen Despatch, Ford Transit, Mercedes Vito, Renault Trafic, Toyota Hiace and Volkswagen Transporter.

The plan was to drive them to a foreign country (Wales) for an overnight stop, then return to the start in Chobham, Surrey the next day.

Along the way we would swop vehicles, marking them in three distinct categories - driveline, driving dynamics and cabin comfort - with the points tallied up at the end.

My money was on the Renault Trafic (read Vauxhall Vivaro) thanks to its superior ride and refinement, but with two newer German vans in contention, as well as Ford's reborn Transit, it wasn't going to be a walk in the park.

No matter, the resulting shootout can be read in the 4 December 2008 edition of Commercial Motor.