The Fiat Doblo has been crowned the UK’s most reliable used van after topping the inaugural Top 5 Most Reliable Used Vans list for 2026 from Warrantywise.

The compact commercial vehicle achieved a leading reliability score of 68.2 out of 100, placing it ahead of competitors such as the Renault Kangoo and Citroën Berlingo as vans join the company’s proprietary dataset for the first time.

The new league table sits alongside the existing Warrantywise Used Car Reliability Index. It gives tradespeople and small businesses the same real-world view of reliability, drawn from repair-request data from the firm’s extended warranty plans.

Each model’s Reliability Index score is calculated from Warrantywise repair request data, recorded between July 2023 and July 2026, taking into account how often repairs are requested, the average age and mileage of the vehicle at the time of the repair, plus the labour time involved. To be included, a van model must have a minimum of 150 examples on plan, aged between three and 15 years old. With more than 25 years of experience and more than one million warranty plans sold, Warrantywise draws on repair requests recorded across thousands of vehicles, giving it a real-world view of the issues owners may encounter and what they can cost to put right.

Rounding out the top five (see full table at bottom of article) behind the front-running Doblo, Kangoo and Berlingo are the larger Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and the Volkswagen Caddy, with scores of 58.4 and 56.9 respectively.

Inside the Top 5

The Fiat Doblo’s top score of 68.2 comes with turbochargers as its most regular repair request area. The majority of Doblo repairs appeared at around 8.7 years old or with around 74,762 miles on the clock, and the average requested repair amount was £894.28.

The Renault Kangoo follows closely on 66.2 and recorded the lowest average requested amount in the top 5, at £530.09. Its most expensive individual repair request, at £2,737.04, was also the lowest of the five. The majority of Kangoo repairs appeared at around 8.4 years old or at around 84,901 miles.

The Citroën Berlingo, which scored 64.2, had an average requested amount of £1,011.72, while one individual repair request reached £9,308.40. Within the top 5, Berlingo repair requests came at the lowest average mileage: the majority of repairs appeared at around 74,166 miles or when the vehicles were around 6.9 years old.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter scores 58.4, with most repairs appearing at an average of six years old or after 98,421 miles. The average repair request was £1,727.53. One individual request reached £17,698.80, the highest in the top 5, and should be seen as context rather than a typical cost.

The Volkswagen Caddy completes the top 5 on 56.9, with the fuel system its most regular repair request area. Of the top 5, Caddy repair requests came at the highest average age: at the time of repair, vehicles were an average of 9.1 years old with 83,233 miles on the clock. The average repair request was £908.78, and the highest individual repair request was £7,715.52.

A clear pattern also emerges around emissions-related repairs across the top 5, with emissions failure appearing as the most regular repair request area for three of the five highest-scoring vans. Across the van data, the average amount requested for an emissions-related repair was £1,474, showing that these issues can represent a significant unexpected cost.

Diesel still represents 82.3% of new light commercial vehicle registrations year to date, according to SMMT data, so the systems that keep those engines within emissions limits are relevant to the vast majority of vans heading into the used market over the coming years.

Antony Diggins, managing director at Warrantywise, commented: “Understanding where repair requests arise and what they can cost is an important part of planning for the overall cost of running a used van.”

Repair costs are also rising. Warrantywise’s wider repair data shows the average hourly labour rate quoted in repair requests rose by 7.87% between 2023 and 2025, from £104.11 to £112.30 – one reason the company stresses that the figures in the Index reflect the period analysed and should not be taken as a guide to future repair costs.

Warrantywise also emphasised that a high Reliability Index score does not mean a van will be without an issue, and that reliability and repair severity are two different considerations.

The Fiat Doblo – which ranked as the highest-scoring van in the Index, making it the most reliable – recorded an individual repair request of £9,888.60. That’s more than 11 times its average requested amount. These figures relate to individual repair requests rather than typical costs, and should not be taken as an indication of what owners of any of these models can expect to pay.

Diggins elaborated: “A key takeaway for van owners is that a high score is not a guarantee. Even among the highest-scoring vans, we see individual repair requests considerably higher than the average requested amount, which is why reliability and repair severity should be considered separately. A Reliability Index score is a useful starting point, but it works best alongside a thorough inspection and a full-service history, because every used van is different, and no score can tell you everything about the one in front of you.”

Warrantywise recommends that used van buyers weigh up a range of factors, including age, mileage, maintenance history, previous ownership, condition and intended use. A Reliability Index score can offer useful context, but should sit alongside an inspection and service history rather than stand in as a guarantee of future performance.

The Reliability Index is built on the repair requests Warrantywise manages as a provider of extended warranties for used vans. Those plans are designed to help owners manage the cost of unexpected repairs, with emergency breakdown assistance as standard and support such as vehicle hire to help keep businesses moving.

Warrantywise Used Van Reliability Index 2026