The Ford Transit Courier has secured one of the most prestigious accolades of the automotive sector in being named commercial vehicle publication What Van?'s Van of the Year 2015.

It has been an extremely positive year for the vehicle manufacturer, with its Transit Courier model also receiving the Small Van of the Year award, while its Transit Connect model was victorious in the Light Van of the Year category and the Ford Ranger secured the Pick-up of the Year title.

Meanwhile, the company's Fiesta Van and Transit Custom were both highly commended in the Medium Van of the Year segment.

What Van? editor Paul Barker commented: "Ford's revolution of its light commercial line-up has seen it offer the most comprehensive range of high-quality vehicles in the marketplace, in terms of visual appeal, driver appeal, innovation, technology and efficiency.

"This massive investment has culminated with our Van of the Year Transit Courier offering a massive step forward in the small van segment."

He added that this latest accolade ensures the Transit Courier becomes the body's first twice-winner of the Van of the Year title – in of itself an impressive achievement.

The latest Courier model offers a ten per cent increase in load capacity in comparison to its older versions, while the vehicle also achieves considerably stronger green credentials than its nearest rivals.

Its 5PS 1.6-litre Duratorq TDCi diesel engine delivers 76.3 mpg and 97 g/km CO2 emissions, while the model's petrol variant – the multi-award-winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine – offers 54.3 mpg and 119 g/km of CO2.

The Ford Transit and Transit Custom models also continue to dominate among the most popular light commercial vehicles in the UK right now, securing market shares in their individual categories of 26.6 per cent and 33 per cent respectively.