Which cargo van should you buy for delivery work? Transit, ProMaster, or Sprinter

Checked October 2026

The short answer: there is no best cargo van — there are three good ones, and each wins a different fight. The Ford Transit is the balanced choice most drivers can defend. The Ram ProMaster gives you the squarest, widest cargo box and the lowest floor. The Mercedes Sprinter burns the least fuel and lives the longest, and charges you for both in repair bills. Pick by the work you will actually run, not by the badge.

The Ford Transit

The Transit is the all-rounder. Its payload runs roughly 3,100 to 5,400 pounds depending on the model, and its cargo space runs about 246 to 487 cubic feet. Parts and mechanics are everywhere, and buying guides put its yearly maintenance at roughly $700 to $1,000 — the cheapest of the three to keep. Used Transits run about $17,000 to $45,000. For a driver who wants the fewest surprises, this is the usual answer.

The Ram ProMaster

The ProMaster is the box. It is front-wheel drive, which gives it the lowest load floor of the three and a wide, square cargo area that takes pallets and bulky freight gracefully. Its space runs about 304 to 524 cubic feet and its payload roughly 3,800 to 5,200 pounds. Its gas mileage is a small step ahead of the Transit's. Buying guides price used ProMasters from about $9,400 up, with yearly maintenance around $1,070. Front-wheel drive is also its talking point in winter weather, where it pulls instead of pushing.

The Mercedes Sprinter

The Sprinter is the long-haul instrument. Its diesel returns about 17 to 21 miles per gallon in real use — the best of the three — and well-kept Sprinters run past 400,000 miles. Its space tops out around 533 cubic feet and its payload can run highest of the three in the heavy models. The bill for all this arrives at the shop: yearly maintenance averages about $1,778 in buying-guide figures, parts carry the Mercedes premium, and used prices start around $22,000. For over-the-road expedite work where fuel is a top cost and the cargo van is your home, drivers pay it gladly. For local routes, the math is harder to defend.

The questions that actually decide it

Ask these instead of "which is best." How tall is your freight? Expedite and furniture work needs the high roof, whichever badge wears it. How far do you drive in a week? The more miles, the more the Sprinter's fuel edge pays. Who fixes it near you? A cargo van in a shop earns nothing, and the Transit's plain parts network is a real advantage in small cities. And what can you buy without a payment that owns you? A sound used cargo van of any of the three beats a new cargo van whose payment eats the slow weeks.

One more, from the drivers who sleep out: for over-the-road work, you want at least twelve feet of cargo room left after your sleeping setup. That single measurement rules cargo vans in or out faster than any spec sheet. Our setup guide covers the layout.