The company’s executives have opted for 58 Volkswagen LT35s, which will have an operational life of five years or 150,000 miles and replace its older fleet.

Fleet manager Gary Dinsey said: ‘Our evaluation took into account the wholelife cost of the vehicles tested and the opinions of our van drivers. Payload, driveability and reliability were areas where the Volkswagen LT35 scored impressively.’

WHSmith News’ fleet is responsible for delivering newspapers and magazines to shops nationwide.