Nissan is gradually moving away from marketing a light commercial range that consists primarily of re-badged Renaults. For the moment however they still figure in its line-up, not the least of them being the Primastar; a Renault Trafic under a different name that is also sold by Vauxhall as the Vivaro.

No matter what name it prowls the high street under, it’s a van whose stylish looks haven’t dated at all since its original launch almost nine years ago.

Primastar is listed with two different wheelbases and two different roof heights and with a load cube that extends from 5.0m³ to 8.4m³. It can swallow payloads ranging from 1,045kg to 1,263kg.

Under the bonnet you’re likely to find a 2.0-litre diesel producing 115hp with a torque figure of 290Nm. If that’s insufficient for your needs then you can always order up a 2.5-litre diesel with 146hp/310Nm on tap instead.

Both these engines provide plenty of torque across a wide rev-range and the former is more than capable of holding its own on the motorway. The latter endows Primastar with prodigious levels of performance. 

A six-speed manual gearbox is standard across the range with a six-speed automated manual ’box available as an extra-cost alternative.

Unlike its exterior, Primastar's cab interior was starting to show its age and was updated in the summer of 2010 to bring it more into line with the demands of today's hard-pressed driver. There's now room for a sat nav unit, for example.

We've got no quarrels with the performance, the ride, the handling or the superb dash-mounted gearchange. If we're being picky there's a bit of wind noise generated by the door mirrors, but it really isn't a deal-breaker.

Service intervals are set at 18,000 miles and Primastar is protected by a praiseworthy three-year/100,000-mile warranty. Don’t forget that Primastar is also on offer as a crew van, a minibus and with a refrigerated conversion.