Ford Transit Van, Red van man

The only problem with Santa's Transit is that it looks like a Hyundai i800. Only joking. The big fella resisted the urge to paint this up like the A-Team van, opting instead for, erm, white. It's a classic look, but sometimes you must eschew the flash in favour of the ordinary when it comes to the serious business of hauling stuff about.

Obviously Santa's not just rocking any old Transit either. No, his is a long wheelbase version with permanent four-wheel drive and a 138bhp 2.4-litre Duratorq turbodiesel mated to a six-speed gearbox. Basically it single-handedly provides all Santa's cargo-carrying and tailgating needs, all the while returning the kind of mpg usually reserved for a small family runabout.

Lapland is a place renowned for its low friction surfaces and bad weather conditions, so it's amazing that Ford says this of the 4x4 Transit: "AWD is ideal for drivers who frequently face low friction surfaces and bad weather conditions: the Transit AWD adds more flexibility and reliability for operators working in these conditions." It's no wonder they call the Transit the 'backbone of Lapland'.

Mark Nichol