IT was a long time in coming, the Maxus. The LDV Convoy first hit the streets back in 1996 when Paul Gascoigne was still running the England midfield and even then, rather like Gazza, its best days were behind it.

The Convoy was a mild refresh of the Rover 400 Series van which, at that time, had already been in service for longer than most people cared to remember. All this means that the Maxus arrived to take over from a Convoy that has long since passed pensionable age.

The result of a £500m investment on the part of LDV, the Maxus is key to the company's long-term survival. It's a large panel van offered in short and long wheelbase form with three gross vehicle weights of 2.8, 3.2 and 3.5 tonnes. Further scope for mixing and matching is provided by the three roof heights.

The various bodystyle options give rise to load volumes ranging between 7m3 and 11.4m3 with the available payload falling within a 917kg to 1,616kg span.

One area where the old Convoy panel van was particularly below par was in the contents of its engine bay. The Maxus takes a reassuringly modern approach here with a 2.5-litre CDi common-rail diesel unit that's a world away from the Convoy's diesel engine — a unit for which the term 'noise, vibration and harshness' (NVH) could have been coined.

The Maxus' powerplant is available in 95bhp or 120bhp forms but we may see a more muscular 145bhp version in the not too distant future. In both cases, peak power is delivered at 3,800rpm but it's the torque that the engines generate which will be of more interest to prospective buyers. 184lb/ft is a decent amount of pulling power to eek out of a 95bhp engine and with 221lb/ft, the 120bhp unit is more impressive still. In both cases the torque hits home at usefully low engine speeds giving the Maxus enough oomph to get briskly off the line with a heavy load on board and reducing the need for frantic gear swapping when a steep incline is encountered.

Get behind the wheel and the engine's refinement is well up to scratch. It idles smoothly with vibration in the cab well suppressed and at motorway speeds the engine's note is far from intrusive. The 120bhp option is definitely worth paying extra for if you plan on making the most of the Maxus' payload capacity but the smaller unit would be adequate for lighter duties.

On starting both the Maxus engines, you have to wait for the glow plug light to extinguish before twisting the key. It's a process that's virtually unheard of in vans nowadays, a quaint throwback to models of yesteryear and one that could easily become irritating over time.

LDV has managed to design a body shell for the Maxus that is 20 per cent stiffer than the old Convoy and this pays off in the form of more composed handling. The standard of construction is also far in excess of past LDV models with the traditional rattles and creeks almost completely absent.

Dash-mounted gear levers are now de'rigeur in panel van circles and the Maxus conforms to the trend. The stick sprouts from the centre console clearing the floor space for improved cross-cabin access, it falls easily to hand and the shifting action between the five ratios has a firm, positive feel to it.

Elsewhere in the cab, the instrument binnacle is centrally located above oval air vents, the tactile ventilation system dials and the CD stereo. This is far from ideal with the driver forced to glance over to the left to keep a check on the vehicle's speed but it facilitates the Maxus' simple conversion from right-hand drive to left-hand drive for those important European markets.

All Maxus models are front-wheel drive only and this has helped the designers to give the vehicle a low loading height through the back and side doors. The side-hinged doors at the rear stretch right up to the vehicle's roofline for the biggest possible loading aperture. Likewise, the sliding side door is usefully wide and there's the option of specifying a matching one on the other flank for a greater choice of loading options.

The Maxus comes well- specified as standard with remote central locking, power steering, electric windows and electric adjustment of the large side mirrors.

Safety-wise, there's a driver's airbag as well as the specially designed safety cell but you'll need to pay extra for ABS brakes.

Service intervals are set at an extremely lengthy 20,000 miles.