What 'vehicle' to buy?

[Doomanic]

Beg to differ but I went from an Evoque auto to a transit double cab auto and the transit does everything better bar fuel economy. Transit's quieter and more comfortable on a long run

I drove an 18 plate Transit on a 300 mile round trip a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't as quiet or comfortable as my wife's 7 year old Clio, never mind my 8 year old 5 series.

 

[R120]

What model was it though? If you get one with the decent seats which are heated and have 8 way adjustment/lumbar support etc it makes a big difference, vs the polo spec ones that are more like a deckchair.

 

[Doomanic]

It was a works van, so probably povvo spec, but still well north of £25K.

Some of the vans being mentioned are going to be in the same price range as a premium estate car. The VW T6 starts at around £32K for a crew cab with DSG and tops out at around £55K!

However, none of this is any use to Stumpy as he has £5k max to spend and we all know that the vans he'll get for that will be primitive rot boxes with all the comforts of an Iron Maiden.

 

[R120]

You pay a significant VW tax on the transporter. Of course no van is going to compare to a nice car, simply because its a van, but they have come on leaps and bounds in terms of being perfectly viable as day to day transport.

Its getting harder and harder these days to find decent cars at lower prices, the rise in electronic dependance in cars seems to have reduced their lifespans, and gone are the days when you could ic up a perfectly serviceable banger for bargain money.

In the noughties I had a variety of big old Merc and Volvo estates that where bulletproof and easy/cheap to maintain, and all bought for less than 2k.

 

[motmcd]

I use my Dodge Ram Crew Cab pickup truck, but I'm from the US - land of oversized vehicles so that suggestion may be bunk for your location. With that disclaimer out of the way, I'll add that I've used vans in Croatia and Italy to transport bikes. Man, I wish we could get the European iteration of vans here. I love the 6-speed, turbo diesel 6-cylinders you all have over there. Tons of room and fantastic fuel economy by comparison to my truck. Last summer in Croatia I rented an Opel iteration of this van configuration and with four guys and four bikes we had plenty of room. The Opel van performed well enough but not nearly as well as the Fiat Ducato van I had in Italy. So if I were in Europe I'd be pushing for the van solution to your cycling transport needs. Cheers to all!

 

[Doomanic]

A Yeti is a good shout, but the cheapest Auto on Autotrader is £5995.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201903075639471?

 

[Doomanic]

Vivaro with a slushbox, £4995

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201903145883716

 

[Doomanic]

An auto Tardis, sorry Berlingo, in budget;

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201903095720713

It's in Ross on Wye so if you came to view on a weekend I could show you some awesome trails.

 

[Lad]

So in the pic I posted above, has the owner moved the rear seats or are they folded down?

All 3 rear seats are removed, it seems, although in this setup he/she could leave the left seat in.

 

[MarkH]

I drove an 18 plate Transit on a 300 mile round trip a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't as quiet or comfortable as my wife's 7 year old Clio, never mind my 8 year old 5 series.

It needs to be an auto double cab and it needs to be the fully leathered up model to be a smooth mile eating machine. This drives better than my Evoque. ?

 

[More-read-than-ride]

I love how "first world problems" this post is... What 3rd car to buy for my 3rd bike . (No offense meant to anyone, quite the opposite! I belong to the you-can-never-have-too-many-bikes-or-cars category)

 

[James_MTB]

have a look at Mercedes Viano

 

[Doomanic]

I drove an 18 plate Transit on a 300 mile round trip a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't as quiet or comfortable as my wife's 7 year old Clio, never mind my 8 year old 5 series.

It needs to be an auto double cab and it needs to be the fully leathered up model to be a smooth mile eating machine. This drives better than my Evoque.

View attachment 11867

It looks very nice. How much was it?

 

[mark1a]

If a van seems a bit hollow & crashy, for the sake of a few hundred pounds, apply something like Dynamat or Silent Coat to the wheel arches, side panels, roof, floor, door skins, etc and then line & carpet the rear. It makes a massive difference.

 

[Couchy]

Over the years we have had vans and kombi vans, from the top of the range T5.1 180 to a Brabus vito and as nice as they are none of them drive like a car. We have a couple of new transits and they are nice too but still not a car and all of them bar the V6 vito are slow.

For personal use 4 years ago I bought this for £5k a Nissan Elgrand. It has been faultless in 5 years and serves great for carrying family, motorbikes and now mountain bikes. It is still worth £5k too. It is comfier and quicker than a van and the rear seats go flat to make a bed if needed or spin round to make a lounge. I get 3 bikes with wheels on and 3 people, 4 would be doable too. Of course there is a downside and that's the 25mpg average since owned but the engine sounds well and goes well and with little depreciation the overall running cost isnt too bad.

For £5k there is no van I'd want to be in, tbh there is no van I'd want over this at any price

EE382478-F9E3-4E32-BDF4-A1ABF1E0964C by Tony H, on Flickr

Untitled by Tony H, on Flickr

 

[MarkH]

It looks very nice. How much was it?

34K new

 

[Doomanic]

34K new

Fully spec'd or plus options?

 

[Doomanic]

For £5k there is no van I'd want to be in

This is the most relevant post on this thread so far.

 

[Russell]

For personal use 4 years ago I bought this for £5k a Nissan Elgrand.

[URL='Flickr

What is the height of the rear door if you don't mind me asking. I'm wondering if a enduro bike would fit?

 

[Stumpy]

Over the years we have had vans and kombi vans, from the top of the range T5.1 180 to a Brabus vito and as nice as they are none of them drive like a car. We have a couple of new transits and they are nice too but still not a car and all of them bar the V6 vito are slow.

For personal use 4 years ago I bought this for £5k a Nissan Elgrand. It has been faultless in 5 years and serves great for carrying family, motorbikes and now mountain bikes. It is still worth £5k too. It is comfier and quicker than a van and the rear seats go flat to make a bed if needed or spin round to make a lounge. I get 3 bikes with wheels on and 3 people, 4 would be doable too. Of course there is a downside and that's the 25mpg average since owned but the engine sounds well and goes well and with little depreciation the overall running cost isnt too bad.

For £5k there is no van I'd want to be in, tbh there is no van I'd want over this at any price

EE382478-F9E3-4E32-BDF4-A1ABF1E0964C by Tony H, on Flickr

Untitled by Tony H, on Flickr

I agree and following @Russell previous comments above I’ve been looking at these and the Toyota Alphard - going to see a couple this weekend and hopefully, all being well, will own one for next week - I’ll let you know.,..

 

[R120]

Is it easy to get parts for the Elgrand? Presume it’s got a close uk market cousin?

 

[Stumpy]

Is it easy to get parts for the Elgrand? Presume it’s got a close uk market cousin?

The engine is the same as the 350z, albeit detuned, obviously - nothing a good ECU wouldn’t sort out....

 

[Doomanic]

Yeah, cos that'll definitely improve on the 25mpg...

 

[Stumpy]

Yeah, cos that'll definitely improve on the 25mpg...

?

 

[Couchy]

What is the height of the rear door if you don't mind me asking. I'm wondering if a enduro bike would fit?

1200mm height of opening, biggest motorbike I’ve had in is a 990 super duke you won’t get anything taller in tbh.

 

[Couchy]

Is it easy to get parts for the Elgrand? Presume it’s got a close uk market cousin?

Yup a good forum and a few specialists, all service parts easy and cheap enough and non service parts a day or so to order. They are a simple reliable thing though.

 

[Couchy]

The engine is the same as the 350z, albeit detuned, obviously - nothing a good ECU wouldn’t sort out....

Completely different top end, they are 240hp and tuning isn’t easy. They are lively enough for a big bus 0-60 around 7s so amusing on the traffic light GP but they are a comfy relaxing drive.

 

[R120]

Why do I get the feeling stumpy is going to be posting up something like this on Monday

 

[Doomanic]

It's got Jimmy Hill's chin!

 

[Stumpy]

Why do I get the feeling stumpy is going to be posting up something like this on Monday

View attachment 11892

If I did it has a nice living area for when the Mrs kicks me out... ??