The Chief

Ok i need info on small to medium vans as i know bugger all.

The vans i am looking at are


Vauxhall Combo

Vauxhall Vivaro

Ford Transit Connect

VW Caddy

VW Transporter.


Are there any that should be avoided? what is the fuel consumption like as this will be important.

What engine options should i go for? i.e. Vauxhall Di or DTi.


Thanks in advance

Cheers

j4ckos mate

Geta tranny
vivaros are good and are six speed, but i would go for a tranny

Snazy

Lots of the VX, and other euro makes are made together, Vivaro's are nice to drive. The Vivaro is the biggest you have mentioned, most of the others are car based.

What are you looking to carry?
Do you need to be able to stand up?
Do you need a side door?

turbo diesels are the way to go

Very much depends on what you want these days. Most main stream are good all rounders, its the options and variations that make the difference.

gallois

woaah, don't get a vivaro, the company i work for has one of the countrys largest van fleet, we went from transits (they put a woman in charge of fleet, no offence) to vivaros, but a year later we are going back to transits, the vivaro has relatively poor build quality, an appalling turning circle, the doors are ludicrously heavy, resulting in a number drivers going sick with back problems due to the twisting action pulling the doors shut on the back. it is a rebadged renault trafic......if a transit is too big, go for a connect, these are used on our fleet too.

Nido

Small van = Transit Connect
Big van = Transit

Simple

zip106

Ditto the above.
Have had 2 Connects and excellent they were, too.
Just make sure you get the LX spec with the TDCi 90 engine, although I think they now do a 110 TDCI.

johnnyroper

i would not bother with the connect personally.

got a 57 plate work van base model 200L 1.8tdci dont know what brake it is but crap acceleration and top speed and exceptionally **** on fuel 290-300 miles to a tank £55
not to mention the major flat spot going 1st to 2nd that feels like fuel cut and puts you up the screen,that ford can never fault.

given the choice i would go for the v dub caddy

j4ckos mate

well ive had both so i feel i can comment,

the vivaro is has a nicer cabin, and was certainly nippier and better looking,
but on reflection the tranist is an icon all the others are upstarts,

dont get a vito either,
you can hire either so i suggest you hire a tranny one day and then a vivaro the next.

topbuzz

Best van I've had is a VW Transporter, worst driving position and build goes to the vivaro. Combo is ok but make sure it's a 1.7 cdti. I have a Connect at the moment and quite like it but could do with more power. New Transit has loads of cubby holes if that's your thing. In the last 3 years I've driven 6 different types/ models of van over 150,000 miles and would have the Transporter over all of them.

BOB.T

I spend a lot of time in a Vivaro and can't fault it. I'm also a big Ford fan and have a deep hatred of the V word!

I've had it about 9 months and put 24k on it without a problem. It drives well, tows well, is comfy...it's just fine! The stereo however is shi*e

moneys

iTrader: (5)

chiefster my father in law is the sales manager of northwest trucks can give you his contact info if you want? He is the manager of the van section

gallois

driving experiences aside, a van is a van so they are similar in that respect i have to agree about the worst build quality and driving position on the vivaro, the seats dont adjust enough, have a steel bar between the base and back which you can feel with the base of your back when you are trying to get comfy, have nowhere to rest your arms when on long drives, have trim which is frankly appalling with unfinished edges (run your finger along the bottom edge of that big shelf thing across the top of the dash) the cupholders attached to the dash edges are loathe to stay attached to the dash, as drivers and passengers tend to rest their hand there whilst trying to pull the overly heavy doors shut esp when parked downhill, (my missus or kids cannot pull the door shut the door from a fully opened position when i'm parked outside my house on my fairly steep hill due to the sheer weight of them, (the doors, not my missus or kids)), the keyfob buttons wear worryingly quickly, with some of our guys worn through the plastic on 1yr old vans, the rear doors leak at the top edge on many of our drivers vans, the external plastic stick on trim is missing on many of our drivers vans, there is and array of uselessly shaped cubbys on the lower dash, none suitable for a mobile phone, the brakes on the 07 model are terrible with no feel and almost an electronic action, (earlier ones were better), the turning circle is at least a meter poorer on full lock than the bigger transit, even though our fleet buyer had the vivaro as it was a lot cheaper than the transit, it has worked out more expensive long term due to the problems, build quality, front tyre wear, worse fuel consumption...

i am not a fan of the vivaro at all and it is fairly obviously a renault, however don't take our word for it, test drive what you like first.

JackClark

I tried them all and bought a T5 Transporter Kombi. Does everything well. Great buying advise available on The Brick-yard

sti-04!!

The Chief, i am an Ops Director for a rental firm with 4000 vehicles.
Dont touch the combos with a big stick, they hit a 100k & the engines go bang.
As a matter of caution at the moment i have 44 new transits in the dealers. which is over 1.5% of my fleet. I have 3 new sprinters in the dealers & No VW's
We run nearly 1000 sprinters & around 800 transits. We also have the transporters & caddys & i wouldnt say there are any problems with them.

Go for the Transporter or a connect. If you have any further questions give me a shout as i could go chapter & verse to be honest.

Thanks

Stephen

sti-04!!

Used vans and used cars for sale » Van Monster, used vans specialist for a used van.

The Chief

Thanks for your replies.

what would i do without you lot?

Cheers