advice on new van

[Mikey D]

Had A 52 plate citroen relay (same as pug boxer) it was ok till 90,000miles , down hill from there tho , cost about £1500 in repairs , front wheel bearings , fuel injection problems , immobilizer etc . The clutch was starting to make a rattley noise too
having been used to vw transporters and early vitos it felt very 'tinny' in comparison .

i did get a couple of trouble free years out of it previousy tho,

flogged it on the bay got a very good price too

wonder if its still going

Went for a new sprinter swb , ok a lot of money but like chalk and cheese compared to the relay .

Personally if i had that budget id go for vw transporter ,

 

[eil]

If you are after reliability and not as susceptible to rust as most you cant beat the Toyota hi ace powervan, not the best looking granted but best van Ive had, one battery and top ball joints since new and its ten yrs old now, still covering at least 20,000 a year.

 

[oz.]

Found a rant I had a few months back about the new shape Iveco I had to drive for work.

"The seat movement is just wrong.
The steering wheel is huge and quite horizontal - get the seat right for your legs/feet and you cant reach the top of the wheel. adjust the seat so theat you can reach the top of the wheel and find you can't move your legs because of the steering column surround.
The cupholders won't hold cups of cans - too small. You'll get your can in there, open it, go to drink it but can't get it out. when you do get it out you have to use so much force that you give the cab a light covering of sticky drink. They also won't hold those nice flask mugs.
The mirrors are too low, too far forward, positioned badly so the 'A' pillar intrudes and are split quite strangely.
The radio can't auto-tune even though it has the 'ability' to. Probably because the aerial is non existent so it can't pick up signal.
The speakers can't cope with any kind of volume so when you insert a CD, unless you like fuzzy music then you have to listen to it rather quietly.
The gear linkage/gearbox is like stirring lumpy soup. you're never too sure if you're in 1st/3rd.
It has a lack of sound-deadening.
The rear doors rub together and squeak while you're driving.
The keyfob is horrible as the buttons are very small. The one to open the rear/side door is even smaller. Also there is no way to pop the key out of the fob using one hand.
The plug at the back - ready for when a towing hitch is mounted isn't water resistant. Thus meaning that the wires short out and van won't start but the dash ends up like a christmas tree on steroids.
Strap eyelets in the back look/feel piddly and weak. I bolted a gearbox in the back and was scared that I'd pull one out. The gearbox rattled all the way home from Birmingham.
There is nowhere safe to put your CD cases/phone/wallet/anything you don't want flying about even when you pull off gently.

Is that enough to stop you buying one?

Good point - it's fast. The heaters work."

I've slept in the back and front of a Sprinter. Easier in the back but you need a lot of blankets to keep warm. Cab is great for eating a take-away in as it had the table integrated into the middle seat's backrest.

 

[eil]

Found a rant I had a few months back about the new shape Iveco I had to drive for work.

"The seat movement is just wrong.
The steering wheel is huge and quite horizontal - get the seat right for your legs/feet and you cant reach the top of the wheel. adjust the seat so theat you can reach the top of the wheel and find you can't move your legs because of the steering column surround.
The cupholders won't hold cups of cans - too small. You'll get your can in there, open it, go to drink it but can't get it out. when you do get it out you have to use so much force that you give the cab a light covering of sticky drink. They also won't hold those nice flask mugs.
The mirrors are too low, too far forward, positioned badly so the 'A' pillar intrudes and are split quite strangely.
The radio can't auto-tune even though it has the 'ability' to. Probably because the aerial is non existent so it can't pick up signal.
The speakers can't cope with any kind of volume so when you insert a CD, unless you like fuzzy music then you have to listen to it rather quietly.
The gear linkage/gearbox is like stirring lumpy soup. you're never too sure if you're in 1st/3rd.
It has a lack of sound-deadening.
The rear doors rub together and squeak while you're driving.
The keyfob is horrible as the buttons are very small. The one to open the rear/side door is even smaller. Also there is no way to pop the key out of the fob using one hand.
The plug at the back - ready for when a towing hitch is mounted isn't water resistant. Thus meaning that the wires short out and van won't start but the dash ends up like a christmas tree on steroids.
Strap eyelets in the back look/feel piddly and weak. I bolted a gearbox in the back and was scared that I'd pull one out. The gearbox rattled all the way home from Birmingham.
There is nowhere safe to put your CD cases/phone/wallet/anything you don't want flying about even when you pull off gently.

Is that enough to stop you buying one?

Good point - it's fast. The heaters work."

I've slept in the back and front of a Sprinter. Easier in the back but you need a lot of blankets to keep warm. Cab is great for eating a take-away in as it had the table integrated into the middle seat's backrest.

Cup holders,radio,speakers,no where to put you`r CD`s,no sound-deadening,rear doors rub together the kids of today eh!

 

[gridley51]

Found a rant I had a few months back about the new shape Iveco I had to drive for work.

"The seat movement is just wrong.
The steering wheel is huge and quite horizontal - get the seat right for your legs/feet and you cant reach the top of the wheel. adjust the seat so theat you can reach the top of the wheel and find you can't move your legs because of the steering column surround.
The cupholders won't hold cups of cans - too small. You'll get your can in there, open it, go to drink it but can't get it out. when you do get it out you have to use so much force that you give the cab a light covering of sticky drink. They also won't hold those nice flask mugs.
The mirrors are too low, too far forward, positioned badly so the 'A' pillar intrudes and are split quite strangely.
The radio can't auto-tune even though it has the 'ability' to. Probably because the aerial is non existent so it can't pick up signal.
The speakers can't cope with any kind of volume so when you insert a CD, unless you like fuzzy music then you have to listen to it rather quietly.
The gear linkage/gearbox is like stirring lumpy soup. you're never too sure if you're in 1st/3rd.
It has a lack of sound-deadening.
The rear doors rub together and squeak while you're driving.
The keyfob is horrible as the buttons are very small. The one to open the rear/side door is even smaller. Also there is no way to pop the key out of the fob using one hand.
The plug at the back - ready for when a towing hitch is mounted isn't water resistant. Thus meaning that the wires short out and van won't start but the dash ends up like a christmas tree on steroids.
Strap eyelets in the back look/feel piddly and weak. I bolted a gearbox in the back and was scared that I'd pull one out. The gearbox rattled all the way home from Birmingham.
There is nowhere safe to put your CD cases/phone/wallet/anything you don't want flying about even when you pull off gently.

Is that enough to stop you buying one?

Good point - it's fast. The heaters work."

I've slept in the back and front of a Sprinter. Easier in the back but you need a lot of blankets to keep warm. Cab is great for eating a take-away in as it had the table integrated into the middle seat's backrest.

Sounds like you`re a bit vertically challenged.
What a load of rubbish.You have driven one for work and wrote a review.How many miles have you done in one?
As I pay for the motors I couldn`t give a monkeys where the cupholder is.I couldn`t even care if they didn`t have one.
I bought my first Daily 35 about five years ago after running Transits for twenty years.The Transits were good initially but with every upgrade became less so.
We run loaded a lot of the time,can do up to 700 miles in a day and can`t fault them.I`m 6ft tall and find I can get the driving position perfectly adjusted.Seat is comfortable and all round vision is good.
I`ve just bought a four year old 35 with the three litre engine and am even more pleased.
Heavy right foot and getting 26-27 mpg.
Loaded will run away from Mercs on a hill.
I have had hired Merc dropsides and found them fast and economical.Downside for me with them is that the pedals are offset and it kills my back.I`ve owned 7.5 ton Mercs too and found spares to be a killer.I`ve got mates who have had Vitos and Merc artics.Both complained about quality and extremely poor service and this was with new motors.
Vivaros are Renaults,buy one if you can afford to be without it while it`s getting fixed.

 

[oz.]

No vertical challenge. 6ft.

I drove one for work for over 10thou miles so I can say that I did get the full experience. Hated every second except when it came to overtake other vehicles.#

A good cup holder is quite essential when your doing long miles in them. Having to struggle to get at your drink distracts you from the road, one thing leads to another and whoops you're dead. Having your CD's,keys, wallet and phone flying around the cab while driving around is also pretty damn dangerous. Having to get out of your seat to fetch your wallet when you reach a toll is just silly.

 

[SC_BK]

Here's one for ya, my small van towing my big van

 

[Wedg1e]

Cup holders,radio,speakers,no where to put you`r CD`s,no sound-deadening,rear doors rub together the kids of today eh!

My dad said that when he started work, indicators, heater and passenger seat were all on the options list for their vans!
Now I kick off 'cos my Connect doesn't have cruise control as an option... though the aircon, CD player, central locking, heated screen, mirrors and washer jets all help...

 

[boydy1989]

oz... sounds like my land rover!

Although the sound system is good in mine. And its fast too.