Daily-ing a 9 seater?

[Smallfry]

I used a Renault Trafic as a daily for quite a while. Vauxhall Vivaro is the same badge engineered van, more or less. They do them with rear seats, and a minibus version. Way better than a Transit IMO, and do 40mpg if you are careful. No chance of that in a Transit, and they don't go rusty either.

If you are rich, I guess a VW pornstarter is the thing to have apparently.

 

[Smallfry]

After my last td5 I vowed never to touch anything with that green oval again...plus one of the requirements was comfy...and a defender isn't it

I am the other way, I would never again touch anything with the Ford oval. For many reasons. Nice to drive when its not broken down, but thats about it.

 

[colnerov]

9 seats dead basic but we kept is for years
View attachment 505828

Ahh yes, the Leyland Espace.

 

[Turbo]

Another option is the Citroen dispatch combi. There are a lot of these being used as taxis and with wheelchair lifts fitted. You can pick these up cheap and remove the lift and restore them back to a flat floor.

 

[winchman]

I had a Mazda Bongo 8 seater for 5 years it was great thirsty but g
I found as the factory fitted seats convert to a bed and table if I added a small sink and hob to the boot area I could insure it as a camper and brought the insurance from near a grand to about £300 from memory I was quite shocked at the difference

I was looking at getting one of those. Then I looked at the MPG. thirsty isn't even close. I think you need to tow a bowser behind you full of fuel!

From memory it was about 24 round town bit more on a run that was diesel too

 

[TEO]

T5.1 transporter with CAAC engine. Had mine 13 years, now on 245,000. 30 mpg around town, 40 plus mpg on run. Reliable after taking emission crap off. (Except steering rack, but thats another story!)

I've the same but it's on 345,000

 

[mark roberts]

I had a vw transporter which was great because the seats removed easily, the rear 3 seats are one piece and are heavy, I could barely manage it by myself. Once removed the bed is flat and has tie down anchors in the floor. I fit a 3.5m lathe bed in it weighing about a tonne and it was fine. The only problem is prices are daft.
I've got a renault traffic which is fine, I noticed the seats are bolted in and it has raised fittings to secure the seats

 

[Domdom]

The idea looks good when you're box ticking, as long as you have all the boxes on the checklist.

I had a 4x4 Merc Sprinter with 3 rows of seats and the back row folded when I had large bits to carry. Not too bad on fuel, insurance was relatively cheap. Overall it seemed to make sense. Great towing machine. I often wondered it it would have been possible to fit a Cummins 6BT but the 4x4 does restrict the available engine space a bit. That would have been incredible.

Now.....the boxes I had missed. Multi-Storey Car parks. Yeah, that doesn't work cos it's tall with the 4x4. Supermarket car parks don't work either cos it needs about 4 spaces and you end up with your picture all over Facebook with the locals complaining like a bunch of stuck pigs. Parking in general, manoeuvring in tight places etc is a pain, soon gets tiresome.

Would I do it again? Sure I would, but I would also keep a regular family car for when I don't need all those seats. And I would probably have a VW Transporter 4x4 with the bigger engine, IIRC it's a 3.2 ish with the 4-Motion, but not quite as bulky as the Merc. Probably wouldn't rust as fast either.

 

[BrokenBiker]

The idea looks good when you're box ticking, as long as you have all the boxes on the checklist.

I had a 4x4 Merc Sprinter with 3 rows of seats and the back row folded when I had large bits to carry. Not too bad on fuel, insurance was relatively cheap. Overall it seemed to make sense. Great towing machine. I often wondered it it would have been possible to fit a Cummins 6BT but the 4x4 does restrict the available engine space a bit. That would have been incredible.

Now.....the boxes I had missed. Multi-Storey Car parks. Yeah, that doesn't work cos it's tall with the 4x4. Supermarket car parks don't work either cos it needs about 4 spaces and you end up with your picture all over Facebook with the locals complaining like a bunch of stuck pigs. Parking in general, manoeuvring in tight places etc is a pain, soon gets tiresome.

Would I do it again? Sure I would, but I would also keep a regular family car for when I don't need all those seats. And I would probably have a VW Transporter 4x4 with the bigger engine, IIRC it's a 3.2 ish with the 4-Motion, but not quite as bulky as the Merc. Probably wouldn't rust as fast either.

I think ive ticked all the boxes. Can't remember the last time i used a multi storey car park to be ho est and as for supermarkets, I'd be looking at a transit/tourneo/transporter sized vehicle and the tourneo yesterday flew under the car park height restriction and there were a few transporters in there too.

4x4 isnt an issue for me, I can get into all my fishing spots with a jag after a minute of careful route planning and keeping momentum up, I only wanted the pick up as it solved the carrying caps Cory issue and the 4x4nwould have been nice in the winter when fishing. The van seems a more suitable option as an all round der and ill atick all terrains on it if needed

 

[TEO]

Fyi, the VW T5.1 shuttle is based on a T30, 140hp and a 6 speed box.
It's not great for towing If that's a big part of your driving then there may be better options & ones that don't carry the ridiculous badge tax

 

[CompoSimmonite]

After my last td5 I vowed never to touch anything with that green oval again...plus one of the requirements was comfy...and a defender isn't it

After 5 x Series, Defender, 2 x Disco and 3 x Range Rover Classic I'll never have anything with green oval again either

 

[dobbslc]

Defender 110 station wagon. Or, if you include London in your life, a series LWB station wagon. Avoids the congestion charge too.

You probably mean the ULEZ charge if it's over 40 years old, the congestion charge is for everybody to enjoy.

 

[Turbo]

Ah yes, parking.

I love my dispatch but parking can be an issue.
The multi story at the hospital has a 2m height restriction and my van is 2m. It may fit but I don't want the embarrassment of getting stuck!

Surface parking is usually full up and the van is too big for a normal car space. When I go to the hospital I take the car to save any hassle.

 

[addjunkie]

I think ive ticked all the boxes. Can't remember the last time i used a multi storey car park to be ho est and as for supermarkets, I'd be looking at a transit/tourneo/transporter sized vehicle and the tourneo yesterday flew under the car park height restriction and there were a few transporters in there too.

4x4 isnt an issue for me, I can get into all my fishing spots with a jag after a minute of careful route planning and keeping momentum up, I only wanted the pick up as it solved the carrying caps Cory issue and the 4x4nwould have been nice in the winter when fishing. The van seems a more suitable option as an all round der and ill atick all terrains on it if needed

 

[knighty]

what about a merc sprinter?

I rate them above most other commercial stuff - I keep a close eye on vans because we run a few here, can't be doing with vans that don't last


I know a merc guy who says avoid the newer engines, so nothing newer than 19reg, I've got one 21 reg but it doesn’t do the miles the others do so I'm not so worried


there's not many smaller ones about (I assume that's what you want?) but they do come up now and again

I'm quite happy getting about in a lwb sprinter

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

what about a merc sprinter?

I rate them above most other commercial stuff - I keep a close eye on vans because we run a few here, can't be doing with vans that don't last


I know a merc guy who says avoid the newer engines, so nothing newer than 19reg, I've got one 21 reg but it doesn’t do the miles the others do so I'm not so worried


there's not many smaller ones about (I assume that's what you want?) but they do come up now and again

I'm quite happy getting about in a lwb sprinter

Ugh!

I had a bunch of sprinters foisted on my old team by corporate procurement, forever in the garage, and terrible carrying capacity compared to the Iveco Daily vans they replaced.

The guys that were assigned them came to hate them due to the unreliability, and the national fleet manager fought tooth and nail to return them before the lease was up*, to replace with a mix of Transits & Iveco's.

*It was costing him a fortune in hire vans because whilst the vans were under warranty Merc was glacially slow at fixing them, and the terms of the lease didn't obligate them to provide ADR spec courtesy vehicles because procurement never engaged with us on what the vans were for. I also suspect he absolutely wanted them off the books before the warranty ended and it became the problem of his mechanics.

They did drive nicely, when they could drive.


Also, for OP's purposes even the small ones are huge compared to a Tourneo/SWB Transit, which is barely longer than a large estate car, making them a lot less practical as a daily driver.

 

[Smallfry]

After 5 x Series, Defender, 2 x Disco and 3 x Range Rover Classic I'll never have anything with green oval again either

Is that all ? I have had 23 in all. I don't think you have given them a fair chance.

 

[knighty]

Ugh!

I had a bunch of sprinters foisted on my old team by corporate procurement, forever in the garage, and terrible carrying capacity compared to the Iveco Daily vans they replaced.

The guys that were assigned them came to hate them due to the unreliability, and the national fleet manager fought tooth and nail to return them before the lease was up*, to replace with a mix of Transits & Iveco's.

*It was costing him a fortune in hire vans because whilst the vans were under warranty Merc was glacially slow at fixing them, and the terms of the lease didn't obligate them to provide ADR spec courtesy vehicles because procurement never engaged with us on what the vans were for. I also suspect he absolutely wanted them off the books before the warranty ended and it became the problem of his mechanics.

They did drive nicely, when they could drive.


Also, for OP's purposes even the small ones are huge compared to a Tourneo/SWB Transit, which is barely longer than a large estate car, making them a lot less practical as a daily driver.

Which sprinters dud you have?

I've got 8, have been running them for years, never had any problems like that


Also you can get one the same size as a swb transit

 

[Bobupndown]

I mean both options are expensive forms of self-harm... But on balance probably easier to quit Landrovers.

I'd say heroin is the easier to quit
.....

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Which sprinters dud you have?

I've got 8, have been running them for years, never had any problems like that


Also you can get one the same size as a swb transit

I want to say we took some of the very earliest Euro 6's, but honestly I can't remember as it was down to the fleet team to manage the details.

I had other things to worry about, so as long as the drivers reporting to me were doing their checks properly, reporting defects promptly, and had all their gear in good order, anything else to do with the vehicles was someone else's problem.