New Diesel Van - a worthwhile investment?

[Bobupndown]

I’m tempted to sell the Landy as she is thirsty

Give the V8 Disco to me and I'll take the fuel hit!

Ive a Freelander 2 Sd4, 190hp and 33 mpg, good blend of landrover rugged ability along with relatively reasonable running costs, but wait, its 7 years old now, maybe I should just scrap it and buy an electric puddle hopper?

 

[Bobupndown]

I’d like to get my hands on a fully mechanical diesel vehicle, something pretty robust, solid chassis, no pressed tin, with no electronic brain, rebuildable at the roadside sort of thing.... something that will outlive me, and will not fall by the wayside as the electrical era takes over and we are all forced to drive Dysons that need a second mortgage to pay for....

Suggestions?

300 tdi Defender.

 

[stuvy]

300 tdi Defender.

200tdi less to go wrong

 

[stuvy]

Give the V8 Disco to me and I'll take the fuel hit!

Ive a Freelander 2 Sd4, 190hp and 33 mpg, good blend of landrover rugged ability along with relatively reasonable running costs, but wait, its 7 years old now, maybe I should just scrap it and buy an electric puddle hopper?

I did stick it up for sale last night... I can give it to you if you give me what I’m asking for it

 

[Bobupndown]

Much as I'd love one I can't justify it. Had a Td5 Disco 2 for 11 years and loved it. What model of Discovery is yours?

 

[stuvy]

Much as I'd love one I can't justify it. Had a Td5 Disco 2 for 11 years and loved it. What model of Discovery is yours?

Discovery 1 3.9 v8 auto

I love it but don’t need it anymore really, it owes me nothing has more than doubled if not quadrupled in what I paid for it

 

[Arash]

why so much hate for electric vehicles? They are not that expensive (the vans any way) and are pretty good. They are not for every body or every business but they make a lot of sense in towns.
Just as an example I had a busy day on Friday and did 5-6 calls, 1 in Central London, then another in SE London and then drove to the opposite side of London where I live. In total it was 50 miles but took about 5 or 6 hours of driving. To do that I used a third of the battery range which is about 11kw so lets say 15p per kw thats how much it cost to do that journey.
My van costs me £160 plus vat per month with £1000 upfront. This was the deal I chose, there were others where you own the van but I wan't sure if this van was big enough so I only opted for 2 years.
There are other cost benefits including cheaper parking in some boroughs and free road tax etc.. but I didn't buy it because of that
Did people say similar sorts of things when steam power and horse drawn vehicles were being phased out in when ICE powered vehicles came along?

 

[Revs1972]

IMO PHEV's are the way we should be going at present with gradual adapting 100% electric when the technology improves.

Im with you there, ive ordered a Disco Sport Phev which is due Mid Sept. At least on a long journey i know i dont need to worry about range etc, and know that the short journeys the engine will have less wear on it.
My main worry is remembering to put petrol not diesel in it

 

[stuvy]

why so much hate for electric vehicles? They are not that expensive (the vans any way) and are pretty good. They are not for every body or every business but they make a lot of sense in towns.
Just as an example I had a busy day on Friday and did 5-6 calls, 1 in Central London, then another in SE London and then drove to the opposite side of London where I live. In total it was 50 miles but took about 5 or 6 hours of driving. To do that I used a third of the battery range which is about 11kw so lets say 15p per kw thats how much it cost to do that journey.
My van costs me £160 plus vat per month with £1000 upfront. This was the deal I chose, there were others where you own the van but I wan't sure if this van was big enough so I only opted for 2 years.
There are other cost benefits including cheaper parking in some boroughs and free road tax etc.. but I didn't buy it because of that
Did people say similar sorts of things when steam power and horse drawn vehicles were being phased out in when ICE powered vehicles came along?

I guess it’s horses for courses

Personally I don’t like electric cars and I won’t be looking to buy one ever

 

[jimbo84]

why so much hate for electric vehicles? They are not that expensive (the vans any way) and are pretty good. They are not for every body or every business but they make a lot of sense in towns.
Just as an example I had a busy day on Friday and did 5-6 calls, 1 in Central London, then another in SE London and then drove to the opposite side of London where I live. In total it was 50 miles but took about 5 or 6 hours of driving. To do that I used a third of the battery range which is about 11kw so lets say 15p per kw thats how much it cost to do that journey.
My van costs me £160 plus vat per month with £1000 upfront. This was the deal I chose, there were others where you own the van but I wan't sure if this van was big enough so I only opted for 2 years.
There are other cost benefits including cheaper parking in some boroughs and free road tax etc.. but I didn't buy it because of that
Did people say similar sorts of things when steam power and horse drawn vehicles were being phased out in when ICE powered vehicles came along?

There are decent electric rates if you've got an EV I pay 5.5p per KWh to charge at home, works out at around 1.4p per mile. Mines a berlingo electric van, spot on for the use mine gets.

 

[Revs1972]

why so much hate for electric vehicles? They are not that expensive (the vans any way) and are pretty good. They are not for every body or every business but they make a lot of sense in towns.
Just as an example I had a busy day on Friday and did 5-6 calls, 1 in Central London, then another in SE London and then drove to the opposite side of London where I live. In total it was 50 miles but took about 5 or 6 hours of driving. To do that I used a third of the battery range which is about 11kw so lets say 15p per kw thats how much it cost to do that journey.
My van costs me £160 plus vat per month with £1000 upfront. This was the deal I chose, there were others where you own the van but I wan't sure if this van was big enough so I only opted for 2 years.
There are other cost benefits including cheaper parking in some boroughs and free road tax etc.. but I didn't buy it because of that
Did people say similar sorts of things when steam power and horse drawn vehicles were being phased out in when ICE powered vehicles came along?

Electric sounds perfect for you. And to be honest would suit 90% of tradesmen who work mainly inside the boundaries of the big cities. But you see their comments on various van facebook groups, and its all about small ranges, prices etc but they dont look at the bigger picture taking into account the running costs over 3-5 years

 

[Revs1972]

I guess it’s horses for courses

Personally I don’t like electric cars and I won’t be looking to buy one ever

What don't you like about them ?
I was skeptical about them at first, but having driven a couple i was quite impressed (with the performance at the very least )

 

[cheb]

why so much hate for electric vehicles? They are not that expensive (the vans any way) and are pretty good. They are not for every body or every business but they make a lot of sense in towns.
Just as an example I had a busy day on Friday and did 5-6 calls, 1 in Central London, then another in SE London and then drove to the opposite side of London where I live. In total it was 50 miles but took about 5 or 6 hours of driving. To do that I used a third of the battery range which is about 11kw so lets say 15p per kw thats how much it cost to do that journey.
My van costs me £160 plus vat per month with £1000 upfront. This was the deal I chose, there were others where you own the van but I wan't sure if this van was big enough so I only opted for 2 years.
There are other cost benefits including cheaper parking in some boroughs and free road tax etc.. but I didn't buy it because of that
Did people say similar sorts of things when steam power and horse drawn vehicles were being phased out in when ICE powered vehicles came along?

People made all sorts of noises about brakes on all four wheels, increase in accidents caused by stopping too quickly etc. Change is not always to be feared.

 

[armalites]

The range for electric vehicles is often flagged as a concern but if people drove them to conserve energy like you would when saving fuel then it would make a difference.

Petrol/diesel is convenient because it's available everywhere and adding 500 miles takes a few minutes.

I used to run a 3.9 auto Range Rover with LPG as my daily driver racking up thousands of mile. You change your mindset much in the way you would with electric. I would fill up when I saw LPG available even if I had half a tank because you are only winning when running on gas. It will be the same with electric, if you can plug in at a convenient time even for a few minutes then you'll do it.

That said the muppets who drive around for days with the fuel light on will probably still exactly the same in an electric car.

 

[stuvy]

What don't you like about them ?
I was skeptical about them at first, but having driven a couple i was quite impressed (with the performance at the very least )

the noise, the smell, the feeling a car gives you, the fact a petrol is better for the environment

I don’t care that it’s 0-60 time is quick until the battery/motor overheats

like I said it will never be for me

 

[Cato]

why so much hate for electric vehicles? They are not that expensive (the vans any way) and are pretty good. They are not for every body or every business but they make a lot of sense in towns.
Just as an example I had a busy day on Friday and did 5-6 calls, 1 in Central London, then another in SE London and then drove to the opposite side of London where I live. In total it was 50 miles but took about 5 or 6 hours of driving. To do that I used a third of the battery range which is about 11kw so lets say 15p per kw thats how much it cost to do that journey.
My van costs me £160 plus vat per month with £1000 upfront. This was the deal I chose, there were others where you own the van but I wan't sure if this van was big enough so I only opted for 2 years.
There are other cost benefits including cheaper parking in some boroughs and free road tax etc.. but I didn't buy it because of that
Did people say similar sorts of things when steam power and horse drawn vehicles were being phased out in when ICE powered vehicles came along?

They are VERY expensive when compared to a similar IC van, and the range is pathetic. When people try to claim that electric vans aren't that expensive they're always referring to ones the size of a small hatchback and leasing. Buying anything Vivaro/Transit size and they're almost twice the price of the same spec diesel with a quarter (or less) of the range.

It's horses for courses, but an electric van isn't an option for many.

 

[Arash]

They are VERY expensive when compared to a similar IC van, and the range is pathetic. When people try to claim that electric vans aren't that expensive they're always referring to ones the size of a small hatchback and leasing. Buying anything Vivaro/Transit size and they're almost twice the price of the same spec diesel with a quarter (or less) of the range.

It's horses for courses, but an electric van isn't an option for many.

You have to look out for deals like you do with everything else. When I found this deal it was cheaper than the diesel version of the same van! If you do a lot of motorway miles an electric van is not suitable for you. I am not sure about hire purchase as its not suitable for me so what you say may be true.
My cousin just got an electric VW transporter for £170 per month plus vat.

 

[daro]

whenever I hear about electric car "deals" it is always a Lease or Rental deal , with a low monthly figure, but no mention of deposit , balloon payments, length of rental, government grant, tax rebate, etc
I have never seen an electric vehicle with a genuine retail price that is lower then an equivalent petrol/diesel model
A friend recently got a new Transit for £23k , he was thinking of the electric Transit which is coming soon , but was quoted £40k + ( and a pathetic range when loaded )
I have nothing against electric vehicles, I could tolerate the range & recharging times, but they are still too expensive

 

[Cato]

You have to look out for deals like you do with everything else. When I found this deal it was cheaper than the diesel version of the same van! If you do a lot of motorway miles an electric van is not suitable for you. I am not sure about hire purchase as its not suitable for me so what you say may be true.

What van do you have?

To replace the Vivaro I have only two options, the slightly smaller Merc at £40k, and the slightly larger Renault at £60k both of which are a lower spec. The Transit (when it's available) will be £40k. So all of them are at or around twice the price of their diesel variants. So you pay far more for a lesser vehicle which can't travel as far in the same time, that makes no sense at all for a business. Neither does hiring one for two years, but I suppose that decision depends on your business type, turnover, how long it's been going etc.

I don't care if a van runs on petrol, diesel or fairy dust. I only care that it can do what I require and that (as with any other tool) I'm not wasting money by buying something which is less use that the tool it's replacing.

Electric vans were designed for 'last mile' use delivery. That's quite a narrow market, and as soon as they're promoted outside of that market they fall away on both value for money and usability.