matt nossiter Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I,m looking to replace my old Transit Connect with a new van , but this time the van must be capable of towing my car on a trailer , so I,m looking to get something a bit bigger ( vw transporter springs to mind , partly because of the size but also because I'd like something with a nice feel to it if I,m going to be towing all over the country ) , has anyone got any experience of these or any van that mite be suitable ? , what sort of mpg to you get on a bigger van ? , at the moment I get between 40 - 45 mpg with the Connect , and how big an engine / what power to you need to tow comfortably ? ( at the moment weve got a subura legacy 3.0 petrol to tow with ) . Are there any vans to avoid ( I know a couple of people with the medium sized Peugeot vans and they both had numerous problems with them ) Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajpearson Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 A Transporter will not give you anywhere near the 40 mpg you are getting at the moment, and are expensive for what they are. Have a look at a Mercedes Vito, better Spec'd than the VW and much better value for money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 I downsized from a new shape sprinter and looked at transporter vans but you dont get a lot o van for your money, I asked the same question on here and everyone told me transit! Im really not a Ford fan at all but for once in my life I listened and ended up with a 2007 mwb transit, its a lot smaller than the merc ut have to admit it was the right decision, its a cracking van, only 115bhp but it goes really well very torquey and so much nicer to drive and much better on fuel than the Merc, It tends to do around 33mpg fully loaded with karts and pretty much the same with trailer and car on the back.(sprinter would go as low as 21mpg towing and best i saw was 28 empty driving it like a granny!!! ) if would consider a swb transit over a transporter, vito or any of the french ****e every time! :t-up: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 i have a vw t5 transporter kombi t32 sportline 174 bhp and tons of torques , the best van i have had and i have had shed loads , pulls my shuttle with the exige in without issue and economical trafics and vivaros are good very good infact but you are just waiting for them to break (there french)the bodies will last for ever and a day ,go for the 115 bhp 2.0 engine(07 on) they are far better than the 1.9 transits are spot on ,rwd versions pop engines for fun but if you go fwd you cannot go wrong , the only issues are still bodywork ,no where near as bad as they used to be but the wheel arches (front and rear) rust and rot like mad ,they are not galvanised if you dont mind that go for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveH Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 V6 Vito. Quick, comfy, auto as standard and tows like a dream Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 yep there was a couple of areas of rust on my tranny I had to touch up, areas that had been chipped and left , in saying that it has no where near the rust that my Merc had, I did that 3 times in 18months and couldnt stop it coming back through no matter what I did! :A***: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted May 11, 2012 Share Posted May 11, 2012 yup mercs are **** ,really **** on the bodywork front , infact mercs are just **** full stop ,folk rave over them ,but its just a badge they see and that clouds there judgment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet orange Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Toyota Hiace works for me. I own a 2008 Hiace 300, 120 bhp long wheel base model. As a jobbing builder it fits the bill nicely, not too flash that the costomer thinks you charge too much either. It tows 2000 kg (that includes the trailer remember) which means the westfield is no problem for it. Bad points ... Market trader image!... oh, and keep on the tarmac as it gets stuck easy on wet grass. (there is a limited slip diff made to fit them available from specialists) which would be interesting. Some collegues of mine drive the Renault traffic / nissan / Vauxhall van ... some say the are great but only built to last 3 years before problems arrise. Keep clear of VW Transporters IMHO. Had a new 4motion one in 2006 which turned out to be a £20,000 nightmare! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveH Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 yup mercs are **** ,really **** on the bodywork front , infact mercs are just **** full stop ,folk rave over them ,but its just a badge they see and that clouds there judgment I think (and hope) you are a it out of date on the bodywork Steve. My older Vito was a total rustbucket but the newer kit seems to be much more up to standard. As far as the mechanical bits go, they are miles better than anything French or the Ford kit in my view, probably on a par with the VWs. I'd strongly advise against 2.0 Traffic/Vivaros. Their electrical faults are legendary even on the new ones, they suffer regularly from injector faults and they seize in so badly that Renault were fitting short engines under warranty as they couldn't get them out of the heads even just after a couple of years use! Anyone who buys one out of warranty is just waiting for downtime and a big bill to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 no im affraid merc bodywork has not improved much at all and there cars are testiment to that ,corrosion is a major issue still and electrical faults are bad ,i know personally of several mercs that have been rejected due to electrical faults , we have found merc dont like to accept any bodywork warranty claims , every van will have its faults ,i have owned about 7 trafics ,vivaro's and a primastar and never had a issue with any of them ,not even electrical so i can only say it as i find them ,and as for the injectors ,well most makes have issues with injectors even mercs ,my partners merc had to have a new head because they could not remove a faulty injector , so they all have issues even vw as mr orange says the 4 motion vans are a nightmare so steer well clear of them ,they eat cv's and shafts but you cant judge the rest of the range on the 4 motion , the rest of the 2wd range are superb i have had a 85 bhp t5 sh4gger and a 105 bhp t5 sh4gger, last year i had a t5 130 bhp kombi and that was brilliant ,the 174 bhp transporter i have now is in a different league though ,it pulls like a train and is still economical the trouble is if you read any reveiw on any car or van you would not buy anything because people only seem to report the faults , people these days just seem to want to pick fault with everything and moan and never say anything good,i can only speak from my experience Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffC Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 my merc was moderninsh, well 2007 and as said was shockingly bad for rust was mechanically perfect though in the 18 months i had it and sold it with 126,000 miles on. everyone I know that has had a renault has had major issues, think Luke is on his second engine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveD Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 my merc was moderninsh, well 2007 and as said was shockingly bad for rust was mechanically perfect though in the 18 months i had it and sold it with 126,000 miles on. everyone I know that has had a renault has had major issues, think Luke is on his second engine! yup like i said you wouldnt buy anything jeff if you read every bad report , our mong (me brother) drives all over the country fitting lifts ,they have had everything from a sprinter to a transit and vw's ,all big vans though and everyone of them has had major issues the latest brand new transit has done 3k and gone in for a new engine , so i think the moral is just buy what you fancy and drive the bl**** thing and enjoy it ,and if you have problems get them fixed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveH Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 My 08 Merc is mint so far, hopefully I've been lucky there! I agree with "buy what you fancy" to a large degree Steve but my comments on the electrical issues are based on the number of Traffics that I see with such problems whilst working in diagnostics, I see a relatively small number of Mercs (or VWs come to that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Verona Posted May 12, 2012 Share Posted May 12, 2012 Matt, if it is a "new" van you want and it's OK if it's white then give me a shout when you have decided and I may be a able to help with a discounted vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt nossiter Posted May 12, 2012 Author Share Posted May 12, 2012 Thanks Norman , I was looking at new or upto a yr old . When I,ve made a decision on what van I'll pm you . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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