What van? Up to 10k for a day van, VW T4 replacement.

[TiminYorkshire]

So my VW T4 is getting long in the tooth, it's starting to get crusty round the edgeses, seems to be getting rattlier in the interior, has no aircon and has a slight electrical drain which is proving hard to trace. A good van which has had a recon engine fitted but will be a bit too much effort to get it up to scratch for what I want.

After a weekend in the Lakes the dog has finally taken to travelling in the van. So I'm finally thinking what could I replace the T4 transporter with for up to £10k?

Requirements:

Everyday car for me.
34 mile commute daily, so nothing too van like (no Sprinters, VW Lts etc).
Some punch for the hills (I live in the North York Moors National Park on the coast)
30 ish mpg on a daily basis, (single carriageway A roads with hills)
Air con.
Good for overtakes.
Happy to sit at ~80 mph and quiet there for Euro ski/surf/summer running trips.
Comfy in the front for driver and 1 passenger.
No more than 100k miles, I do about 10-12k a year and would look to keep this for 4-5 years.

Ideas so far:
Vitos in RWD 160hp and the 22x hp 122 V6 CDI?
VW T5s - too much for what they are? Less reliable than T4s?
Not so keen on the Vivaro/Traffic/Nissan equivalent
Anything else?
What's good, what's bad, what have I missed

Edited by TiminYorkshire on Tuesday 4th September 20:45

[troika]

I think in reality, if you get anything other than a T5, you’ll hate it. Get the newest one you can if keeping for a good while. It’s not like they don’t hold their money.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say a Transit ours have been great, in fact they've been that good we're getting two new ones (auto this time) they've been no trouble & imo are the best drive, a lot of guys in the paddock have T5's or Transits the T5's seem to have a few more niggles but both are good vans.

You'll want a 125ps model they're hard to find but out there normally ex AA or RAC.

[addsvrs]

I have a Vito 122 sport x and it ticks all your boxes.......although the mpg might be a bit optimistic. I get high 30's on motorway runs at 60mph ish, low 30's at 75mph ish and low 20's around town.

[PTF]

New shape vauxhall combo/fiat doblo.

The LWB version is pretty big.

I ran a 14 plate combo as a daily for a while. Crew cab version so 3 proper seats in the back with sliding side doors. Could get me, my wife, 2x kids and 3-4 bikes in the back no problem. And all out of sight thanks to heavy window tints.

An Amdro Boot Jump with an awning on the tailgate and you're sorted.

Mine did 50-55mpg with the 1.6 diesel engine. It had cruise, bluetooth, armrest, tonnes of storage.

It fitted in my work car park.

I paid £10k for mine with about 10k miles at about 2yrs old. Sold it a year later for £8k

The only issue i had was insurance as it was a commercial vehicle. But a doblo would be very similar and classed as an MPV.





Then chuck one of these in the back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJxB93b_D_o

Edited by PTF on Wednesday 5th September 14:23

[dave_s13]

Nissan Elgrand

Might not quite hit the mpg figures but they are vast inside, comfier than your front room and 10k would get you a minter.

If it pans out I might be getting one this weekend in fact.

[TiminYorkshire]

Thanks for the alternative suggestions, much appreciated. What age of Transit would I be talking?

[dave_s13]

If you're in Yorkshire have a think about a trip over to the delightful area of Bradford.

https://www.japjunction.co.uk/

The locale is worrying but the chaps in there were really friendly and you can have a good poke around the many imported vans they have in stock.

We were hugely impressed with the Elgrand. They are soooo comfy and just properly cool

[ZX10R NIN]

TiminYorkshire said:

Thanks for the alternative suggestions, much appreciated. What age of Transit would I be talking?

2013/14 model.