small fun van / lcv

[jassihayre]

Hey All

Change in job means I'm going to be spending a lot more time on the road in a car derived van (Fiesta / Corsa / Astra type thing) or small van of the Berlingo / Caddy type driving around inner city areas and dual carriageways. Wondering if any of them are any fun to drive?

Thx

[SAS Tom]

I hired a Kangoo for a few days last year and was well impressed with it down the back roads of Wales. Couldn’t believe how well it handled for a van.

I don’t know what power it claimed to have but it was a 1.5dci and was dead slow although it did improve after giving it some stick.

[LarsG]

Nemo/Bipper, perfect small van good in fuel. I have three. Incidentally, service history is important and check for creaking,when turning the steering wheel. suspension mounts tend to go after around 40,000 miles. Other point to note is it is not a car derived van.

[Saleen836]

Will it be a new or used van?
If used I can highly recommend the Astra 1.9cdti like this...
https://www.gumtree.com/p/vans/-vauxhall-astra-van...

150bhp as standard and easy to tune to over 200bhp!

[blue_haddock]

If its a used van then you can fit either the peugeot GTI6 or 3.0 V6 into the older berlingo or partner vans!

[AlwynMike]

Berlingo/Partner Enterprise models had the 2 litre diesel in. Quite entertaining at times, but fun? No.
Doblo 1.6 and 1.9 has no power or torque at the bottom and you are contantly changing gear. They do come alive with a tuning box though.

Are you aware of van speed limits?

[Saleen836]

AlwynMike said:

Berlingo/Partner Enterprise models had the 2 litre diesel in. Quite entertaining at times, but fun? No.
Doblo 1.6 and 1.9 has no power or torque at the bottom and you are contantly changing gear. They do come alive with a tuning box though.

Are you aware of van speed limits?

Van speed limits are not applicable for car derived vans

[Deep Thought]

blue_haddock said:

If its a used van then you can fit either the peugeot GTI6 or 3.0 V6 into the older berlingo or partner vans!

Of a 2.8 VR6 in to the right Caddy...

[Deep Thought]

jassihayre said:

Hey All

Change in job means I'm going to be spending a lot more time on the road in a car derived van (Fiesta / Corsa / Astra type thing) or small van of the Berlingo / Caddy type driving around inner city areas and dual carriageways. Wondering if any of them are any fun to drive?

Thx

I have a soft spot for the older style but facelifted Berlingo / Partner vans. This sort of shape.



I'd probably go for the 2.0HDI in Enterprise spec if budget permitted, rather than the problematic 1.6HDI or the hard on fuel 1.9D.

If i was looking something a bit smaller, then a Nemo or Bipper.

I also had a Corsa van at one point.

The advantage to all of these is the relative ease of upgrades - theres a wealth of car part upgrades can be added - alloys, seats, trim, etc.

[AlwynMike]

Saleen836 said:

Van speed limits are not applicable for car derived vans

Very true, but on the OP's list only the Corsa and maybe Fiesta are CDV's
Others are "true" vans for speed limit purposes.
Partner, Berlingo etc have Van derived cars.
An archaic situation, and even if limits are widely ignored, its still better to be aware of them.

[Steve91]

Kangoo? They're fun enough as they are, but there's plenty about with a 172 conversion!