Best medium sized day/work van

[Calite]

Hey folks

As per title, on the hunt for a euro 6 van to replace my absolutely ancient Mitsubishi Delica.

Usage case is mainly as a daily, so L1/H1 sized (shorter than 5m length, 2.1m height, under 3T gross), with the intention to put some toolboxes in the back with a fold out bed, possibly window the back doors & remove the bulkhead to make it something of a hybrid work/day van.

Budget of around £15k, haven't shopped for vans since the Transit MK7 was current so have no idea what drives well at the minute.

Looking at the usual contenders, longevity & simplicity (on a euro 6, I know) are my priorities for the most part as I want to keep it a good few years. Looked at Transporters as they stereotypically last for donkeys but really struggling with my budget, have heard good things about the stellantis platform (Proace, Expert etc), equally keep hearing about Transit Customs exploding so I'm hesitant about them.

Just wondering what folk are recommending in vans for personal use nowadays.

[Ryyy]

Caddy maxi? Bulkhead is straight out with a few bolts and the rear barn doors are already glass. Theres a big market for them so plenty of shops and aftermarket goodies for you as well as a loft vag group things fitting if you like mods. Theres plenty out there that have been made into day vans for a bit of inspiration and help too

Also I googled a delica as I'd never heard of them then went straight onto ebay to see what they could be picked up for as a shed project and my bubble was burst straight away they're going for strong money buddy

Edited by Ryyy on Sunday 21st November 18:13

Edited by Ryyy on Sunday 21st November 18:14

[stevemcs]

I’d take my chances with the connect over the caddy. We look after some proaces for a local company and they seem ok, just servicing and brakes mainly, one split a coolant hose and that’s about it. They replaced caddy’s that didn’t wear as well.

[Calite]

Ryyy said:

Caddy maxi? Bulkhead is straight out with a few bolts and the rear barn doors are already glass. Theres a big market for them so plenty of shops and aftermarket goodies for you as well as a loft vag group things fitting if you like mods. Theres plenty out there that have been made into day vans for a bit of inspiration and help too

Also I googled a delica as I'd never heard of them then went straight onto ebay to see what they could be picked up for as a shed project and my bubble was burst straight away they're going for strong money buddy

Edited by Ryyy on Sunday 21st November 18:13

Edited by Ryyy on Sunday 21st November 18:14

Definitely looking for a SWB medium over a LWB small van, load length is about similar but imo the wider & taller transporter style has a lot more useable space for my purposes, as long as it fits in a parking bay & goes through a drivethrough I'm happy, would err towards going bigger than smaller in that regard.

Delicas are great bits of kit I do a lot of homers doing some maritime maintenance & it works fantastic for that, unfortunately mines just a bit long in the tooth & munted all over (1995, somewhere between 210k km & 210k miles), & I'm giving up my company car going to a new job and know it's not going to work double dutying a 50 mile daily commute. Also worried about one of the areas I drive through becoming a ULEZ after next year.

Edited by Calite on Sunday 21st November 18:34

[ZX10R NIN]

Is that including VAT?

The Transit is the pick but they also hold their money well, so here's the alternates.

Lookout for Hyundai iLoad's as you can get low mileage examples for your budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202110218...

Dispatch

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202104281...

Movano SWB

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202109247...

Peugeot Expert:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202110299...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202110258...

SWB Boxer

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202111179...

Leftfield

LDV V80

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202110299...

[Ryyy]

Calite said:

Definitely looking for a SWB medium over a LWB small van, load length is about similar but imo the wider & taller transporter style has a lot more useable space for my purposes, as long as it fits in a parking bay & goes through a drivethrough I'm happy, would err towards going bigger than smaller in that regard.

Delicas are great bits of kit I do a lot of homers doing some maritime maintenance & it works fantastic for that, unfortunately mines just a bit long in the tooth & munted all over (1995, somewhere between 210k km & 210k miles), & I'm giving up my company car going to a new job and know it's not going to work double dutying a 50 mile daily commute. Also worried about one of the areas I drive through becoming a ULEZ after next year.

Edited by Calite on Sunday 21st November 18:34

Ahh I see, caddy out the question then. And Homer's?!?! You mean a Guvvy

[Calite]

ZX10R NIN said:

Is that including VAT?

The Transit is the pick but they also hold their money well, so here's the alternates.

Lookout for Hyundai iLoad's as you can get low mileage examples for your budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202110218...

Dispatch

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202104281...

Movano SWB

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202109247...

Peugeot Expert:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202110299...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202110258...

SWB Boxer

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202111179...

Leftfield

LDV V80

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202110299...

Ta for the list, looked at most before.

Dispatch & Expert definite options, I badge snob the Toyota pretty heavily but the stellantis platform seems to be a solid bet since finding a Proace SWB with the 2.0 is hens teeth.

Movano/LDV/Boxer I keep toying with, particularly the Boxer/Relay/Ducato (woundn't touch a new LDV with a barge pole). But just sit a little bit to tall and a little bit too heavy, I do a lot of work in cities & know I'll be kicking myself come the 2.2m height restrictions & organising a class 7 MOT.

iLoad/i800, honestly a real contender, trying to find a reason not to like it, RWD, proper old style engine (2.5 vs the current meta of 2.0/1.6), seems crude enough to be exceptionally robust. Issue I'm having is nobody I know has ever even sat in one & there's bugger all UK reviews. I just have this awful niggling feeling that there must be a reason they're not common at all.

Ryyy said:

Ahh I see, caddy out the question then. And Homer's?!?! You mean a Guvvy

Homers aren't the common parlance? fked if I know, all I know is that I'm full time at the day job now due to IR35.

My friends got a caddy & honest it's just too cramped. I love being able to hop in & fumble around for tools & occasionally work inside it when it's pissing with rain. Also super lazy & love being able to walk between the cab & load area since I leave junk sat on my dash all the time, which is a pain in car derived vans

Edited by Calite on Monday 22 November 21:58

[ZX10R NIN]

The i800/iload is actually okay a bit old school but they're a solid workhorse, think of them as a modern take on the old Hiace.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Monday 22 November 22:54

[colin79666]

Bit smaller but might do the job: Nissan NV200
They even do an electric version if you don’t go very far (range is less than 100 miles except in summer and with ac off). We have one at work, gets lots of abuse and never wants anything except being plugged in between jobs and a yearly checkup (not really a service).

[Calite]

colin79666 said:

Bit smaller but might do the job: Nissan NV200
They even do an electric version if you don’t go very far (range is less than 100 miles except in summer and with ac off). We have one at work, gets lots of abuse and never wants anything except being plugged in between jobs and a yearly checkup (not really a service).

I’ve got a massive soft spot for these, wouldn’t touch the electric one with a barge poll as it wouldn’t work for me but the little 1.5 diesel looks a solid option, and it’s a proper upright van rather than car derived. Just think it may be too small for my purposes, and not very well suited to the motorway miles I do compared to something more substantial.

I need to test drive one if I’m honest.

Edited by Calite on Tuesday 23 November 07:37

[Calite]

colin79666 said:

Bit smaller but might do the job: Nissan NV200
They even do an electric version if you don’t go very far (range is less than 100 miles except in summer and with ac off). We have one at work, gets lots of abuse and never wants anything except being plugged in between jobs and a yearly checkup (not really a service).

Well, since these threads seldom have a conclusion;


67 plate nv200 tekna (top spec).

Picked up on Saturday, we bit smaller than what I was looking for but an absolute minter well within budget.

Edited by Calite on Monday 6th December 11:30

[Venisonpie]

Calite said:

Well, since these threads seldom have a conclusion;


67 plate nv200 tekna (top spec).

Picked up on Saturday, we bit smaller than what I was looking for but an absolute minter well within budget.

Edited by Calite on Monday 6th December 11:30

You should still have some mfr warranty remaining on it, they're 5 years from new (or they are now).

[ZX10R NIN]

Glad you got sorted OP.

[colin79666]

Looks great