Stepwagon or Delica as a Day Van
Discussion
I am looking for a sub £5k mpv/van to use as a day van 2 or 3 people and 2 or 3 dogs ( 1 medium, 1 small and 1 very small )
We dont intend to sleep in it , just have some sort of mini camping setup so we can go out for the day , make a coffee, maybe cook something for lunch
Would either the Stepwagon or Delica do ?
Pros/Cons at my sort of budget
We will only do about 5k miles max a year
We dont intend to sleep in it , just have some sort of mini camping setup so we can go out for the day , make a coffee, maybe cook something for lunch
Would either the Stepwagon or Delica do ?
Pros/Cons at my sort of budget
We will only do about 5k miles max a year
Depends what you value more, if you want more refinement go Stepwagon if you want some more rugged 'go anywhere' feel go Delica. I do love a Delica so perhaps have a little personal bias in that direction!
Biggest issue at this price point is going to be rust, I think. Particularly on a Delica. Both mechanically very stout otherwise. Also going to be quite expensive on fuel given current prices, but maybe not so much an issue if not a daily driver.
Biggest issue at this price point is going to be rust, I think. Particularly on a Delica. Both mechanically very stout otherwise. Also going to be quite expensive on fuel given current prices, but maybe not so much an issue if not a daily driver.
The Delica is a great machine, but finding a rust free one will be tricky.
When mine arrived from Japan it had no protection underneath, so you really need to find one that someone had treated under there.
The older model was good on wet fields, had the same running gear as the Pajero/Shogun.
Fuel though, early 20's to the gallon, less if you're fully loaded with kit, and pushing on along the motorway.
Fond memories.
When mine arrived from Japan it had no protection underneath, so you really need to find one that someone had treated under there.
The older model was good on wet fields, had the same running gear as the Pajero/Shogun.
Fuel though, early 20's to the gallon, less if you're fully loaded with kit, and pushing on along the motorway.
Fond memories.
£5k will get you a Series1 Alphard via a private sale. They are pretty bulletproof, especially the 3.0l engine. And the Series1 has the rotating middle seats, so you can rotate the seats round, flip the back seats up, open the tailgate, and have food / drink in the back. I run a Series1 as a daily, and it’s been wonderful - just recently sailed through its MOT without any advisories, which isn’t bad for a 22 year old car.
djsmith74 said:
£5k will get you a Series1 Alphard via a private sale. They are pretty bulletproof, especially the 3.0l engine. And the Series1 has the rotating middle seats, so you can rotate the seats round, flip the back seats up, open the tailgate, and have food / drink in the back. I run a Series1 as a daily, and it s been wonderful - just recently sailed through its MOT without any advisories, which isn t bad for a 22 year old car.
What about parts ?When I have aske don some forums they say two bad things about the alphard, MPG and maintenance. A lot have said that some garages wont even touch them ?
Lots of Alphard parts are shared with other similar vintage Toyota / Lexus aside from bodywork obviously, so easy enough sorted. I don't know why a garage would refuse to work on one but presumably they'd have the same attitude towards any JDM import. There's nothing complex or alien about them.
smallzoo said:
djsmith74 said:
£5k will get you a Series1 Alphard via a private sale. They are pretty bulletproof, especially the 3.0l engine. And the Series1 has the rotating middle seats, so you can rotate the seats round, flip the back seats up, open the tailgate, and have food / drink in the back. I run a Series1 as a daily, and it s been wonderful - just recently sailed through its MOT without any advisories, which isn t bad for a 22 year old car.
What about parts ?When I have aske don some forums they say two bad things about the alphard, MPG and maintenance. A lot have said that some garages wont even touch them ?
I responded to a similar thread a while ago about running an Alphard as a daily driver and I’ve covered most topics here….
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
£5k is a bit of a stretch but the newer Delica D5 work well as a day van. There is one on the UK D5 FB page for £5.5 but it's an awful ad.
I'm surprisingly fond of mine. Large load space if needed, 8 seats if needed. 4wd if needed etc.
Ok it's slow, not great mpg , 30 max on a run and there is always concern about the cvt box but it sails up and down the motorway
I'm surprisingly fond of mine. Large load space if needed, 8 seats if needed. 4wd if needed etc.
Ok it's slow, not great mpg , 30 max on a run and there is always concern about the cvt box but it sails up and down the motorway
. Those are 33" tyres for scale!djsmith74 said:
£5k will get you a Series1 Alphard via a private sale. They are pretty bulletproof, especially the 3.0l engine. And the Series1 has the rotating middle seats, so you can rotate the seats round, flip the back seats up, open the tailgate, and have food / drink in the back. I run a Series1 as a daily, and it s been wonderful - just recently sailed through its MOT without any advisories, which isn t bad for a 22 year old car.
What about parts ?When I have aske don some forums they say two bad things about the alphard, MPG and maintenance. A lot have said that some garages wont even touch them ?
Dad's had 4 Delica's now, he had 3 at the same time at one point.
They're pretty reliable. The oil fell out of his diff once and it did a few hundred miles before it got some more oil.
They do rust though, even when under sealed if it's not topped up every couple of years they'll rust. Thirsty too, petrol or diesel but that wouldn't be so bad at 5000 miles pa.
They're pretty reliable. The oil fell out of his diff once and it did a few hundred miles before it got some more oil.
They do rust though, even when under sealed if it's not topped up every couple of years they'll rust. Thirsty too, petrol or diesel but that wouldn't be so bad at 5000 miles pa.
smallzoo said:
djsmith74 said:
£5k will get you a Series1 Alphard via a private sale. They are pretty bulletproof, especially the 3.0l engine. And the Series1 has the rotating middle seats, so you can rotate the seats round, flip the back seats up, open the tailgate, and have food / drink in the back. I run a Series1 as a daily, and it s been wonderful - just recently sailed through its MOT without any advisories, which isn t bad for a 22 year old car.
What about parts ?When I have aske don some forums they say two bad things about the alphard, MPG and maintenance. A lot have said that some garages wont even touch them ?
Always puzzles me why people make day vans or campers out of JDM large people carriers. Surely they are too cramped and low compared to a regular van?
I ger that they are better builr, petrol and have more kit but the stepwagon is especially a lot smaller than a transporter or transit etc?
I ger that they are better builr, petrol and have more kit but the stepwagon is especially a lot smaller than a transporter or transit etc?
djsmith74 said:
smallzoo said:
djsmith74 said:
£5k will get you a Series1 Alphard via a private sale. They are pretty bulletproof, especially the 3.0l engine. And the Series1 has the rotating middle seats, so you can rotate the seats round, flip the back seats up, open the tailgate, and have food / drink in the back. I run a Series1 as a daily, and it s been wonderful - just recently sailed through its MOT without any advisories, which isn t bad for a 22 year old car.
What about parts ?When I have aske don some forums they say two bad things about the alphard, MPG and maintenance. A lot have said that some garages wont even touch them ?
I responded to a similar thread a while ago about running an Alphard as a daily driver and I ve covered most topics here .
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
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