Grand Espace 3.5L V6....... any experience?

[SWH]

New job will necessitate a train based commute, so no more negotiating the M23/M25 and my Laguna 1.9DCi commuter box is surplus to requirements... or will be in a few months anyway. I'm going to use our 9-5 Estate as the station hack and general dog/tip wagon, leaving an opening for a large (ok, immense) family wagon.

Liking the van scale of a Grand Espace at the moment, the mention of a 275bhp V6 petrol version spiked a little more interest too... so, does anyone on here have any experience of them?

Are they hopelessly unreliable? What are they like to service/maintain? Are they actually any good to drive? Do they get anywhere near 25mpg on a run, or is that just crazy talk and we'll be getting more Shell points than a Space Shuttle?

They look pretty rare, which maybe a bad thing from a spares perspective, only two on Autotrader at the moment; maybe the V6 oil burner is a better bet, but that just makes it a diesel people carrier, probably with DMF, DPF and EGR issues!

[Caulkhead]

I thought they were 245bhp? I drove one a while ago but we ended up sticking with Chrysler Grand Voyagers as a business due to reliability concerns. The only thing I can remember about the Espace was it didn't feel any quicker than a diesel and the steering wheel appeared to be entirely unconnected to the front wheels.

[SWH]

Ah... you're right, just rechecked - 245bhp, must have been wishful thinking on my part!

Expected the steering to only be a loose connection to the road too.

[davidjpowell]

We had a 2.0 dci Espace so can't speak on the engine. Our was a 2007 car which we owned for 3 years from nearly new. No big breakdowns, very few niggles. Dealers are crap - expect that, anything else is a bonus.

Car drove well, handled well for it's size, not too much roll, and had a reasonable turn of speed to it - overtaking was a possibility. Was also refined on run.

Had a Voyager on hire and it was roll city also slow and thirsty, which together with awful crash test results puts us off. Comfy though.

Not relevant really but we used to get 37 to the gallon. 3.0 diesel not that powerful, and 2.0 diesel not that much slower, but more economical and reliable.

[Caulkhead]

hora said:

Caulkhead said:

I thought they were 245bhp? I drove one a while ago but we ended up sticking with Chrysler Grand Voyagers as a business due to reliability concerns. The only thing I can remember about the Espace was it didn't feel any quicker than a diesel and the steering wheel appeared to be entirely unconnected to the front wheels.

What do you need to look out for on the Grand Voyagers? The other issue is how can you tell if they've been professional taxi'd or airport-runners

We ran three, each up to about 130,000 miles and they were pretty trouble free. Tended to eat brakes but had no problems at all with engines or transmissions. Interiors are tough. At 130k the sterring wheels on ours were not worn smooth, so if the mileage is lower than that and the wheel worn, I'd verify the mileage carefully.

[J4CKO]

Good MPV but not reliable, electrics and gearboxes being the major failings, get a Galaxy or something Japanese, waste of fuel having a petrol V6 in an MPV as you dotn want to go that fast and the diesel do the torque theing very well.

[Rich n Em]

Can't give you anything useful on the Renault, other than it's French, but taking a look at more PH material, how about this old news article from a few years back:

http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/news/default.asp?stor...

I have driven the more recent S-Max and loved it.

[SWH]

Hmm, looks like a steer clear to me, digging around on Parkers and What Car turns up many a failure too.

Plenty of time to think about something else anyway - thanks to all for the input above. A few months of clattery diesel commuting will help me decide I'm sure.

[pacman1]

Wouldn't the V6 Espace be powered by the same engine as in the Avantime and Vel Satis, ie the same lump that's in Nissan's 350Z?