Chrysler Grand Voyager or VW Caravelle T5?
Discussion
Does anyone have any experience of the Grand Voyager from around 2008? Is the T5 really worth so much more? Any alternatives worth considering?
I have 4 kids and want a way to transport them across the continent on holidays, and for weekends away etc, as well as using as my daily station car or maybe for the school runs.
My bro has a 7 seat VW Caravelle T5 for exactly this, and it would be ideal for us, but one with reasonable mileage is crazy money.
I've found some Grand Voyagers for around the £5/6k budget with 100kish miles, and they seem a good option, if no where near as cool, but a similar age Caravelle would be at least twice the price.
The Grand Voyager has some great features such as seats that disappear into the floor, rather than needing removal and storage like the T5.
I have 4 kids and want a way to transport them across the continent on holidays, and for weekends away etc, as well as using as my daily station car or maybe for the school runs.
My bro has a 7 seat VW Caravelle T5 for exactly this, and it would be ideal for us, but one with reasonable mileage is crazy money.
I've found some Grand Voyagers for around the £5/6k budget with 100kish miles, and they seem a good option, if no where near as cool, but a similar age Caravelle would be at least twice the price.
The Grand Voyager has some great features such as seats that disappear into the floor, rather than needing removal and storage like the T5.
Are you averse to a Jap import? They do big versatile MPVs really well, they just don't sell them over here. Have a look at the Toyota Alphard, Nissan Elgrand, Honda Elysion. Seats slide back and forth but having the rear row flip up to the side (so you keep plenty of height) is better in my book.
sjg said:
Are you averse to a Jap import? They do big versatile MPVs really well, they just don't sell them over here. Have a look at the Toyota Alphard, Nissan Elgrand, Honda Elysion. Seats slide back and forth but having the rear row flip up to the side (so you keep plenty of height) is better in my book.
LWhat is parts availability like in the U.K. for these Jap options?
Would a T5 Transporter conversion suit you? This kind of thing with more seats might bring you close to your budget.
Edited by JulianHJ on Wednesday 28th March 18:37
Emeye said:
Does anyone have any experience of the Grand Voyager from around 2008? Is the T5 really worth so much more? Any alternatives worth considering?
I have 4 kids and want a way to transport them across the continent on holidays, and for weekends away etc, as well as using as my daily station car or maybe for the school runs.
My bro has a 7 seat VW Caravelle T5 for exactly this, and it would be ideal for us, but one with reasonable mileage is crazy money.
I've found some Grand Voyagers for around the £5/6k budget with 100kish miles, and they seem a good option, if no where near as cool, but a similar age Caravelle would be at least twice the price.
The Grand Voyager has some great features such as seats that disappear into the floor, rather than needing removal and storage like the T5.
I sold Grand Voyager at that time, it was a great car that suffered bad press. I presume you mean the 5th edition model as putting kids into a 4th gen car turned out to be a bad idea after the proper NCAP test was carried out.I have 4 kids and want a way to transport them across the continent on holidays, and for weekends away etc, as well as using as my daily station car or maybe for the school runs.
My bro has a 7 seat VW Caravelle T5 for exactly this, and it would be ideal for us, but one with reasonable mileage is crazy money.
I've found some Grand Voyagers for around the £5/6k budget with 100kish miles, and they seem a good option, if no where near as cool, but a similar age Caravelle would be at least twice the price.
The Grand Voyager has some great features such as seats that disappear into the floor, rather than needing removal and storage like the T5.
Brilliant family bus, loads of room and a proper 7 seater with a very usable boot even when all seats were filled. Limited spec is the one to have and preferably with the roof mounted entertainment system. This had the ability to play different content for each row, sorting out any age gap/program choice issues.
The 6 seat option was dire and best avoided, badged "Swivel and Go" from memory.
The diesel engine was a reasonable unit, nothing exciting and nowhere close the the V6 merc sourced unit used in Grand Cherokee for performance.
Very comfortable on a journey, a big b
d to park in the town and you won't see much more than high 20's mpg.They have some known issues but my memory is hazy. Certainly heater boxes were a nuisance and not too cheap. One of the control modules, wcm or scm, was an expensive fault and the rails on the electric doors could get jammed, normally as a result of kids using the running spaces as a step.
One particular, albeit small, issue is the anti crush sensors on the doors. the "Close" sensor, i.e. controlling the lateral movement of the door was fine but the "Tuck" movement, that pulled the door in at the rear, had no anti trap sensor. Kids tend to play with the doors, as it's a bit of a novelty, and the potential for reduced nose picking efficiency is certainly present.
At the money they now fetch they are stunning value and there are plenty of low mileage loved ones around.
papa3 said:
I sold Grand Voyager at that time, it was a great car that suffered bad press. I presume you mean the 5th edition model as putting kids into a 4th gen car turned out to be a bad idea after the proper NCAP test was carried out.
Brilliant family bus, loads of room and a proper 7 seater with a very usable boot even when all seats were filled. Limited spec is the one to have and preferably with the roof mounted entertainment system. This had the ability to play different content for each row, sorting out any age gap/program choice issues.
The 6 seat option was dire and best avoided, badged "Swivel and Go" from memory.
The diesel engine was a reasonable unit, nothing exciting and nowhere close the the V6 merc sourced unit used in Grand Cherokee for performance.
Very comfortable on a journey, a big bd to park in the town and you won't see much more than high 20's mpg.
They have some known issues but my memory is hazy. Certainly heater boxes were a nuisance and not too cheap. One of the control modules, wcm or scm, was an expensive fault and the rails on the electric doors could get jammed, normally as a result of kids using the running spaces as a step.
One particular, albeit small, issue is the anti crush sensors on the doors. the "Close" sensor, i.e. controlling the lateral movement of the door was fine but the "Tuck" movement, that pulled the door in at the rear, had no anti trap sensor. Kids tend to play with the doors, as it's a bit of a novelty, and the potential for reduced nose picking efficiency is certainly present.
At the money they now fetch they are stunning value and there are plenty of low mileage loved ones around.
Thanks. Brilliant family bus, loads of room and a proper 7 seater with a very usable boot even when all seats were filled. Limited spec is the one to have and preferably with the roof mounted entertainment system. This had the ability to play different content for each row, sorting out any age gap/program choice issues.
The 6 seat option was dire and best avoided, badged "Swivel and Go" from memory.
The diesel engine was a reasonable unit, nothing exciting and nowhere close the the V6 merc sourced unit used in Grand Cherokee for performance.
Very comfortable on a journey, a big b
d to park in the town and you won't see much more than high 20's mpg.They have some known issues but my memory is hazy. Certainly heater boxes were a nuisance and not too cheap. One of the control modules, wcm or scm, was an expensive fault and the rails on the electric doors could get jammed, normally as a result of kids using the running spaces as a step.
One particular, albeit small, issue is the anti crush sensors on the doors. the "Close" sensor, i.e. controlling the lateral movement of the door was fine but the "Tuck" movement, that pulled the door in at the rear, had no anti trap sensor. Kids tend to play with the doors, as it's a bit of a novelty, and the potential for reduced nose picking efficiency is certainly present.
At the money they now fetch they are stunning value and there are plenty of low mileage loved ones around.
Emeye said:
L
What is parts availability like in the U.K. for these Jap options?
Have been researching the Alphard as it's what ticks a lot of my boxes. Engines and many mechanical bits are same as in RAV4, Previa and Lexus RX300 of the era (amongst others). If you've got a part number, and they're easy to look up on the internet, a Toyota main dealer can order it in or there's a few people over here keeping stock of more common things. As ever, the internet makes thing sort of thing much easier than it used to be, there's a couple of facebook groups that are a goldmine of info.What is parts availability like in the U.K. for these Jap options?
Think Elgrand is much the same but there's even more of them over here, the engine is the same as used in the 350Z.
Main drawback seems to be needing specialist insurers (although there's several that do it) and maybe needing to wait longer if you had an accident that needed panels, trim or other bits sourcing.
Popular base for campers, e.g.
http://wellhouseleisure.com/alphard/
I’m sure they can source parts. I think they’re cool.
http://wellhouseleisure.com/alphard/
I’m sure they can source parts. I think they’re cool.
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