Van ideas

[Dizzy_Maskell]

Guys looking at getting a small van transit connect size what are people views and reliability practicality etc of various vans and what do you use and recommend
Thanks

 

[Marc Lajevardi]

do you keep fish in them then?

ludicrous. Grow up.. I keep my lizards in them!

 

[telectrix]

One thing to consider these days is how you drive, all local work and a lot of stop start short journeys and a diesel will prove a very expensive mistake. This is due to a heinous device fitted to all modern diesels called the particulate filter (DPF)....they need regular decent runs in order to regenerate the filter as it clogs. DPF problems caused by short journey usage are eye wateringly expensive to fix, get a petrol if you stay local.

have hard of cars being scrapped when all the need is a dpf, but at around £1500 .FFS. similar with these cat things they cost an arm and a leg. once had a front pipe snap on a trafic. £500 for the front section (cat). £100 to remove, weld up and refit. no brainer.

 

[Paul_t580]

+1 for the hiace, I think they are great vans, comfortable to drive, not too bad on the juice. I have driven a few different vans from belingo to transit and expert, still jump into my hiace and think it's a much better van. Only bad thing is how slow it is, but doesn't bother me too much.

I don't think the proace is meant to be great, as far as I am told, Toyota didn't have much money for the new van so it's basically an expert underneeth with all the faults with it. [emoji13]

 

[Harni]

A Cat (petrol) And DPF (Diesel) work in different ways yet effectively have the same end goal. A DPF will clog up as its effectively a soot filter. It has to reach a certain temp (which normally only happens at prolonged higher RPM) to burn said soot off so will clog up around town. The car can try and force it to burn this off by pumping in more diesel than is needed but this doesn't work all that well. Hence in town driving a DPF can become ruined.
A Cat on the other hand will not become ruined unless one of two things happens. The car runs rich or lean which either way will damage the cat (albeit in different ways) or you smash it on something so hard (good luck, they are normally well protected) it shatters the internals.

A Cat will not be affected by town or motorway driving. So my point basically is if you work in London for example and you don't carry huge amounts of weight, a petrol is the way forwards!

On the other hand, a DPF equipped diesel will happily pass a MOT emissions test even if you accidentally ram a pole down the DPF and accidentally leave its contents in the bin......

Also just a tip aimed at the point you made Teletrix. If your exhaust snaps at a box or cat (which they always do, especially at the cat). Don't just sack off that section of exhaust and let the garage charge you extortionate amounts of money for a new one that probably won't pass a mot in a years time (if its a petrol). Go to a exhaust specialist like Longlife or Powerflow and they can repair it for you for not a lot at all. Something most garages won't do because its not worth their time.

 

[Deleted member 9648]

happens with most things you drive mate, even petrols can get clogged, all is it takes is to put your foot down from time to time

Not so mate...see post #49 and have a read of this....Diesel particulate filter | Vehicle emissions | AA

Might save potential diesel buyers a lot of grief.

 

[RichardESoltys]

Thank you for post

 

[Dan Walker]

Had a Renault Trafic and Kangoo in the past. Just changed my trafic for a 15 plate Vw Transporter T5 Highline. So much better however you do pay a premium

 

[Soulsurfer]

Yep VW mine is T5 T32 Kombi and it's the dogs bits, Can take 3.2 tonne fully loaded, drives like a new car and pulls like a train, Electric everything, Captain seats, full factory A/C lights everywhere inside and very easily removable seats, never a single issue with it and the 2.5ltr Turbo 5 pot "Pumpe Düse" engine with traction control absolutely flies when you want it to :devil2: