Hi all, can anyone please recommend what type of vehicle I should go for. I'm leaving the RAF after 23yrs to start as a self employed electrician. I currently drive a (don't laugh) Vectra Hatchback and know this will not serve as a suitable platform for long. Not wanting to run a car (private) and a van (for work) i'm looking for something that would do the job of both. Any suggestions from practicing self employed electricians who know how much space I need would be brill.
Many thanks
Back seats should fold down nearly flat on a Vectra........roof rack for steps, ladders, etc. Front passenger seat for "office"/girlfriend transportation....... Not sure there's an issue here.
Seriously, though - it depends what you want, and what you can afford.
We spent a load of time looking at vehicles, so much so that ten months later, I'm still driving an Avis long term hire vehicle - though that's through time, rather than choice. We put our guys in VW Golf estates in the end, for a number of reasons - they're the 1.6D SE version with Bluemotion. Ton of room, dead economical, decent turn of speed, lots of toys, uber cheap road tax, uber cheap company car tax.
For me, I need a vehicle that can multi-task in a way nothing I've seen does yet. I need seven seats, sometimes, acreage mostly, every conceivable toy to while away the boredom on the M-whatever, bluetooth built in is beyond essential, since it's all I do in the car these days (radio is a waste of time), and it shoulld have an F1 engine in it, with the economy of a Sincalir C5.
I've looked, and looked, and looked. Every time I think I've got a choice, the playing field changes for some reason.
I've looked at all the people carriers, keep coming back to the S-Max or Galaxy, looked very long at (don't laugh) the Skoda Superb Estate Elegance 170TD (633 litres of boot space seats up!!!!!), Audi engine, ALL the toys, not to be knocked! But only five seats. Looked at a Dodge Journey, and figured I could build better with mecanno. Looked at the Chrysler Grand Voyager, and didn't like. Looked at SUVs like the Santa Fe (Hyundai) or Sorrento (Kia) - as being more affordable than an X5 or a Q7.
Come to the conclusion that they just don't build vehicles that actually work for today's working people with more than three kids. As with another poster, I looked at the Vito Duoliner, but I just couldn't warm to it - though I did like the look of the sport van they do. Even looked at Transits!
I do know this. You get more in the back of a Focus estate than you can in a Peugeot 407 estate! 100 litres difference is huge in terms of getting that last bit of kit in or not.
I think, depending on where you're going to work, and the security of your location at night, you could do worse than look for a decent people carrier type vehicle like a Zafira, or a Touran, which will give you the flexibility of both van and car. You gain a bucket load of space not using the two most rear seats, still have five, and can take those out if you need more, often one at a time too.
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