# Which Small Van?



## Stumper (Apr 5, 2009)

I'm thinking o getting rid of my Clio and getting myself a small van to run about in. 
It'd be ideal as I wouldn't be too concerned about the dogs getting the back of it dirty and it would also be great for mountain biking trips!
Whatever I go for would need to be:

Under £3k

Decent running costs, no 20mpg jobs!

Fairly comfortable to drive

Big enough for a couple of mountain bikes and associated junk!

Any suggestions?


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Peugeot partner or the citroen equivalent, try and get one with the 2.0 HDi. The vauxhall combo is good as a fuel miser with the 1.3 cdti in it, just don't expect it to haul much, my mates struggles with 300kg of water in it.


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## Multipla Mick (Feb 5, 2006)

As above, Citroen Berlingo or Pug Partner, of which there are loads about, or a Renault Kangoo would be similar, or even a Fiat Drongo or whatever it's called. Doblo, that's it, got it now! Loads of the Pugs and Citroens about though, and they are a good size, more useful than an old Escort van or an Astramax due to the bigger headroom as well.
Of course, you could always get the passenger versions, same body shell, huge boot with the seats up, more than any hatchback certainly. Flatten the rear seats and you've almost got the same room in the back as the van version, but it looks a bit better :thumb:


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Multipla Mick said:


> *Of course, you could always get the passenger versions, same body shell, huge boot with the seats up, more than any hatchback certainly. Flatten the rear seats and you've almost got the same room in the back as the van version, but it looks a bit better* :thumb:


Better off looking at a zafira for that scenario, they're weight rated at 750kg load.


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## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

Id go transit connect, Much much nicer to drive than a mangoo or belingo. Feel well built and if you get the tdci 90bhp are fairly rapid for a van lol


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

The transit connects are pretty poor on fuel afaik, a friend has one and struggles to get over 40mpg carrying sparkies stuff around.


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## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

bigmc said:


> The transit connects are pretty poor on fuel afaik, a friend has one and struggles to get over 40mpg carrying sparkies stuff around.


40 mpg from a van i think is good considering the weight. Out old kangoo could hardly manage 30 mpg around town and that was with no wait and no power due to the engine not having a turbo. The tdci gets well above 40mpg and just under with all the ladders and kit in etc. plus its the lwb and high cab and can hold a ton in weight if asked.


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

here ya go (not mine by the way) looks pretty decent 

http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/bodyty...-id/at8a6c7ff73731538501373732feef0e47/advert


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

They're a similar weight to a focus so the weight is a neglible effect.


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## Stumper (Apr 5, 2009)

I've been having a browse about eBay and Autotrader and the Transit Connect looks like a decent van, an added bonus being that plenty of them seem to be specced with air-con which the Berlingo's don't seem to have 

If I can get 40mpg from the Connect, I'd be plenty happy with that, it's not going to be carrying much weight, only a couple of bikes and kit so no more than 2 people up front and I'd guess 60-70kg in the back.


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## M4D YN (Nov 24, 2007)

my 2p worth,i am on my second ford and there defo ok vans ect,but terrible on fuel,my connect is the middle version of the three that are out and its a great van in most ways,but starting to get mechanical problems far too much and its ridiculous on fuel :devil:


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## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

Stumper said:


> I've been having a browse about eBay and Autotrader and the Transit Connect looks like a decent van, an added bonus being that plenty of them seem to be specced with air-con which the Berlingo's don't seem to have
> 
> If I can get 40mpg from the Connect, I'd be plenty happy with that, it's not going to be carrying much weight, only a couple of bikes and kit so no more than 2 people up front and I'd guess 60-70kg in the back.


id go for the tdci if you can, i think the normal td are a bit heavier on fuel. Honestly ive driven both the renault and the ford for a while now and the ford is still a breath of fresh air to drive. if i was to choose out the two id have the ford every time.


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## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

M4D YN said:


> my 2p worth,i am on my second ford and there defo ok vans ect,but terrible on fuel,my connect is the middle version of the three that are out and its a great van in most ways,but starting to get mechanical problems far too much and its ridiculous on fuel :devil:


its funny as its the complete oposite for us. the renault was a money pit and this ford we have had for well over a year, sees some abuse in terms of work load and touch wood its not put a foot wrong, All it needs is a new tyre at the back. It is the 90bhp like i said before but i guess its only as good how you drive it.

I think they feel more easy to drive, gear box is nice clutch is light, feel stronger in every way. If your just gonna use it as a bike carry then i dont think you will go far wrong.


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## m1pui (Jul 24, 2009)

What's insurance costs like on vans for personal use?


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## M4D YN (Nov 24, 2007)

Paintmaster1982 said:


> its funny as its the complete oposite for us. the renault was a money pit and this ford we have had for well over a year, sees some abuse in terms of work load and touch wood its not put a foot wrong, All it needs is a new tyre at the back. It is the 90bhp like i said before but i guess its only as good how you drive it.
> 
> I think they feel more easy to drive, gear box is nice clutch is light, feel stronger in every way. If your just gonna use it as a bike carry then i dont think you will go far wrong.


hey mate,your bang on,mines is the 90BHP TDCi biggest model out of the 3 and hasn't done a lot of miles,but the 2 owners before me haven't treated it they way i would and now its me footing the bill i'll tell you :wall: i agree on probably 1 of only 3 vans out there in the small range that i would buy and its like driving my car,although not as good:thumb:

scott


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

I'd go for then kangoo but go for the MVP version, just a bit posher inside but still basic enough for the dogs


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## Paintmaster1982 (Oct 23, 2007)

M4D YN said:


> hey mate,your bang on,mines is the 90BHP TDCi biggest model out of the 3 and hasn't done a lot of miles,but the 2 owners before me haven't treated it they way i would and now its me footing the bill i'll tell you :wall: i agree on probably 1 of only 3 vans out there in the small range that i would buy and its like driving my car,although not as good:thumb:
> 
> scott


Yeah they are lovely to drive, very light steering etc and you are sat quite high up which makes it feel like a bigger van. We do aerial and telephone work so our van is kitted out with a fair bit of weight with just the ladder let alone the stuff inside the van and obviously there is a diff when its empty but even with our stuff in its spot on. Ours is an 06 plate full service history. It even passed its last mot with no advisories. I guess with any van its the luck of the draw but at the same time its just common sense. I did a load of research on them before we got it so new what to look out for.

I even clayed it (how sad) and it looks even better now haha.


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## dew1911 (Jun 9, 2009)

bigmc said:


> Peugeot partner or the citroen equivalent, try and get one with the 2.0 HDi. The vauxhall combo is good as a fuel miser with the 1.3 cdti in it, just don't expect it to haul much, my mates struggles with 300kg of water in it.


Nearly, what you want is a Berlingo with the 1.6 HDi in at 90bhp. Same power as the 2.0, but a lot more torque. My dads got an 07 and it's very rapid when it's empty. Not bad looking either if you avoid white.


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## Stumper (Apr 5, 2009)

I've just been looking into the sizes of the Berlingo's and the load space seems to be a little on the small side. 
It looks like it may bd a struggle to fit two bikes in without removing wheels and the likes. 

I think I might have to look into upping my budget a little and going for something slightly bigger like a Caddy. Not too sure how the 69ps SDi's go but they're not too far out of my budget!

I've looked into insurance costs and it seems that some companies ask specifically for van NCB rather than using my car NCB which loads the price up a bit.


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## Multipla Mick (Feb 5, 2006)

Are you looking at the specs for the car version of the Berlingo? You can get two push bikes in the back of the van easily. Not sure on the very latest generations of either but I would think the Caddy is a very similar size load wise to the Berlingo, maybe even a fraction smaller.


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## brycieboy (Sep 4, 2010)

Caddy 2k all day long m8 had a few vans and this is the best van to drive by far and easy to tune 1.9tdi is 103bhp and 2.0tdi is 140bhp good remap can see the 2.0L up to 185bhp and still return 40/45mpg and reliable here is my 2.0tdi
there is a few nice ones for sale on our forum at www.caddy2k.com


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## dubber (Oct 2, 2011)

Very nice caddy, i think he would struggle to pick a later caddy up with his budget thou. He would be looking at the earlier model and tbh they aint a patch on the newer ones. :thumb:


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

The caddy is like every other vw though, over priced!


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## brycieboy (Sep 4, 2010)

Maybe but you get what you pay for
theres a white 1.9tdi on caddy2k for £3500 iirc


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

You don't always get what you pay for at all, certainly not the case with a vw in my experience and opinion.


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## brycieboy (Sep 4, 2010)

Copied from another forum



Cautious1974 said:


> 2004 54 plate
> 73000 miles but will go up as its used everyday
> mot 1 year
> taxed end of august
> ...


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## Stumper (Apr 5, 2009)

Thanks for the info about the Caddies.

I've signed up at caddy2k to take a look around, I reckon it might be worth upping the budget by a couple of grand and thinking about a Caddy rather than a Berlingo!


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## dew1911 (Jun 9, 2009)

Multipla Mick said:


> Are you looking at the specs for the car version of the Berlingo? You can get two push bikes in the back of the van easily. Not sure on the very latest generations of either but I would think the Caddy is a very similar size load wise to the Berlingo, maybe even a fraction smaller.


My dad manages to regularly get 200cc Motorbikes in his, just the bigger ones required the front seat to be dropped and the front wheel slotted in.

I agree with bigmc, for a van the caddy seems overpriced.


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## Stumper (Apr 5, 2009)

Just been having a bit of a Google and there's quite a few ex-British Gas Caddies up for sale, all FSH, low mileage and look to be in pretty tidy condition.

I reckon something like this could be a nice little motor!

http://www.funkydubz.com/used-vans/volkswagen-caddy-bournemouth-201219469925423


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## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

avoid the SDI, and if you can live with the british gas blue then get a tdi

I loved my Caddy, 1.9tdi pd, remapped to 156hp and 240ftlb of torque, H&R springs, cruise control, MK5 GTI brakes all round Golf GT alloys


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## Stumper (Apr 5, 2009)

I've just had a check of the finances and I've now upped my budget to £5k 

I also forgot to take into account that I'll need to sell the Clio so any extra from that is a bonus 

Next stop is a Caddy :driver:


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## adf27 (Mar 14, 2012)

Nice van: http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/price/...c26c3662a8ef01367696d2ec521f/featured-listing

:thumb:


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## Stumper (Apr 5, 2009)

adf27 said:


> Nice van: http://vans.autotrader.co.uk/price/...c26c3662a8ef01367696d2ec521f/featured-listing
> 
> :thumb:


From what I've seen so far that's the top end of the price range for the SDi's.

I've seen this one and might take aloof at it next week as i'm going to be around that neck of the woods.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-57-...s=63&clkid=8661515394104685320#ht_1078wt_1219


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

That ebay one looks like he's been playing with the saturation levels in PS to get the paint looking glossy.


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## tommyzooom (Aug 15, 2009)

+1 for the caddys, but I would steer clear of an sdi though
Heres mine
















Now for sale on gumtree


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