Family Van

[Justadreamer]

I’ve been tasked with finding a friend a family van. They have a budget of £25k. They were thinking of possibly a Viano. But are open to other suggestions.

[Matt_T]

Hyundai i800s are great value for money and drive really well, they feel quite solid.

Renault Traffics / Nissan Primastars are quite basic and rattly however should have cheap parts and running costs.

People will have their own opinions on Mercedes Vianos and VW Caravelles etc, however I think they are usually overpriced.

Stellantis do a minibus which is badged as a Toyota, Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat and Vauxhall (all the same thing). The 1.5 diesel has timing chain issues unless it has had the 8mm upgrade. They also come in a 2.0 HDI engine (PSA engine?) which I believe is reliable. The early Toyotas also came with a 1.6 D-4D diesel BMW engine which again I think is reliable.

I think that the Toyota version maybe comes with a 10-year 100,000 mile warranty if serviced by Toyota, however you need to chack that woth Toyota as the Stallantis van may be excluded.

Edited by Matt_T on Thursday 5th March 23:29

[InitialDave]

Have they considered a Japanese import? They love their well-appointed van type things, and there's a lot of options.

[jonwm]

I had a T6 kombi for 2 years, was awesome for family duties. Really wish I never sold it.

Problem is they are overpriced, not overly reliable and suffer with EGR / Adblue issues too.

I used to average about 30mpg from a 150bhp DSG model.

[DaveyBoyWonder]

jonwm said:

I had a T6 kombi for 2 years, was awesome for family duties. Really wish I never sold it.

Problem is they are overpriced, not overly reliable and suffer with EGR / Adblue issues too.

I used to average about 30mpg from a 150bhp DSG model.

Had my 5.1 (originally a panel van, then a camper, now a kombi) for 12 years and in that time its needed a driveshaft and an EGR valve/cooler. Been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned and by far the longest.

The are (obviously!) very van-like which doesn't suit everyone. Works for me as its constantly having the dog, bikes, fishing gear etc thrown into it but sometimes I really relish the chance to jump into the Merc and have a nice, normal car to drive in for a bit. They are overpriced though vs other stuff. I'd definitely be looking at a Merc alternative or maybe one of those crazy Jap MPV things like an Elgrand (it'd need to be fully JDM'd up though with nice wheels, air ride etc ).

[Justadreamer]

The i800 looks okay. It’s probably well built as mentioned. But it’s an ugly looking thing. I’ve shown him my Galaxy but the boot he thinks is just too small. I’ll ask about the Jap Imports. Are there any other suggestions?

[KARL-v5ofl]

I have a caddy maxi life, 7 seats, but can turn into a van, seats remove easy

Get the 2.0 TDI and you will be set.

Mine is the 150 dsg, with adaptive cruise

The caddy also has a nice group scene.. with group meets,etc

Edited by KARL-v5ofl on Friday 6th March 20:00

[Davie]

Need to narrow it down more. Like what does, what engines, gearbox, general size, age etc... family vans come in many guises from basic crew cab stuff with no spec to full on posh stuff like the Mercs.

[mclwanB]

Matt_T said:

Hyundai i800s are great value for money and drive really well, they feel quite solid.

Renault Traffics / Nissan Primastars are quite basic and rattly however should have cheap parts and running costs.

People will have their own opinions on Mercedes Vianos and VW Caravelles etc, however I think they are usually overpriced.

Stellantis do a minibus which is badged as a Toyota, Peugeot, Citroen, Fiat and Vauxhall (all the same thing). The 1.5 diesel has timing chain issues unless it has had the 8mm upgrade. They also come in a 2.0 HDI engine (PSA engine?) which I believe is reliable. The early Toyotas also came with a 1.6 D-4D diesel BMW engine which again I think is reliable.

I think that the Toyota version maybe comes with a 10-year 100,000 mile warranty if serviced by Toyota, however you need to chack that woth Toyota as the Stallantis van may be excluded.

Edited by Matt_T on Thursday 5th March 23:29

The stellatis ones have a horrendous offset driving position in RHD. Id hire one before commiting, screwed my back right up but fortunately was able to swap it out for a Transit Custom which I loved. Wet belts need servicing but ours were reliable

[Justadreamer]

Davie said:

Need to narrow it down more. Like what does, what engines, gearbox, general size, age etc... family vans come in many guises from basic crew cab stuff with no spec to full on posh stuff like the Mercs.

His criteria.

Enough room to fit up to 6 people.
Large boot
Automatic
Diesel
Decent amount of spec

He likes the Viano. But are you just paying for the badge. He’s not keen on VW. The Hyundai he said that he will take a look at due to it fitting the criteria. He isn’t a fan of anything French, having had panel vans and them not being the best for work. The imports are also a grey area, with sourcing parts and selling it on. The only other issue that’s been raised is Fords wet belt.

[Matt_T]

Replacing the wet belt in the Transit costs about £2000 at a main dealer. Considering he is spending £25k on the vehicle he could just budget the £2k for the replacement which should last 8 years trouble free.

(...or just buy the Hyundai).

[ZX10R NIN]

Matt_T said:

Replacing the wet belt in the Transit costs about £2000 at a main dealer. Considering he is spending £25k on the vehicle he could just budget the £2k for the replacement which should last 8 years trouble free.

(...or just buy the Hyundai).

Most Indy's seem to be around the £800 mark to do the wet belt.

The Hyundai is a good option, finding an SE Nav will be the hard bit.

Space Tourer:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601139...

Traveller:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601209...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601239...

Vivaro:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602079...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508145...

Toureno:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603050...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509196...

[sp222]

Justadreamer said:

I ve been tasked with finding a friend a family van. They have a budget of £25k. They were thinking of possibly a Viano. But are open to other suggestions.

Viano or V-Class? I think the Viano stopped around 2015ish so after that would be the V Class and they're probably in your budget.

I have a 2018 V220d (purchased in 2021) and it's been excellent so far - we have the XLWB in full taxi black spec and I would guess you'd be looking around that age for £25k.

I changed the wheels on mine as it ate through front tyres (I think the lock is quite severe to counteract the length) and I was taking it on fields etc where it struggled with normal road tyres. Electric doors can be annoying as people try to yank them, I had to repair an A/C line, but that's it outside standard servicing. Have a Merc warranty on it still for about £800 (2 years), but I do get it serviced at a specialist now.

As a family carrier it's fantastic - we have it set with 3 rows of seats and generally the luggage goes in the 3rd row with dogs enjoying plenty of space in the boot.. Really great on long runs, and although it's long, it's not overly wide. You can get 3 different lengths, but the XLWB seems to be the most common. At this age there should be enough MOT history to ensure you don't get a clocked taxi.

[Rebew]

Justadreamer said:

His criteria.

Enough room to fit up to 6 people.
Large boot
Automatic
Diesel
Decent amount of spec

He likes the Viano. But are you just paying for the badge. He s not keen on VW. The Hyundai he said that he will take a look at due to it fitting the criteria. He isn t a fan of anything French, having had panel vans and them not being the best for work. The imports are also a grey area, with sourcing parts and selling it on. The only other issue that s been raised is Fords wet belt.

Does he want a van or a people carrier? We have just bought a VW Sharan and, although only 1000 miles in, we are very impressed with it so far. More like a car than most vans, more like a van than most cars. They don't make new ones anymore but we picked one up which is 5 years old with 40k miles for £18k so well within his budget.

We looked at various van based alternatives including the Caravelle, Transit and Mercedes but they all still felt like a van with seats bolted into the back.

[Davie]

Rebew said:

We looked at various van based alternatives including the Caravelle, Transit and Mercedes but they all still felt like a van with seats bolted into the back.

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck...

[Justadreamer]

ZX10R NIN said:

Most Indy's seem to be around the £800 mark to do the wet belt.

The Hyundai is a good option, finding an SE Nav will be the hard bit.

Space Tourer:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601139...

Traveller:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601209...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202601239...

Vivaro:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602079...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202508145...

Toureno:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202603050...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509196...

Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll be sure to show him. I think you’re right with the SE Nav spec on the i800. What would you suggest if it was your money?

[Justadreamer]

What’s the main difference between a Viano and V Class. He’s found this. It seems a lot but it maybe a top spec;

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202602180...