Van advice?

[Stig-OT-Dump]

Can anyone advise on a van with bench seats (must seat 3) that can be ply-lined and be used for transporting bikes, brewing up in the back etc. A long mini van would be preferred rather than going for a transit (a transit connect would be ok if it can be fitted with a bench seat).

Much obliged,

Stig

 

[fossyant]

Many of the Pug/Fiat ones seat 3 Pug Partner/Fiat Scudo ?

 

[colly]

Secondhand or new?
I've got a Fiat Ducato about 18 months old and its great. Bags of room for bikes, three seats, electric everything, like a car to drive and 45 to 50 mpg.

 

[asterix]

My toyota hiace is reliable but rather dated and with no limited slip diff gets stuck on wet grass. Nice to drive but rather sluggish on motorways. OK for me at the moment but probably not for you.

 

[Stig-OT-Dump]

Secondhand or new?
I've got a Fiat Ducato ....

2nd hand. I was hoping I might be able to get away with something Scudo sized or thereabouts, holding a roadbike and MTB when I'm working away; MTB, 2 x kids bikes / surf boards, tent, stove and stuff when I'm out with my boys.

 

[Garth]

Ford Galaxy with the back seats taken out?

 

[Black Sheep]

to do it in style - VW camper style jobby

or to be slightly more practical, one of the newer VW vans that replaced the camper.

 

[iGaz]

One of these,,,,

,,,,tis my own van. Sits three in the front, and 3 in the back, unless the bed is deployed!! Fully lined, and we use a freestanding drive away awning and have just done 2 weeks camping in it!

2.5tdi 5 cyllinder, about £90 for a full tank and a range of about 650-700 miles!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

How about a Van Nicholas Zephyr - beaut eh?

 

[iGaz]

How about a Van Nicholas Zephyr - beaut eh?

Now thats a bike, cant beat an all metal bike!

 

[Llama]

would a skoda roomster be big enough? even clarkson likes it

 

[twowheelsgood]

You really get 45-50mpg out of a Ducato???

I was looking at Peugeot partner with a removable rear seat like this: http://images.centreoccasion-idm.com/vehicules_vo/26VO040877_1.jpg

They are pretty cheap now and the 2.0HDi engine is excellent. Cheaper, more car-like, more economical but smaller than the VW transporter.

There is actually a LWB version which has a very useful for camping 2.5m load length but I'm not sure the original model ever made it to the UK in RHD form.

 

[Stig-OT-Dump]

Two-wheels - did you do your tour of Eastern Europe that you were planning? And did you find out if you can sleep in a Scudo?

 

[twowheelsgood]

No Stig, I'm carless at the moment and probably will be until the missus finishes her studies.

The specs say the load length is 2m, which should be fine - about the same floor area as a generous two man tent but without the pitched roof effect obviously. However with bikes etc., it's going to be cramped and I'm not willing to compromise stelathiness by using an external rack.

The LWB model seems pretty rare though even here in Europe. There is however a 5-seater (rear bench removable) LWB variant with the window in the sliding doors and not the rear panels which I'm probably going to go for. Most appear to have been sold in the Netherlands, unfortunately.

The late models are even kind of stylish in a utilitarian way.

 

[colly]

You really get 45-50mpg out of a Ducato???

I do, but I confess to driving slowly and paying attention to the road ahead.

Most of my driving is local and I rarely have need to use motorways. On the odd times I do the fuel consumption drops markedly. It's a big frontal area to plow along at 70mph. Even so on a recent trip over to Manchester I got just under 40mpg and I was at 70 all the way.