Please help DH find a new vehicle

[IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads]

Due to lots of life and work changes, DH needs a new vehicle. He can’t work out what to get. His wants seem too disparate for a single vehicle.

He currently has a VW Transporter (T6), diesel, 8 years old 100K miles. 2 rows of seats. He got it as a company vehicle for heaving bulk bags of soil samples and construction site gear around. He bought it off the lease company 2 years ago when he was made redundant. He now has a new job.

Pros - great workhorse, brilliant for loading up with work gear, bikes, teenagers, camping stuff, cricket kit…
Cons - expensive to run, uncomfortable (he says, but he has a history of back problems) for long journeys. Intermittent fault regarding AdBlue that does not come up on diagnostics. Getting on a bit.

What he now needs a vehicle for:

-400 mile round trip for the weekend once or twice a month (elderly parents)- needs this to be comfortable and reliable
-100-150 mile round trip for work once or twice a week (he gets paid a mileage rate for this)
-40 mile round trip for work the rest of the week (he rarely chooses to WFH, maybe once or twice a month)
-Local pottering about, taxing our teens —Carrying at least 1, if not 2-4 bikes (mtbs and road bikes)
_He says he’s not a petrol head, but he is. He likes a car with “oomph”.
—-he doesn’t need a van amount of space for work any more, but does need a big boot.

He is a very lucky man, and also has an old Polo GTi which would definitely be the first thing he’d rescue from a fire. It’s a very hard ride though, and not what he wants to be doing his 400 miles weekend journeys in regularly. He also doesn’t want to put a bike rack or tow bar on it. Anyway, it scratches the “oomph” itch.

He says that if Subaru Imprezza estates were still made, he’d get one, but the “station wagon” has not been made for 18 years.

He’s veering between another van and a Skoda Superb. Are there any alternatives?

I think if running costs were no problem, and his back was OK, he’d get a newer van. He doesn’t have any other expensive habits.

Budget £25-30K.

Subaru outback or forester?

What about a Seat Leon Estate? The FR Sport model is well equipped, if he got the 150BHP engine it would be very nippy, based on VW but has much better equipment spec than a Gold or Skoda Octavia. I had a hatchback Leon for 3 years & it was my favourite car ever, with the budget you have you could get an almost brand new or at most 3 year old model.

VW Tayrun or Tiguan allspace

It would be extremely hard going from a T6 to a car. You get very used to the space and versatility.

I foolishly went from a T5 to a Nissan Leaf thinking it'd be fine, I'd use a bike rack, etc.

Within 9 months the leaf was gone and I now have a T6. I've got the very fast and well equipped version though so it's like driving a luxury car with an excellent high driving position.

Maybe he should look at slightly newer and top spec transporters? The highline captains seats are very comfy.

Within 9 months the leaf was gone and I now have a T6. I've got the very fast and well equipped version though so it's like driving a luxury car with an excellent high driving position

At the end of the day you’re still driving a van which feels like a van. No such thing as a “very fast” T6 😂

We used to have a Skoda Superb, and it did have a huge amount of boot space for carrying stuff around, and fitted a towbar mounted bike rack nicely. We might have been unlucky with it though as aged 3 and a bit it started getting a lot of minor problems.
TBH though, of our cycling/triathlon friends a VW van seems virtually compulsory as you can just throw the bikes in and theres room to sit out of the rain if you pop an awning on

Skoda Octavia VRS Estate or, if you need bigger, the Superb.

Simply the best cars, pound for pound, on the market.

What about a pickup of some sort with a canopy.

A ford ranger maybe

Tell me you know nothing about cars without saying you know nothing about cars!

Mine has been remapped to 320bhp. Considering a turbo upgrade and stage 2 remap which will push it to about 380, but to be honest it's fast enough to out accelerate pretty much anything else on the road already so I may not bother.

Enjoy driving your Dacia 😂

This is what i think too.

Far too big for our driveway, although i’m sure it would be the first thing on his list if we ever inherited more space!!

Lol! And the mtb- cyclocross community!

A Superb is top of the list for non-vans, and i think he’d prefer the less rigid ride for the longer journeys he needs to do.

Pre-van we had a series of company Octavias. All Tdis. Excellent cars. I have a plug in hybrid Ocatavia with my job at the
moment. I need it for work a couple of times a week at least and work on a 24/7 standby rota so he couldn’t really use it as his “weekend away” car. It’s also a squeeze length wise if we’re all in it (dd and I are 5’8”, DH is 6’2” and DS is 6’3” and a bit).

DH has decided that he is going to see a van specialist when we get back from holiday. His heart is in a comfier van.

Right back at you! Is it petrol?

Yes

I could believe around 300bhp from a stage 1 tune on the 2.0 TSI, it won’t be especially quick though, 6.5ish to 62mph I’d estimate which is decent for a van but pretty slow in the real world, I couldn’t tolerate something that slow as a daily driver. As for not knowing anything about cars, I’m afraid you’re wrong there, my life literally revolves around cars, I eat, sleep and breathe them, it’s how I make a VERY good living. I’ve never owned a Dacia, although I do have a selection of cars with a combined power output of more than 5k bhp.

I’ve replaced my old Diesel Fiat Doblo with a Hybrid Dacia Jogger and am very pleased with it. It has a decent sized petrol engine that is great on the motorway but does 60 miles to the gallon due to the electric motor kicking in ( very nippy at junctions etc due to electric motor too). Huge boot.

People are so rude about Dacias, a bit like they used to be about Skodas. I wouldn’t have considered one until the recent redesign ( they were blandly ugly). The hybrid engine mine has is made by Renault. We test drove the petrol model and thought it was OK but a bit underpowered, the hybrid is so much better.

OK, I take back my Dacia comment. You are obviously a fellow petrol head, and not the throwaway-comment smug mumsnetter I was envisaging in my head 😂

I stand by my fast van statement though. It's quicker than 90% of vehicles on the road, and has way more power than most people (except enthusiasts, hobby racers, etc.) would ever need.

Another Dacia Jogger Hybrid owner here and whilst it's ideal for much of my current usage, I'm not so sure I'd buy one for your DH's needs. They are very practical and stand up well to abuse, but it's ultimately limited by its Renault Clio underpinnings: the steering wheel is offset noticeably and middle row leg room is only adequate. On long distance fuel economy - it's fine if you keep it below 60mph or so, but economy tails off notably if you cruise at 70.

I also have a Skoda Superb (last model, hatchback TDI) which I use instead for long distance driving. I regularly do more than 1000km in one day in it and cannot think of another car which is better suited to long distance driving on any realistic budget. Prior to the Superb I had an E-class Mercedes-Benz and then a Maserati Quattrporte, both diesel, and honestly given the choice I'd take the Superb every time. The 150bhp diesel has all the ooomph I want, and a full load makes little difference.

If your DH is set on a van, try the Sevel-Nord offerings from Stellantis: the Citroën SpaceTourer, Peugeot Traveller, Toyota ProAce Verso and Vauxhall Vivaro Life. They're only available new as EVs, but there are a few used diesels around with engine outputs up to 180bhp. They share a production line with the van versions but are built from the ground up as passenger cars, are comfy, and you can wring decent economy out of them. I would have bought one if they were still available new with the diesel.

Is the VW LWB or SWB, if the former a pickup is around the same length.
DH wanted something a little more comfortable and poky so has a L200 barbarian, remapped still a bit of a slug (IMHO because I drive fast cars) just under 10 seconds 0-60 but DH loves it, it is extremely comfortable for long and short journeys and fits loads in.

We’ve been to the van place.

He’s put a deposit on a LWB Transporter T6.1 Combi, and has accepted a higher PX value for the old van than he had in mind. It’s been lowered and drives really smoothly.

He’s a very happy boy.