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Haven’t driven a van for absolutely ages, but needed to transport some scaffolding that I ‘inherited’ to my brother and so rented a van from a local outfit. It was a 2019 VW Transporter T30 Highline, with the ubiquitous 2 litre Diesel engine, in 150PS tune with a 6 speed manual ‘box. Firstly, in a mid metallic blue with alloys, it looked pretty smart. Could have done with doors at the back rather than a tailgate, though it was fine for what I was using it for. Well equipped too; adaptive cruise, climate control, parking sensors, Apple CarPlay, and, nice big wing mirrors and despite a very upright driving position, pretty comfortable. But, the most notable thing was how it drove...it didn’t half shift, for a van. As quick as you’d reasonably need to go in a car really, though it’s a van... A DSG ‘box might have suited it better, but at 85 (Km/h of course...) it was smooth, far quieter than I expected, solid and really rather relaxing to drive. And it did around 38mpg. I’d quite like one, though having looked they are rather pricey...knocking on £38k as far as I could see. Still, at £60 a day renting isn’t too bad... Tempted by the California version now (£800 a week to hire), what with just having bought a paddle board ;)
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...you'd want one of the (small number of) versions that has been homologated as a "passenger car". otherwise it's a lifetime of van speed limits.
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>> ...you'd want one of the (small number of) versions that has been homologated as a
>> "passenger car". otherwise it's a lifetime of van speed limits.
>>
Oops...might not have adhered to van limits...or car ones for that matter on the A283...
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When I worked for the NHS, I drove a number of different vans. The mainstay of the owned fleet where the excellent Merc Sprinter vans ( the big ones) - beautifully designed for all-day use with good seating, brilliantly laid out dials and switches etc. Plenty of cabin stowage for your needs (Coffee and sandwiches) complete with coat hooks between the seats. They would turn on a sixpence - ours were real workhorses, the one allocated to me on a local route was driven 92 miles a day 5 days a week and a little less on day 6. It took everything that could be thrown at it. The interior although a little plain was durable.
We had various sized Transits ( on hire) - the two mainstays were of different spec. One was fully loaded and was a far more comfortable cab to be in. There was a huge gap in seat comfort, I found the basic one difficult to use for this reason, it was eventually swapped for a large Vauxhall Monarvo van, this was a quieter van than either the Merc or the Ford, far better suspension than the Ford with a much nicer interior and the all important "Air" - turning circle was crap compared to the Fords and the Merc though. Good radio !
There were a couple of NHS owned Transporters, I drove one once and it seemed ok really. The Fiat Duplo was awful....Always the Mercs for me, dependable, cavernous, quick and comfy as an all day drive if a little rusty
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Volkswagen - Modern vans - Lygonos
