I’ve had vito & T5 campers the went on to a disco 3. Now i’m running a golf as a more economical means of transport, but when it comes to mtb’ing they are a paing in the chuffing backside. every time i’ve taken my bike somewhere to ride it’s p1ssed it down & faffing about with racks & getting changed or putting the bike in the back it just a mega ball ache. I’m really regretting gettibg a car & it may be chopped in for a caddy maxi combi or a T5 before the weekend is out.

it may be chopped in for a caddy maxi combi or a T5 before the weekend is out.

Non-VAG vehicles (without the badge tax) are available.
I hate going riding when I don’t have the van, totally agree that it becomes a massive ball-ache in comparison

amazingly there are vans that are better and cheaper 🙂

from LWB Med HH tranny to a shit forester, worse mpg and less space. never let the missus pick cars.

Nope, quite the opposite.

I got sick of our old T5, using it in the week too. It was a pain in the arse. The only 2 real benefits were being able to chuck bikes in whole, and get changed in the rain more easily.

Compared to a car, crap to drive, uneconomical & horrible as a passenger on the bench.

Quite to opposite from thinking I’d miss the van.

No regrets here, a tow ball mounted rack makes the extra hassle minimal though I do miss the security of having the bikes inside.

It seems to be mostly like suitcases. My brother used to use a combi van. Then he got a Traffic, but he’s still using the same kit. So when that broke down we stacked it all into my estate, where it fitted just as easily as in the combo, but he kept having nervous breakdowns because he couldn’t get things in exactly how he wanted. So having had a decent sized van now he can’t function without, even though what he mostly transports is air.

Yup, had a Peugeot Expert, decided to ‘grow up’ a bit and bought an estate car, then traded it in and bought a T5, never looked back.

Why not get a small van such as transit Connect,Renault Kangoo,Citroen Berlingo,Fiat Doblo.

Most of these are much more car like to drive but still offer the load space convenience of a bigger van.

I have a Kangoo 1.5TD for everyday use, looks daft but actually drives alright and handles pretty well plus I’m getting around 50mpg pootling about based on real world figures too.

yep i much prefer a van,After an older T4, i had an old escort estate for a while but soon bought another van with a up and over rear door to get changed under,the thing that annoyed me most was getting road salt into every crevice on the bike when the bikes were on a rear rack.rusty chains overnight grrrr.much happier with my van now.

Went from a Scudo 2.0 jtd to a focus estate. Bike wise it was catastrophic. The van was ace in every way. Regret it every bloody day!

We had both a golf and a pug partner , we used to fight over who was taking the van ….. Its just easier, the only thing the van doesnt do hat the golf did was move 5 folk.

Oh and id buy anything but a vaaaaaagg , they are crap once you see through the fanboiness , saw my old one today, still a piece of crap.

Went from a T5 to a Terracan to a golf to a Bmw 3 touring.
Was only taking to a mate today, after I saw about ten T5s all looking very nice, how little I miss it.

My touring (like my van) is a commuting wagon mainly with 20% bike/board carrying duty. I don’t notice the lack of space on the 20% but seriously notice the better comfort and performance on the 80%.

Missing my van badly. Had an old shape expert van then a much bigger reault master
Now a crappy golf mk4 estate.

Found the Renault master a far more comfy place to spend my time and far more reliable than the golf and only a little worse in fuel
Golf does 42 van did 32-34 both diesel

As soon as the golf expires its van time again ( should not be to long )

Sold the X reg Vito last year and bought a 10 reg Berlingo XTR diesel

Vehicle Tax went down from £220 to £125
Insurance went down from £450 to £220 (and I didn’t have constant arguments with van insurers about not having a business)
Fuel consumption went down from 32mpg to 54mpg
I gained three seats, so don’t have to say “Sorry, only two seats” when going out with friends
I can still carry two or three bikes with wheels still attached or five without.
Ferry and tunnel costs are cheaper
I can park legally in council car parks

The only thing I’ve lost is a bit of security from having windows in the back.

The tax saving above is just an age/ tax band thing
Our master was only 140 a year as it was euro 4

But oddly my other halfs new ( to her )
18 year old horse box 7.5t 6litre smokey shed is only 160 a year

and honestly I never paid more for the tunnel, french tolls were more but a low roof was the same as a car, I never had an issue with council car parks, which council was it?

mikewsmith – Member
and honestly I never paid more for the tunnel, french tolls were more but a low roof was the same as a car, I never had an issue with council car parks, which council was it?

ditto that, there’s no way I’d pay commercial rates for the tunnel/ferry

Anyone gone from a van to a car & regretted it?

Yes. Back on a van now – a fine rusty Transit.

Would consider something like a Renault Grand Espace though (and chuck the rear seats)