Need a vehicle, mainly for commuting to work but also being a keen biker and someone who races the draw of a smallish van for practicality reasons is pretty high.

I’m almost trying to convince myself an 04ish Vauxhall Astra estate would suffice rather than a 04ish Vauxhall Combo with a similar diesel engine.

The car will be cheaper to buy and insure, easier to find one, can fit more people in it on the rare occasion that’s required and I can still fit lots of crap in it.

Bad points; Its not a van, I like vans, it’s not as big so can’t just put fully built bikes in the back and probably isn’t long enough to sleep in.

Do I need a van or is a car the wiser option?

Ta

Will you ever NEED to carry more then two people. If yes then buy the car.

old c5 is big enough to put full bikes in. also suspect mondeo would be the same.

Yeah if you can only have one vehicle then car

Since scrapping the mrs car we have been using just the van and although not often there have been a few times where we needed the seats

Combo crew cab or a berlingo estate would be the obvious exceptions !

Subsequently we just bought a golf

I had a 06 1.3CDTI 1700 Combo and used it for commuting and biking. It had the bench seat in the back, but I still got rid because I wanted a car for the extra seats

Echo everything above. If it’s your only vehicle and you are likely to need more the two seats get the car.

I’m going to get a Partner or Berlingo Van again in the next year or so, but only when the wife has a newer car which can be used as the main vehicle.

Estate cars take two people and two fully built bikes easily. With a bike rack they can take four people and four built bikes easily.

Then, when not biking, you can drive around in a normal car which is much better than a van 🙂

Bigger estates (ie Mondeo etc) are long enough to sleep in, although I’d much prefer a small tent as they are freezing cold and damp when you sleep in them.

Sit in an Astra Van and note that its really comfortable, and if like me are 6’6″ – you’ve got loads of room, something smaller vans can scrimp on a bit.

Then look left and imagine yourself manouvering in traffic or pulling out of T junction and note that you can see absolutely **** all. All vans have blindspots, but little Astra vans have by far the worst.