Rate or hate?

A mate had one until he recently emigrated. He liked it, plenty of room to carry kit inside – remove some seats and bikes can go in whole etc. He had a rack fixed to the back door, made it a bit heavy to open (and needed a pole to keep it open) but very handy. Him and his wife used to drive all over the country racing, touring, camping, etc.

They’re not the prettiest but they’re certainly practical.

Edit: No idea what size engine it was but I think the bigger the better, his was diesel.

We’ve got one, it’s huge and so far, reliable.. Ours is the 1.9 multijet 120, with snow tyres and it’s high clearance it’s unstoppable. We fill it with bikes and camping gear and dogs plus two kayaks on top and it takes it all..
Proper big ol bus.

I have one for work does all it needs to drives like a car an a good van good on fuel I think lol reliable an its the 1.3 still quite pokey not had a brown moment yet but if it were my money I’d say if there same price as a vauxhall combo get a combo

I’ve got a van Doblo 1.9 diesel, 54 mpg on a run is the good thing about it,pokey too, I like the engine 🙂 It’s like a bean can though, not the best built thing in the world.

Would I buy another…..no, I don’t think I would.

So Doblo, Berlingo/Partner, Kangoo – any other similar vehicles?

Hate
1 ECU, 2 turbos, multiple other faults, finally gave up when it blew the third turbo and the engine kept running after it was switched off as it was burning the engine oil.
We had the turbocharged 1.3 which I think was the problem as the engine was always overworked for that size of van, the 1.9 normally aspirated engines I hear are ok.

The kangoos we had before the doblo were pretty trouble free, the current Berlingo we have seems to be good aswell.

So Doblo, Berlingo/Partner, Kangoo – any other similar vehicles?

Vauxhall Combos (in 5 seat form) but there are hardly any about, except a few homebrew conversions. Transit Cargos too, but again very few 5 seat versions rolling about. VW caddy has a 5 seat variant too. Rare again. Theres a pretty zany looking Merc, like a stretched A Class – a Vaneo I think (not to be confused with a Viano which is the big 9 seater)

Vauxhall Zafira is similar-ish (if you stash the rear two seats away) and is a a bit more car-like and more examples out there to choose from.

A neighbour had one, is there a noisier car/van from start-up?

A neighbour had one, is there a noisier car/van from start-up?

Yes, my next door neighbour’s Saab. I don’t know what he’s done to the starter motor / flywheel (I doubt he knows either as he was probably drunk), but at 6am it sounds like someone is emptying a drawer of cutlery into a tin bath.

Yup,

1.3 Multijet on a 58 plate.

It’s great – handles surprisingly well, reliable, 44mpg average in mixed hilly use.
Fun to drive, cheap, very comfortable and stupidly practical.

They fill the sump if the DPF is clogged, like all DPF equipped engines.
You have to take them for a long run regularly to allow them to burn th crap off the filter – if you don’t the oil they use to clean the filter ends up in the sump.
All modern diesels with a DPF do this.

We’ve got the 80hp engine. They did a 70hp but I wouldn’t fancy it much.
The 80hp is fine, though it can struggle slightly when full on a very steep incline.

Have a look on Honest John – the 1.9’s are becoming a nightmare and you really wouldn’t want a petrol.

I’ve done 25000 miles in a year and a half and it’s been no problem at all.
I’d have another one tomorrow, love ’em.

I have had one for 5 years and been really happy with it. I looked at the Kangoo etc at the time but the Fiat came up with the fewest issues so that’s what I went for. They are also marginally bigger.

I’ve got a 56 plate Vauxhall Combo crew cab for sale from the end of the week. High miles but bulletproof. Full factory five seater too.

Email in profile if you’re interested…