Guys advice needed. I had decided on a T5 van around 60/11 reg to use as a base for slight conversion into a family car/bike wagon.

However as the company is gonna be buying this for me its important that it be black or possibly silver. This limits availability etc so my other half has pointed out that there are far more Vito vans/dualiner models in these colours.
So any real world experience on these?
How do they compare quality wise to the vw?
Am I better off sticking to what I know?
Will I die a horrible death by Mercedes Benz?

Thanks in advance

Why does it have to be black or Silver?
is the van been sign written up or something?
you could always get it wraped in black/silver

I drive a T4 so I say VW is best

I bought a new Vito 120 Extra long in 2006.
I got lots of extras, cruise, aircon, comfort pack (nice lining etc)
It’s been fantastic, 5 seats, fits up to 7 fully built up bikes in the back, just roll them in.
Only does around 32/gallon but goes like stink (204bhp standard, had a remap to around 224)
Absolutely no rust. Will get another new one next year when it benefits my company.
Thought about a T5, had one for a week when I left the Vito abroad and the VW was horrible compared to the Vito.
It wasn’t a direct comparison as it was a basic T5 but still really put me off them.

Rob: all the other vans and lorries are black, except my current one which is silver. Wanna keep it that way if possible. However I have considered a wrap as an alternative. Yes it will be logo`d up.

Colp: I haven’t driven a vito yet, every time I`ve driven a t5 its always felt “solid” im hoping the vito will feel the same (test drives arranged) giving me more options.

Cheers Guys

My Basic Vito 109 has just clocked 140000 miles.
It’s quiet and smooth for a van, good mpg and fast as it needs to be with great brakes.
It will do 100 even with a ton of stuff in the back.
The stereo is brilliant!
I am sure you will get on.
My old neighbour had Vito Extralong Dualiner 122 with a zillion miles on it which he absolutely loved.
Don’t worry about 5th Gear’s Vito/T5 shoot out! You won’t be taking it on a track although Evo magazine were happy to throw their Vito Dual Sport X (I’ll have mine in metallic grey please) round the Nurburgring.
I had a VW T5, it was very good at everything and nice to drive when VW weren’t replacing “blown everything”. I even liked they’re Caddy courtesy van which I got very familiar with.
A couple of mates had T5’s which they loved but both had expensive garage bills, nothing like any French vans though!

Brand new Vito has just been released, whether it has any impact on used prices on vans I’m not sure but they do look nice in the photos with all sorts of drive options, even a 4 wheel drive.

Sorry, I’m a van bore. Just don’t get me started about my old Toyotas.

I recently borrowed a Vito and it was hateful. Oh and had a distinct lack of cupholders

“A couple of mates had T5’s which they loved but both had expensive garage bills, nothing like any French vans though”

My french vans (both) have been the most reliable vehicles ive owned- my vw was the worst by a country mile.

Conversely my dads 13plate dispatch has been a bucket- fiat built.

Have you looked at transit customs – i thought they pissed all over the t5 int he driving stakes and the “feels like a car” stakes. The vito dual liner – the top end one with the captains chairs upfront and all the options ticked by the looks of it was a different league again – but it was about 40k new so it should be.

Have looked at transit custom jobbies, also my partners have Vivaro crew cabs which are surprisingly nice but prone to gearbox/clutch issues (7 so far in our business).
However the newer/nice transits are above budget (13k max) and there are much less options to self customise them.

Will look deeper into the vito I thnk.

Cheers

Not sure if it helps or not but a mate of mine is selling his ’12 plate Transporter Combi. it’s the 140 with sport line bodykit/wheels, leather option, Aircon and cruise. 40k miles and in black. he’s looking for circa £20k. selling because he wants a Crafter instead.

Ah, just seen your £13k budget limit. sorry.

Loads of transit customs on auto trader for £13 – look around and you might find a decent spec

Vivaro Sportive crew cab would be my recommendation. Just enough toys and almost as comfy as a car, also a fair few available in Silver.
Our 06 panel version has done 129k miles and had the clutch slave cylinder start to fail last year (the pedal feels sticky at the top of the travel) it was a £500 bill with the new clutch included. (Later models are a little more pricey due to the DMF clutch assembly). The bill was at a local garage not a Main Dealer (£800 quoted).

I don’t have a van yet, but have researched a fair bit as it’ll be my next vehicle. I’d be going transit custom or French if you want to sleep/store bikes transversely, freeing up more space in the forward half of the load bay. A mate just got a Ducato Maxi 180bhp. Took the family fully loaded down to the Pyrenees, said it went like stink. It’ll be a new shape L2H2 Ducato for me when funds allow……