Been looking at a Vito 5 seater
Looking for something to cart bikes about and maybe turn into a bit of a day van
Thoughts were swivelling front seats and removable table.

Anyone any thoughts?

Vitos rust like crazy
Transporters you pay the vw tax
Have you looked at Vivaro/trafic?

Do you newer vitos rust?
Looking one about three years old

PePPeR – Member
Vitos rust like crazy

No they dont, after 2007 the underside was coated (galvanised). FACT.

When looking at vans be very clear what you want to use it for. Also have a budget and stick to it.

The one thing i didn’t like about Vito’s were the sliding side doors on each side. Lovely vans apart from that.

A few people i know have T5’s. Pretty new and most are having sensor issues along with ECU niggles. None of the fixes are under £1500. Just something to be aware of.

I settled on a Vivaro and after having an epic getting the injectors changes it had been a dream van. I really love it. Decent enough MPG and loads of room in the back. Bit of a basic interior in the cab but that didn’t bother me.

Somewhere in my history i have a build thread. Have a gander.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/official-van-conversion-thread

Brother in Law has recently bought a 2012 Vito. I do believe that from 2007 they galvanised the body, so they shouldn’t rust like the earlier versions did.

Nice interior, he is converting it to carry a rear bench seat, and pop windows into the sliding doors. The handbrake is a foot brake, takes a little getting used to, and the van is rear wheel drive.

I would hate to think what repair costs would be like.

Have you looked at Vivaro/trafic?

Got one of those, quite an old one, built to a price…and it shows.

Vitos galvanised since 2006. My old one had no visible rust. Nice van, RWD, pretty quick, a bit thirsty but fun to drive.

SWB is compact, shorter than T5, lower than T5 but a bit wider.

Newer T5s were hard to find in 2-3 year old and decent mileage and money.
The approved used are actually competitive due to the high 2nd hand value.
If you have time, look at a panel van and add windows and seats yourself, but most will be triple front seats and converting to twin is expensive.

Kombi is ace, big comfy front seats and removable rear, very flexible. Takes 5 bikes with front wheels off and 5 people.

VW ‘scene’ for converting is much stronger, Vito is a bit more ‘exec’ in the higher specs.

T5 expensive but very good resale.

Mactheknife, have you spoken with Vauxhall about those injectors, they’ve had a recall on them and are now sorting them out…

PePPeR, yep they changed them out for me, thanks for the heads up though. The sill on the front grill where the water was getting was actually an easy fix with silicone so i doubt there will be any future problems.

‘thread hijack’ …

… Phil, the Owl just passed her MOT with flying colours and has clocked up another 8K miles since we drove her away from you in Sept. Sounds like your T5 is going good!

Yes! The OWL rocks, loved that van, still miss it so good to hear! Hope you are enjoying it.

The T5 is great, different but great. Spending more time at airports than trailheads unfortunately. Still got plans to do all the bits to the T5 that the OWL had – missing the tailgate LED downlights!

I drive lots of new vans as I’m a sign writer. They all seem quite nice not much in it between them Tbh. Drove a new T6 auto this week but they are pricey. We got a great deal on an ex demo, last of the old shape, 65 plate Vito. Which we all like driving, more refined than the Transit custom we had as a loan van.

I’m a life-long VW fan – run a ’95 T4 Westfalia at the moment which has been rock solid but is getting on a bit now… so I’ve been pondering this myself.

There seem to be some horror stories about T5 reliability, particularly the early 2.5s but I guess that you have to balance that against the fact that there are loads of high mileage ones out there which have been trashed or haven’t been maintained properly. Like anything look for a decent service history and ideally a warranty.

As another option I’ve seen a few Hyundai iLoads / i800s around lately which look quite smart, are pretty reasonable and have a long warranty. Not driven one but may be worth looking at as an alternative?

As with everything, look at the number of T5s on the roads. There are inevitably going to be more breaking down than anything else simply because theres flippin millions of the things everywhere you look.

I’ve had my 61 plate 2.0 CR T5 now for 18 months. Its mapped, full camper conversion, lowered quite a lot, non standard wheels – in fact, if its possible to play with it, I’ve played with it. And yet its been 100% reliable.

“The one thing i didn’t like about Vito’s were the sliding side doors on each side.“

Funnily enough that’s one specific thing I DO like ! Being able to get at the rear seats from either side. I park my van with the passenger side fairly close to a fence and having a sliding door on the driver’s side is very handy.

Vitos do still rust more than any other van in the class. The first generation and early second generation were worst but at auctions every week I see 5 year old vitos with plenty of rust and bits on newer ones. Metallics and coloured (not white) vans are better but it’s still worse than it should be. It’s not the undersides that rust but the bodywork.

Transporter residuals are better than vito but if buying used there’s the offset at the start to make up for this. I find them nicer to drive being fwd and they feel more refined but that’s a personal thing.

I picked up a 3 year old Vito with massive miles for not much money almost 3 years ago now.
I used to be a massive Hiace fan but couldn’t find a used one and went with the Vito because it’s rear wheel drive.
I will replace this Vito with another Vito, the 113 for the head but the 116 for the heart.
Goes round corners great, good stereo, good legroom and nice driving position means I’m happy in it all day if need be.
Good mpg and quick enough to rack up points for speeding..
Injectors have been a pain but I don’t think this van had an easy life in its 1st few years.
But it’s the other things this van does like Windows not fogging up and staying clear, under 6 foot high and fits in almost all low roof parking garages.
I wasn’t sure about 2 sliding doors now I can’t see how I’d live without them.

The VW is a great van too. Drive both.
Avoid anything with wing mirror indicators!!!

Ask Mattbee if he’d buy one right now if he had the money free again.
He wouldn’t – he’d buy a Maxi Life and a smaller caravan 😆
More seats, car interior, no commercial tax/insurance needed, no reduced speed limits, etc.
Takes 3 people/3 bikes with wheels in.
5 people/5 bikes with front wheels out.
will take 7 people and 7 bikes with a combination of wheels out and towbar carrier.
Oh – and sliding doors on both sides and the rear lifting to hide under in the rain.

looking at vivaro/traffics at the moment, anyone know if car no claims can be used on van insurance?

botk – Member
looking at vivaro/traffics at the moment, anyone know if car no claims can be used on van insurance?

Depends on the insurers but often not if its a commercial policy rather than a car.
Same as why the b*stards won’t honour no claims from cars to bikes, bikes to cars, etc.
UK insurance is a legalised rip-off with no controls to ensure they honour EU legislation.

Depends on the insurers but often not if its a commercial policy rather than a car.
Same as why the b*stards won’t honour no claims from cars to bikes, bikes to cars, etc.
UK insurance is a legalised rip-off with no controls to ensure they honour EU legislation.

will only be using it for carting bikes/kids/dog not for business. looks like i’ll have to do some research.

They rarely care – it’s classed as a commercial vehicle.
Oddly – some will do certain ones as standard “estates” – comparison sites are your friend – use the reg not the type.

i don’t understand why you wouldn’t have twin side loaders. anyone i know who has them say they wouldn’t buy another van without them. they are genuinely very useful indeed.
i have had a hiace, a t4, a vito and i’ve just bought a v6 viano. my mate runs a fleet of transits and my BiL has a t5. the transits are nicer to drive than a t4 imo. the t4 was very reliable until i managed to break the gearbox at 220k towing a 2t van up some very steep hills. the t5 is nicer than the t4 to drive. the vito has been very reliable but at high miles the manual gearbox is shocking, really high efforts. it’s smaller and and better daily driver than a transit. the v6 viano is lovely and quiet and smooth and fast and climate and nav and leather and thirsty. hopefully an alps trip in the offing.

i think my ideal vehicle currently is a long wheel base (viano is Xlong) dualiner 160 auto on the facelift. nice looking and better stereo with bluetooth but better mpg than the v6.
when they make an auto custom transit then i might look there.

I’ve got a V6 xlwb dualiner. I drive to the Alps 3 times a year and it’s been fantastic. So much room, very fast, quiet. 32mpg if take it easy. Love the look of a VW but really worried about the reliability issues (steering knock, drive shafts etc). I drove a T5 4motion kombi (180bhp) and it felt gutless compared to the Vito, and much more van like to drive.

porter_jamie – Member
i don’t understand why you wouldn’t have twin side loaders. anyone i know who has them say they wouldn’t buy another van without them. they are genuinely very useful indeed.

When i was getting a van i wanted to build it around having a bed and storage along one side. Which counted out having a second side loading door. I don’t have kids so i had no real need for another row of rear seats.

Ah, I see that makes sense.

Op do you really need a bigger van? I could have bought a brand new connect for what I paid for the viano. They drive very nicely indeed. Optional twin side loaders and all the modern bluetooth goodness

You may have that second sliding door but that doesn’t mean you have to use it. You can still build your camper in front of the door and just not use it. Then it’s there as a positive feature when you come to sell the car and someone might want to strip out the interior fittings.

just done a decent length run in the viano – it managed an average of 31mpg. including some stuck in traffic on the m25 stuff. i can live with that.

Metallics and coloured (not white) vans are better

Why do you think that is? White vans are treated rougher…?

IME it’s due to the treatment required to get the correct finish on the paint.
It needs a far better base prep than basic white, etc.

i believe its pre 06 or whatever they were not Ecoated from the factory. Why non white ones don’t rust, i’m not sure. Vianos from pre 06 dont seem to rust either so i would like to know the answer to that one.

hammyuk probably has it

The Vianos iirc were treated completely differently.
Masses more treatment, sound deadening, interior fixings, etc.
They are a very, very nice place to be!

mine is bloody lovely, especially compared to my old t4 – it’s like being in an S class in comparison. the vito with a bulkhead on 16″ michelin tyres is very good actually and has better ride than the viano which is on 18″ ditchfinders currently. it’s going in for eagle F1s asap.

We picked up a 61 reg T5 caravelle this year and it’s been great. Benefits over a converted panel van:-

It’s a car not a commercial so insurance is no trouble. Nor are toll roads, camp sites, speed limits etc.
They generally come with more equipment.
Properly insulated so as quiet as a car.
Seats move around and come out (but they are very heavy to be fair) and even fold into a bed
Curtain airbags all round. Ours is a family car so this was non negotiable.

Yes they are quite expensive but they hold they hold their value so well that the total cost of ownership is quite reasonable

Just bought a vito as a new work van to replace an old traffic, its such a better van and more refined, price wise not much diffrent to a traffic but lots cheaper than a t5.
Was looking for a 116 but couldnt find a decent one in budget so bought a 113 just had it remapped and now has 192hp. Dont think i would look for anything else if i needed to replace it!

If a caravelle is classed as a car. Is this the same for a factory vivaro crew cab or a vito dualiner?

If you put a bed or a kitchen pod in the back of the above but V5 is not changed to a full camper does this affect your insurance?

A dualiner is a van (at least for VAT purposes), I suppose a T5 kombi would be the same.
A caravelle is the people carrier I think, like a Viano, they are treated differently.

IainAhh – Member
If a caravelle is classed as a car. Is this the same for a factory vivaro crew cab or a vito dualiner?

As I understand it – it depends. If the payload is over 1 ton then it’s a van, if less then it might not be depending on who you ask. To be sure, I’d check the reg on dvla before you buy.

went to see a caddy maxi kombi, might be a good option as i didnt really want to go for full on van. enough space for bikes and kids in back with added bonus of clip out rear seats if you do need extra space. surprised how much room in the back.

A Vivaro/Trafic factory Crew Cab is still a van. The only version that isn’t is the full 8/9-seater.

Check the vin plate for type approval
N1 = Van = lower speed limit on NSL roads
M1 = car / passenger carrying vehicle = higher NSL road limit.
Worked out through number plate and dvla

It’s a nightmare, unclear and done to death on the T 5 forum…