Had T4 as camper/workvan. Now just as camper. Great van but silly prices now. If it’s a pure work van can’t you look for best lease deal and off load at not great loss when you’ve killed it.

n a transit/vivaro etc you look like a Pikey.

Looks pretty tasty to me. If I was in the market for a van, I’d seriously look at the Tranny, has a touch of the Vito about it.

I’ve owned transporters, vivaros and vitos (mutiples of each) and there is a lot of scene tax with vw’s but that gives great residuals. They do have their problems but generally less than other vans in my experience.
Vitos still rust far more than transporters. The galvanising must be easier to damage. From what I see at auctions they have improved a little but are still way behind other commercial vehicles.
Trafic/vivaro are quite a good compromise for many people. Again they have problems (injectors and gearboxes) but these are known. They are nice to be in and drive and prices are low.
Transporters are definitely the nicest places to be and for me are the best looking. You pays your money and takes your choice.

I think one recurring theme that clouds the debate is that a lot of people are not comparing apples with apples. Comparing a battered plain white basic model abused transit against a 140bhp metallic paint, well maintained T5 Sportline isn’t helpful or objective
The more sensible posts clearly say that they all have problems, it’s all down to which one you prefer and how deep your pockets are

Edit: fwiw I think the Renault Trafic is the nicest to drive but I ended up buying a Transit camper based on the quality of the conversion

through my work i get to drive many vans. many are well used/abused work horses, many are brad new rentals.

have driven many T4s, T5s, Vitos, Sprinters, one Crafter (ca. 2008 model), Transits (new and old), Citroens and Fiats.

one T4 that i drive regulary has over 600,000km on it and has a rough life being driven hard through the Alps. lots of dents and scrapes, but amazingly no rust. the engine still pulls well despite being caned to the limit.

have driven the V6 Vito for several weeks through the Alps delivering transalpers’ luggage. pulls well in a straight line, but loses all momentum in corners due to the traction control. the gearbox was a bit vague and clucnky. also, it has less load height as it is rear wheel drive when compared to the T5 (i think/so i have been told) which may be a problem when transporting ply sheets. it was also a complete rust bucket despite it being only five years old (think it was a 2007 model and was sold to some Polish last year as it failed its German MOT equivalent). the interior build quality wasn’t all that, either, despite being a higher-up-the-range model.

also via the same company i get to drive a Fiat Scudo/Expert thing. it works. a bit ropey and gutless, but it drives and it stops.
oh, and they have two Citroen Jumper things. i know they are not exactly mid-sized vans. had one that kept cutting out and going into limp mode. the next year i had it again and despite having been to the garage it had the same problem… or so i thought. turns out the other Jumper had developed exactly the same problem as the first. the fault couldn’t be identified and both were quickly sold to somewhere in Eastern Europe.

i thought the Opel/Vauxhal/Renault Vivaro was ok. it pulled well and has a larger, more useable load space than other vans of its size, but i thought the interior was very plasticy and the cab was loud.

recently picked up a LWB Transit Custom from Enterprise for a 1300km round trip to Düsseldorf from Munich. had 600km on the clock. the instrument panel was attractive/well laid out and it had all the fancy mod-cons, but it rattled lots (something loose internally in the drivers and sliding door) and felt spongey and not-so-ever inspiring at speed (165kmh).

last year we started looking at vans with the view to converting it into a camper for bike holidays. on the back of my experiences with the motors mentioned above and after much umming and ahhing and having looked at the contenders we went for a 2.5ltr, 130bhp LWB T5 Caravelle with all the bells and whistles: leather seats, heated captains with arm rests, air con, cruise control, reverse camera. was originally looking for a “rough’n’ready” motor without any fancy gizmos… until the GF found out how to work the search function. more than i wanted, but now convinced many of the things i didn’t need i now do.
another thing that swung us towards the T5 was the sheer amount of after market stuff available. oh and the looks…. the Vito and Vivaro being the only real alternatives just didn’t look as solid and their interiors were not as well finsihed.

the T5 is a pleasant place to be even in standard spec (having previously rented and used many T5 for work and pleasure). it sounds cliché, but it does drive more car-like than any of those mentioned above. load space isn’t as generous as in the Vivaros, but it is nicer to drive as it doesn’t feel so van like.

although a solid engine the 1,9ltr feels a bit under powered on climbs or when fully loaded and i would say the same of the 140bhp 2ltr engine. despite having more horses than our 5 pot 2,5ltr 130bhp the 2ltr doesn’t have that low down torque and i feel you have to work the engine more to get up to speed.

Whats better about vw transporters than other vans??

I dunno… Can’t quite put my finger on it.. 😉

I’ve got a 2006 Vito 120, looking at new Vito or T5 sportline in next year.

It’s a van WTF is the sportline for? just drive to the speed limit,

I drive at least twice a year to Austria, sometimes towing a trailer, and do at least 50 miles a day regularly.
The van is our main family vehicle, so we want something nicely finished inside with plenty of poke for safe overtakes on autobahns etc.

A vito extra long will take 8×4 ply with one rear seat out, you just lean the ply over very slightly.
It will also take a Ducati 1098 at a slight angle with the same seat out.

Has anyone had DPF problems with a modern van?

Or do they just get driven hard?

SWB trafic, 11 years old, has had a replacement gearbox and the previous owner replaced the injection pump, I drive it everyday and I would have a new one if funds allowed. It will take 8x4s laid flat and is overall a more spacious van than a T5.

Sorry for the stupid question, but why the ply wood references? Purely to demonstrate usable space, or are there just a lot of joiners here?

Sorry for the stupid question, but why the ply wood references? Purely to demonstrate usable space, or are there just a lot of joiners here?

People pretending they want to carry stuff other than bikes in the back.

Primastar/traffics drive lovely but the fact you can’t do an 8×4 against the side does my tree in. The lwb is just under 10foot which is better.

I love my 2.5tdi 5pot t4. It’s black as well which makes in achingly much more cool innit

…you put “other stuff” in them too?? #onlyforbikes #vanlife :))