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I’m planning to import a Honda Stepwagon next year
Let us know how it goes. The Stepwagon & Serena are on my list to replace the Civic.
Erring towards the Serena as the seats fold properly flat (for camping) in all the models whereas in the Stepwagon the newer shapes (the 2006ish onwards) don't.
Definitely report back on the process and ownership experience. I've been looking with interest at these luxurious looking Jap-Vans. They look like they have the potential to make a great bike and travel wagon
My thinking exactly. Fuel consumption is a bit of an issue for me but it would not see hugely regular usage and the initial outlay for a decent condition, nicely driving car is that much lower I'll never break even buying one of the better driving vans.
do they really offer much over an i800 or galaxy clone? £5k for a 15 year old van with 100k miles doesn't appear to be great value
Quick question, which insurance covers your bike if it get knicked out of one of these car vans (ones with windows?
My bike (home) insurance told me it was covered from getting knicked off my roof rack but not from inside the car. Aparently i would also be covered from inside a van too as you can't see inside.
So would you be covered from your car insurance?
Insurance answer- if locked to a fixing then insured in vehicle. ( M + S )
Weve just bought a nv200 a couple of weeks ago, wanted a low mileage van derived 7seater for use as a shop van and 6passenger private hire vehicle (I put a thread on here some where).
I looked at pretty much every alternative, but settled on the nv200 as it's got the best fuel economy and scores pretty high on the reliability stakes. An equivalent Vw caddy life was 3<4k more, only 1 7 ford in the country and everything else was either French or just miles away from me. I also took a test drive in a lwb Mercedes-Benz CITAN, although not the 7 seat version but this looked horrid and wasnt the best for passengers.
The cabin is more plasticy than a 'car' as is the passenger area, with much more metal work on show. But the ride is good, turning circle is excellent and it's a little narrower than others so ideal for country lanes and town centre runs. The two rear seats don't fold down to the floor, rather to the side so they get in the way of boot space, but provide really good 6th and 7th seats - with more room and in a safer possition than car based 7seaters. Boot space with the extra seats in place is OK, but all vertical so you'd need to stack cases. Put the seats away and boot space is huge. Split 2nd row allows 2 fully built bikes and 3 passengers + room for another bike with wheels off.
Did a motor way run with the computer says I averaged 50mpg, which is better than the quashqai I used to have. General driving about is mid 30's.
Bad points on the spec is the audio system, this is a 2016 version and It come with basic fm radio, no sat nav or dab. It does have cruise control and speed limiter curtain airbags in the front and a rear view camera for reversing.
Waiting for LWB new berlingo’s next year over here.
do they really offer much over an i800 or galaxy clone? £5k for a 15 year old van with 100k miles doesn’t appear to be great value
You can get much lower mileage examples than that at the age and price (at least with the Stepwagon). Though with the week pound they aren't as good deals as they used to be.
That said, you get better build, better spec and better driving vehicles. Much more car like. They are also much smaller than the i800 which is just way too big for my needs.
There's not really anything comparable on the UK market.
Yep, the i800 is pretty big and I think the seats are all fixed. Plus very much van based, even though they don’t sell a commercial one here.
What appeals to me about the jap MPVs is that the seats slide back and forth so you can have lots of legroom or lots of boot space or something in between. Plus the rearmost row usually flips up sideways so you get the height (ideal for bikes) but don’t have to remove the seats and find somewhere to store them. Then they usually go (fairly) flat for occasional camper use.
That and they’re all petrol automatics which is what I want these days. Japan wisely moved away from diesel because of city air pollution controls that started nearly 20 years ago.