The whole point of that type of vehicle is that it’s a van with windows. The Ford Connects I have driven have given a much better drive than the French ones.
German cars are without doubt better engineered than French ones, immediately apparent when you first get in them or open the bonnet. I have however never seen any evidence however to suggest that this makes them any more reliable.
OP everytime I see the 307 and 308SW I think what brilliant bike/outdoor cars they are. My wife is French and we spend a lot of time there and see plenty of these cars and the hatchbacks running around. The MIL has a 12 year old Peugot owned since new and it’s just fine. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done. The people aren’t daft, of the cars didn’t work they wouldn’t buy them and French keep their cars for ages unlike chop and change Brits.
My mate had a 307 sw and it was terrible. So far behind the competition you wonder how they ever sold any.
The whole point of that type of vehicle is that it’s a van with windows
Except that the(latest) berlingo/Peugeot has car suspension and doesn't have a crashy van ride like the transit which is a van..... And has van payloads and suspension.
If you want a van crack on and buy a transit or a combo. My wife wanted to get rid of her van based car while retaining the volume of load area for bike carrying.
And back to my first post -only the French offer a derivative that comes from a car chassis and doesn't have filling removing my hard suspension -as few safety features as they can get away with , and sky high prices - oh and where transits are concerned a worryingly quick ability to rust out at 8years old....
When we need a van and the payload that affords -we shall take my van.
Do keep up the stereotypical rehtoric - keeps the prices down. 3 years old 5000 miles and thousands less than half price. Last one was 15 years old..... Previous one was 12 years old. And neither had easy life's carting engines/gearboxes/building materials/people/bikes road trips to the Alps.only non routine issue I had was a torsion bar in rear axle snapped last year after 13 years of service . Which resulted in a low rider stance till I replaced it on a Saturday morning.
My last vw (golf)had never ending electrical issues due to leaking tail gate /high level brake light /blocked scuttle /blocked sunroof drains and the rear wash wipe popped off.....
And it wasn't the electrics that killed it -it was the plastic impeller on the waterpipes that wiped out the engine.
But it's ok -twas well engineered.
2009 Renaultsport Twingo 133. Ok it only does 3-4K per year, but every mile brings a smile. Plastics are gash, but it takes a race bike with just the front wheel off, is fun to drive and so far, reliable. The radio does seem to have a mind of its own with regards to buttons. But it does connect via bluetooth (for now)
If you want to try one, it's the Silverstone track car.
Do keep up the stereotypical rehtoric – keeps the prices down.
Being a van with windows keeps the prices down. Being not a car and not as refined as a car keeps the prices down. They're fine for what they are, my sister likes hers.
your french car hatred - not all french cars at berlingos and i dont buy new - its chat like yours that makes depreciation on french cars high which means i pick up barely used ones for a much higher % off of new price than other vehicles.
i think youll find the term is car derived van 😉 they have come along way with the b9 model range. sure its not an audi so will never be accepted on here but at what it does - its better than all the other options - bikes on racks are for suckers.
Chickenman have a look at the reports on the most common cars to have failed the 1st MOT, French cars tend to fail more often than the equivalent models from other countries
My first and last French car caught fire. It is a lasting regret that I put it out rather than let the useless heap of junk burn out.
trail_rat
Member
'....and sky high prices...'
What you actually mean is 'normal prices'. What you are buying is cheaply made, badly engineered crap compared to everything else, hence the low price. Some more rhetoric there to keep the prices down for you, you should be pleased :-).
You don't half read some shite on here 6 french cars in and not really had any bother with any of them. Work with plenty of guys who buy expensive cars that have problems as for MOT failures that could be down to owner maintenance not the actual cars. So what do you buy a BM (crap in bad weather) a VAG car (after the way they have treated everyone over dieselgate I doubt it) Mercedes (overpriced for what they are) look at older German cars v French and the Germans are all rusting round the arches but stick with your stereotypes its cheap cars for me.
.........or just buy Volvo. Galvanised, swallow bikes, old man image so therefore cheap, brilliant engineering/thoughtful design.
My sister in law and her husband would beg to differ .On that statement. They lease an XC60 and have had nothing but trouble with it. But obviously it's well engineered trouble 😆
I knew my OP would kick up some heated comments. It's so weird how folk get protective over where a lump of metal is from and how some stereotypes stick .
@falkirk 🙂
OP yes indeed, I love my German cars but the truth is the Japanese cars I have owned have been super reliable and I would say owners of German (or indeed Swedish) cars who thumb their noses at French cars should be a bit careful - the reliability surveys don’t lie and Greman cars trail the Japanese by a good margin. Yes indeed I would prefer a German car over a French (ot Italian) one but I could easily see myself with something like a 308SW as a bike/outdoor car. I should add my dream garage would have a 2CV van (chamionette) in it, the ones with the corrigated sides and rounded roof.