Hey its got fifty-four bhp at the wheels. The world spins faster at my traffic light drag race-starts

Go for the middle way – so instantly forgettable you’ll wonder where you parked it. Cheap and reliable too, so forgettable in positive ways also.

I present – the Toyota Verso (or Corolla Verso).

I have one. I think?

This thread is very timely! Was pretty set on just getting another Mondeo Estate, but my head has been turned. Off to look at a few options this evening.

Cheers hjghg5 for the info.

I do like the Amdro set up, but given i spent £500 on the van, I am not spending £1500 on the conversion!

I am building my own – more suited to carrying bikes too, will be in two parts, for single and double bed.

The length is good if you push the front seats forwards and have a board that extends over the rear seats a little.

I am 6′ and would have no issues sleeping length ways.

Pics as & when I’ve completed the build!

brassneck – Member

Go for the middle way – so instantly forgettable you’ll wonder where you parked it. Cheap and reliable too, so forgettable in positive ways also.

I present – the Toyota Verso (or Corolla Verso).

Got one as well, very, very dull car makes me drive like an oap 😀 I thought of them when I saw this thread, with the rear seats out it’s a reasonable impression of a van, but I still have a hankering for a combo van or something similar.

did you spell it out as it looked like more than when you wrote 54 😉

its all about torque anyway 🙂

I think it has sixty-five-pounds (LB’s) of gearbox wrecking sheer force. 8)

Bow down to my awesome beast (etc)

Its a good job it weighs the same as plastic cup otherwise I’d be in trouble.

So which is the best one to look for, Berling/Partner or Kangoo and which engine is the best to live with on a daily basis, most reliable, economical?

I too was looking at a mondeo estate but I think I may have be turned 😕

mondeo estate

I like quirky cars, a bit of character. A grey-dull car is just like a fridge/freezer. It does a job. You don’t think about it until it breaks. I’d rather have something abit odd/different/unusual tbh. They all break the same. Plus I never buy cars for the neighbours benefit. Neighbour says to me ‘you used to have a really nice Legacy Sportswagon and went to a C1, why’?! Just. 8)

I have refurbed Fraser Brown rear axle assembly on my Berlingo. I think it was £380, but it has a lifetime warranty. When did you last see that on a car part?

TBH the ride height wasn’t correct when first fitted, but it was easily sorted.

What does that do, TW?

I got my rear axle from Fraser Brown too, and mine was set wrong too, I had to get mine changed and while he was happy to exchange it he didn’t want to pay what my mechanic charged for fitting, all ok tho as he got one of his lads to do it. How did you get yours sorted TW? I’d still like mine higher TBH.
Mine was £360 but with vat and delivery nearer £500

The axle – is it a common problem?

I believe it is yes, apparently they have no lubricant from the factory and no way of putting any in,Fraser Brown packs his with grease, and fits grease nipples to top it up. And as TW said, he gives them a lifetime warranty.

The garage who fitted it, Stewart & Smart in Milnathort, adjusted the splines on the torsion bar to raise it. George was worried that it would be a PITA, but as it was freshly refurbed apparently it was a doddle. It was the most shiny part of my car for a while… Fraser Brown must have covered the cost, as George didn’t charge me. It was raised by 3 splines though. As soon as I saw the car after the initial fitting I could see it was too low at the back, and sitting in the driver’s seat felt like I was in a recliner.

Hora: The axle has a life expectancy of around 60,000 miles, and a refurbed unit from FB is cheaper and better than another 60,000 mile unit from Citroen/Peugeot.

02 reg Kangoo here,disability converted, ramp and everything!
Only got 3 seats, bikes fit with wheels and I recently moved house for my son with it.
Cost? £200, 8months MOT but needed front and rear brakes doing which cost another £100 😆

What’s not to like?

Cheers how do you spot one on its way out? Speed bumps?

Rear wheels tilt inwards on buggered axles

The collapsing rear axle is common across the older Citroen/Peugeot range. The beam pivots on needle roller bearings inside the tube, eventually water gets in and it’s downhill from there. The Pug 205 guys all fit grease nipples to their axles, pump a slug in every now and then and it’s not a problem.

Good tip that biscuit – any how toos about it – knowing me id drill too deep or do i have to strip the axel off to do it :/

Never done one myself but I gather it’s best to do it when the axle is apart as it’s being refurbished, but possible to do it in situ.

There’s 2 needle bearings each side, obviously you want to fit your grease nipple in between them.

Ill have a googleroo at work the morn. Got a nice big dirty grease gun for doing ujs on te jeep – what a couple more nipples 😉

This is what FB does. Basically fills the whole arm with grease, so get a LOT of grease, and get pumping…

Think I am probably looking at a 2.0HDI(£50 a year less to tax than the 1.4 petrol!) Partner in an approx 2003 vintage based on my searching so far.

Not sure whether to go older- lower milage, or newer-higher milage, seems plenty around with rocket ship miles so they seem to last but not sure which is the best option

Rav4 – @hora and @trailrat

We had a W reg and with seats out you have a flat floor and bike went in standing no problem with front wheel off. We had ours from 6 months old to 10 years and hardly spent anything. We had the exhaust sensor problem, after one change under extended warranty it came up again and after checking online forums I changed the car battery and never had the problem again. I wish we’d never sold it, guy who has it now says its still going strong.

I could buy a Partner, neighbours has one and it looks a good car for biking/general haulage to the tip/kids to uni etc but if I had the money I’d pay the extra for an old rav4 again.

Thank you- worth noting. One problem with the Rav now is pricing… as its coming upto winter all sellers say ‘get ready for winter’ etc and pop up their prices sadly. Great time to buy an MX5 though!

We’ve just got rid of our Berlingo’s at work. Rear axles went on both. One had 80k on the clock, the other had 45k.

With all the stuff out the back of it, one of them looked really bad, and since knowing about the problem, the number of them you see with the nearside rear tilting in is amazing. Shame as the rest of the van was tidy and the engine was spot on.

bike will go in a mk3 fiesta with the front wheel out standing up.

with a berlingo 3 large 29ers will go in stood up with nothing removed – dont even have to lower the saddle and no risk of scratched bikes.

My buddys got a v reg rav 4 its painfully small inside comparitively. the boot floor on the blingo is much lower due to lack of drive gubbings under the boot floor.

for any other blingo / partner owners

http://fcf.shalish.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=30148

found that – will have a go at it this weekend or next i suspect once i get the fronteras rear x-member MOT worthy.

Well, I gone and dun boughtened another Mondeo Estate.

Went to Car Giant and sat in and played with a bunch of big estates, and a Blingo.

Most estates just aren’t quite as wide inside as the Mondeo, even if they’ve got the same space – it’s handy to be able to blow up a full size double air bed mattress inside. Skoda superb is bigger inside but there’s a lip, and a dip to the folded seats, so the space isn’t not as usable

The Berlingo was quite nice. It smelled a lot of air freshener and a little of wee – not common to all examples, I’m sure. Not world-class comfy inside, and because you’re sitting upright, to moderate the throttle you’re lifting your foot off the floor, having your shin muscles constantly working. In a more laid back standard car position and your leg’s a lot more relaxed. I’d like a weekend tryout in one, sounds like people are won over by the practicality.

In the end we needed a car in a hurry, we found a nice Mondeo (grey, natch!) for a decent price, 12 month Skoda warranty (part-exed at Skoda dealership), no smell of wee and a towbar – so no mithering about how much to spend on that, and no more carting the trials bike tipped over on its side in the back.

I like the look of the mondeos, but for me (early twenties) insurance would be double that of the berlingo etc.

hopefully will have the money ready and buy one in november

I like quirky cars, a bit of character. A grey-dull car is just like a fridge/freezer. It does a job. You don’t think about it until it breaks. I’d rather have something abit odd/different/unusual tbh. They all break the same.

I like something that’s nicely thought out, good at what I want it for, comfortable, economical and reliable. Something that does a job, that I don’t have to think about until it breaks. It’s a benefit that the mondeo is relatively fun to drive. Sometimes things are popular* for a reason, and commonality has benefits (cheap parts, experience).

*ubiquitous/common as muck

Whereabouts are you Wiggles? My Berlingo will be up for sale in a couple of weeks or so.

Newport in south Wales but can travel for the right car, send me a price and some details to Alex.j.probert AT Gmail.com 🙂

Orange crush I could be interested. Rear axle ok? Where are you based?

I’m in Edinburgh if that’s of any use.

For the right car I’d get a train anywhere tbh. For me, 8hours of travelling is worth 1yrs of hassle-free/good motoring use.

Berlingo Multispace. Bike + Bed = sorted.

I’ve just bought one of these. Yep its uglier but quieter too on long jaunts and it has this load space with removable seats:

http://www.whatcar.com/car-reviews/used/citroen/xsara-picasso-mpv/pictures/23564-7?mediaId=3479

a nice low short load space there in the picasso.

ill stick to me pope mobile thanks.

i liek that bed – your front seats right forward yeah ?