Running a vw t5 van as a family car? any experiences ..

Thinking of getting a t5 van to use as the one and only family car in the household.

Do any of you have any experience of doing this and give me the pro’s and cons of doing it??

Anything to look out for when buying one?

cheers

Steve

Are you buying new or 2nd hand?
We run a T5 Kombi and is perfect for 3 small kids in seats, dog, buggy, bikes, surfboards etc. Its a 1.9 tdi 102ps and is pretty economical. Just beware of high mileage that haven’t had the clutch and dmf replaced, driveshaft, dpf etc. Great multi purpose vehicle

Hi mate.

will be buying second hand.

I want one as the two lads wnat to take their bikes everywhere now and even though we have an estate car we still seem to have it packed to the limit just for a weekend visit to the in laws.

There is also a chance I am being posted to north scotland so thinking it will be far comfier than a normal car for the travel down when we visit.

We also have a do and he comes with us when ever we go any where so it limits the space we have in the boot.

I was told about a driveshaft problem that happens on most of the 1.9 ones??

yes i do, but its more a functional thing as i surf and, cliche as it is, you really can’t do better than a van.

mine is a 1.9 85psi, had it converted although did the carpeting/flooring myself and fitted the cooker, its now worth more than i paid and although i don’t camp that often when i do it is utter delight. brilliant on a run to be able to stop and make a decent coffee rather than pay silly cash for a lukewarm late.

engine wise its fine for cruising, bit underpowered on big hills, 30-35’ish mpg. no probs to drive day in day out.

only thing i would say is that mostly i run kids to school and stuff, 5 mile runs, i am seriuosly considering buying an older micra or something wih 50mpg and cheap road tax for that sort of stuff. over a year not a huge saving maybe, but day to day it will cost me less at the pump and easier to drive/park/avoid school run mums who have left their brain at home.

It’s the clutch and dmf that’s expensive. you’d probably pick up an 07 KOMBI with 80/90k miles for about £10k. Just check what seats are in it if its not a factory Kombi as there’s cheap ways of throwing seats and side Windows in em. I would say avoid the 85 ps too as its a bit overpowered. You can tell when the drive shaft is worn as they clunk when you put them in gear. A worn dmf will normally start with a vibration then start to chatter sa it gets worse.

85 ps is underpowered *stupid predictive text

Get a 85 and have it mapped to 140

Is there a way of telling if it has factory seats or not?

With regards to the side Windows can you get them so they open?

Is there an ideal engine to go for?

Should I be put off by higher mileage ones and what it the rough cost of getting the clutch and dmf done?

Don’t get opening side windows they WILL leak
Go for the 1.9 much more reliable than the 2.5 in t5 guise …and cheaper to service and fix

I’d love a T5 but the Wife just wont go there. 😕

We do have a Galaxy though, bought for the same reasons as you. Ease of carrying bikes, kids in/out etc. Take out the rear seats the boot is huge. Take the middle seat out & it carries even adult bikes upright with wheels on. We usually take a camping cooker on picnics. The big tailgate gives a great covered area, plus the front seats turn 180deg. Just a thought in case, like me, a van is a step too far for the wife.
I honestly think that if we tried one the Wife would be up for it. We tow a big caravan so it would be ideal for that also.

I have a T5. Things to watch out for in my experience:

– DMF giving up spectacularly (although this could happen to a car!)
– Road tax can be more than most modern cars (mine is £240ish)
– Insurance can be more (for me anyway, more than double what I was paying to insure a car with the same power / value)
– MPG is lower. Mine is the 1.9 104 and does 40mpg MAX on a good day (calculated from fuel receipts / mileage)
– If it’s classed as a commercial vehicle (which mine is) then you can get stung on some ferries & tolls (Calmac are OK, they treat it as a car but you can’t get “touring” tickets)
– Not as much fun / slower on windy roads in Scotland

Other than that happy days, couldn’t be doing with a car now.

The wife has already said they look massive and she cant take one shopping to sainsburys etc.

Im hoping a test drive would change her mind on that !

show us some pics of your vans then !

Have a look on the T4/T5 Forum. loads of info on these vans.
full of freindly helpfull people.

I’ve had a Galaxy 4 people 4 bikes in with wheels on, easier to drive than a T5.
But I love my T5 go for a caravelle if you can find one, thats what I got came with captains seats and a Webasto blown air heater

Missus and D1

Van and a hill

They are a piece of pee to drive.. Really quite refined for a van. You get a much better view as you are sat up higher. You just have to remember the wheelbase is a bit longer and not to cut corners with gateposts etc. I dont think you can really grumble at 40mpg either.
Factory kombi will have the removable rear seats which are a 2 and a 1.. they will have rectangular block type things that the seats fit into on the floor. Watch out for the double front seat fitted into the rear.
You can properly retro fit a panel van into a kombi but the seats can be quite expensive.

They actually very “car like” to drive, more so than many other vans. The clutch and gears are quite light.

As for Sainsburys’, a T5 short wheel base fits in a standard space. My girlfriend drives mine no bother and has never driven a van before.

We’re getting rid of an old 2.4 V6 (C240) Mercedes and I’m going to stop using my Discovery II (Landmark Edition with all the bells and whistles), as our primary car.
Nothing exciting in that…
However with the saving on fuel of £200 per month, (both did around 24mpg), we’re lease hiring a brand new A3 Sportback for free (67.5mpg claimed combined cycle). In fact by putting the A3 through our business it only works out at around £180pcm.

My point is that for everyday transport, a T5, (nice wheels in my opinion) doesn’t make financial sense…

Sparky spice.

I can see your point on that however we have a Mazda 6 estate already and that isn’t doing much better than 40mpg so if I can get that out of a van than I would be happy.

we still seem to have it packed to the limit just for a weekend visit to the in laws.

Maybe learn how to take less stuff? 🙂 Or put bikes on the roof/back.

I had a hire van for 2 weeks, no way I’d have one as a normal driver. It was spartan, noisy, annoying to drive (and I normally love vans) and 85 ps was a joke. Underpowered AND only got me 35mpg if I was lucky.

On the other hand I also hired a Galaxy, and it was lovely. A really nice drive, way more comfortable, 170ps was great and it did 45mpg. The inside was a bit plasticy being Ford, but still miles better than the van.

go for a caravelle if you can find one

Aren’t they £££££ though?

I can see your point on that however we have a Mazda 6 estate already and that isn’t doing much better than 40mpg so if I can get that out of a van than I would be happy.

I could maybe have got 40mpg on a long trip but I can get 60mpg from my Passat, so if you can only get 40mpg from your 6 I suspect you won’t get close in a van.

We have a T5 Kombi and a Fiat 500. Thinking of selling the 500 to save a bit of cash, and because the van can do anything. It’s an absolute joy to drive, even for little old female me 😉

I had an 06 Kombi 130 for 6 years and it was ace.

Driveshafts go at 60k on older ones, no drama tho. Original side windows rubbish.

Only sold it as I thought I was leaving the country for most of the year and I got a much cheaper car.

Id have( and do have) a van over a car any day of the week

It wouldnt be a vw but it would be about that size if i changed from my pug partner.

Your audi might do 67mpg but my van takes 5 bikes or a load of rubble to the tip or a sofa to my mates or move house with it or go pick up a heap o materials – building or sheet/bar steel from the supplier – easy to convince em your trade as well 😉

I had my bike on the top of the mazda and I just didnt like it at all, really didnt feel comfortable driving round bends with it up there !!

T-r +1

Go for the 1.9 much more reliable than the 2.5 in t5 guise

That’s cobblers to be fair, owners of 1.9’s think they’re more reliable, owners of 2.5 think theirs are. In reality there’s good and bad ones of both, and lots of things vary as to which is the best. I’ve a 2.5 130 btw 😉

I have a 1.9 85 bhp 53 reg T5 and had new clutch and DMF with full VW service when I got it as svs history was only average but I must say from an engine point of view after having this done it starts first time every time and I only drive it every couple of weeks.

I’d have loved one with a bigger engine but a simple tune would sort that 🙂

Blazin-saddles …ha ha the difference of opinion from 1.9 drivers to 2.5 drivers 😆

I’ve got a Caravelle T5 2.0 Btdi 180 (very quick for the size) with DSG and its easily the best car Ive ever had, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have some very nice cars. My last car was a new XC90 and the T5 is better in every way (apart from snow, should have got 4 motion).

Pleasure to drive, been to the alps twice, drive it every day and gets around 34mpg. Massive inside, children love the space. Wish I’d have bought one years ago.

Have been using a T4 camper van as the second family car for the last 5 years. Not been a problem, arguably more fuel efficient than the landrover freelander. Handy for the space when you need it (just pull out the seats), nice driving position. bit noisy, kids love it, v good manoeuvrability, Does look a bit crap pulling up to a business meeting in it I should think (problem for the wife, not me 🙂 )

I am going to be retiring it to the garage this spring as I want to limit the miles that get put on it as I want it to last as a family holiday mobile for another 10 years. The Mrs will then get the freelander and I can get myself a defender.

I had my bike on the top of the mazda and I just didnt like it at all, really didnt feel comfortable driving round bends with it up there !!

Drive slower? Put it on the back?

It’s definitely useful to have a van, for sure, but I wouldn’t put ‘inability to pack light’ as a good reason 🙂 I’d rather have a normal car and a trailer tbh.

As I said, I have a Discovery for loading up with kit or rubble sacks.
I also have a 5 berth 7metre motor home with a roof rack big enough for 5 kayaks, a Fiamma 3 bike rack plus a tow bar for more bikes or trailer, (I also have 4 trailers up to 5m in length).
Neither of which I wish to use “as the one and only family car in the household”, for anything above 10 000 miles P.A..
I realise that a T5 can move sofas, (although you can’t get one into our local tip), and is good for lugging stuff inside and out.

HOWEVER…
As for running a T5 as a family car, you could probably get another car with the fuel savings by not using it day in day out. Plus a small family car shouldn’t have as high service costs and it would give greater family flexibility. So why not have both?
With fuel expected to rise to £2/litre in the next few years, vehicle mpg should not be an after thought.
Just chucking in my two pennies Trail Rat!

Thanks for the replies so far, they have give me a lot to think about.

FWIW I dont have an inability to pack light. I have to growing lads, a springer that needs a cage and all the paraphernalia that goes with us all. As you can imagine things get a bit cramped even in a reasonably large estate car like the 6.

WE are also thinking of doing some camping in france and have seen a nice awning/tent that goes onto the side of the t5.

which would be better the swb or lwb?

Tbh swb……….. the disadvantages out weigh the advantages on the lwb

erm … what does that mean??

EDIT.. just re read that !!

cheers

steve

We’ve got a T5 Multivan as our family car and we love ours. Only trouble is that so do car thieves in this part of the world and our last one got nicked two months ago. They are fine to drive, no real difference to a car and as said being higher up is something you will soon love about it. If you have the standard wheel base version they are no longer than a standard estate car but they are slightly wider. I would recommend getting parking sensors if they aren’t fitted as the rear is completely unsighted when reversing.

the T5 is better in every way (apart from snow, should have got 4 motion

You don’t need a 4motion. I’ve got the same van and winter tyres transform them. I’ve been in lots of taxis in Sweden & Finland in winter and they hammer around on winter treads. Conti Vaneos fitted to ours are awful in snow.

We went from a Lexus 4wd to the velle. Its nowhere near as refined but its very good. Its a brilliant family vehicle but its only 35 MPG tops (MPG isn’t the 180s strong point), normally ~29. My wife uses it all the time & the parking sensors are pretty handy.

And another SWB T5 Kombi owner here…

Just done a 760 mile day from Edinburgh – Fontainebleau. Very comfy, 33mpg @ 70 mph av as per trip computer. Great vehicle, very car like with the footprint of a estate car.

Offside driveshaft prone to fail, its a warranty item
Possibly fragile dmf clutch but VW is not the only one with this
1.9 poss more reliable / economical than 2.5 but the jury is out
£225 ish tax, Factory kombi not bound by van speed limits
Loads of info on the T4 / T5 forum

If your local to Edinburgh and want a look, just shout,

Rick

Getting giddy about picking up a nearly new VW California Beach 114 Bluemotion on Saturday. It’ll be used as a daily driver but I work from home and will probably use Mrs’ car a bit more to avoid sticking unnecessary miles on it. It has parking sensors…

What is classed as the kombi then?

Is it the van with the second row of seats?

Watching with interest… 😈