I have an s-max. Lease is about to expire with option to buy it. Tempted to buy it but fancy a van instead, but not sure. Would be cheaper and less hassle to keep the s-max.

I want swivel seats in the front and some sort of picnic table option and maybe somewhere to boil a kettle. Use it as a day van, i think.

Could i achieve this with an s-max. Anyone got an ideas on how to convert an s-max to a day van?

Interested in large MPV vs van talk, as someone needing a much larger load space than my Golf. But ideally car suspension etc.

I suspect you’d need galaxy/sharan sized vehicle for swivel seats?

Well an SMax. is going to be smaller and lower inside, what about a Galaxy as an in between both are potentially cheaper given that van prices especially VW’s have gone through the roof, with even glitter rolled turds teaching crazy prices.

Saying that I’ve got a van as a daily driver….it’s awesome so I’m no help…

Ex ford dealer technician here, seen it done in the galaxies but never to an s-max. I’d assume its to do with the difference in headroom. FWIW, the galaxies i had seen converted were usually ex-motability vehicles that alot of the time had ramped wheelchair access to the rear. Always thought to myself it would be a great idea to turn one into a bike car

An s max is a people carrier. No one chooses to have one of those. You’re forced into it but other factors

A van is a van. They’re tools for work, but are also awesome and used/loved by many

Yes I’m biased as I have a van, but I can’t bring myself to ever buy a people carrier. Even with three kids and a dog

Not the time to buy a van unless you really need one IMO.

@benp1 Yes, I was indeed forced into having a S-max 🙂

Had a Hyundai Trajet (big Galaxy size seven seater) with bed in the back, fridge, room for bikes etc.
Have a hired a Toyota Previa converyed to a camper, bed, table, cooker fridge etc.
Have had a SWB Transit and now have LBB Transit.
Van wins every time.
.
Also surprised you think a van would be more expensive. My 2.0 Trajet petrol did 25mpg. My SWB 2.0 Transit did 39 and my 2.2 LWB does 32. Tax and insurance both cheaper for the Van’s and parts are ubiquitous and cheap. Ferries cost more and the LWB can be a pain to park

VW touran owner here, and we previously had the use of a camper van.

I think ultimately it depends on your personal situation, what you need to use it for, how much space you have for parking and so on.

We are a family of 4 who live in a Victorian terrace in a city, busy street for parking, no drives etc.
We barely have a need for one vehicle (everyone cycles or walks to work or school) so two is definitely overkill.

For us, although it was nice to try out the camper van (not day van) it was pretty impractical compared to our touran. And within that I’d class going away camping. I much prefer the touran. 4 up was too many in the camper even with an extra small tent. Not much space for gear, and a pain in the arse having to pack stuff up if you actually wanted to drive anywhere.
With the touran it is a lot better – lots of space to pack gear in – especially because we have a trailer. Once the tent is pitched (does not take long) then the car is still usable.

Vans are more expensive, harder to park, sometimes less comfortable. How many trips do you really need all that space for? (For us, not many)

So overall for our situation, I think touran wins as a single vehicle solution.

If we had more space, or had a need for 2 vehicles, I’d consider a van as one of them though

Ex Galaxy owner here.

I think Smax and Galaxy are superb. Comfortable, economical, safe, huge. Perfect for lugging family around in and sleeping on the perfectly flat and carpeted rear with the seats down. Pretty reliable. Comical amount of space compared to our previous car a Touran.

They are not however a van.

And a day van with twist round seats and table is likely a step up in size again to Custom/T5/Traffic.

Then again, if you’re determined to have a camper/day van, everything is possible.
My dad has this as his camper/day van. Yes that is pop top roof, full bed and kitchen.

Had a van, sold it and bought a galaxy (fuglier s-Max) whilst it’s a better vehicle on paper, I miss my van. I’d have it back tomorrow. Buy a van!

SMax doesn’t make a good bike van. You can only fit two bikes in the back up right with their front wheels off and droppers down…and would probably struggle with a large frame and definitely an extra large frame. Once bikes are in there is precious little space and they take up all the rear space and a PITA to get in and out and you have the same issue of dirty bikes in a nice car interior. Galaxy is only 52mm longer…based on same floorpan as SMaX So that length wont be interior space and even if it is its not really going to change things. You get a bit more height in a Galaxy, but again not enough to make a difference.

Great vehicles if the bikes are outside the car either on roof bars or tow bar mounted rack, but not if you want the bikes inside.

Had car with rack

Bought van without rack.

Kids

Bought van with windows seats and a rack.

Bought bigger van with no rack.

Would I go back to a car …..couldn’t pay me enough. A smaller van yes but car. No chance.

I have an Smax, it’s a freakin awesome car, can fit shit loads of stuff in there. Bikes however don’t go in that well.

I’m gonna buy a van.

I’ve had both. Van wins (T5).

How about a small van based mpv?

Grand tourneo connect handles well apparently with ford car front suspension. New Rifter/lingo/combo life also have car based suspension at the rear and come in lwb.

I have a T5 and wouldn’t go back. People say it must be difficult to park but I point out it is the same length as a Mondeo and About 4 inches longer than an S max. Also because it has a sliding door, it’s easier to get in and out of in a cramped car park.

VW touran owner here, and we previously had the use of a camper van.

WAnna buy an internal bike rack?

New Rifter/lingo/combo life also have car based suspension at the rear

So did the old ones.

An s max is a people carrier. No one chooses to have one of those.

#Judgementalcockalert

Which people carrier have you got then? 😁

Yeah, sounds like a van is the best option then. Slide door would be really useful too.

Thinking of getting a small/mid runabout as well so will use the van for big trips which would make everyday use less of a issue.

That is amazing @matt_outandabout!

Thanks STW:)

I’ve had a T5 and an Alhambra people carrier. The T5 was hardly any wider and in fact was easier to park as the turning circle was significantly tighter than the tank. The S Max is a step down in size compared to the Alhambra which also had sliding doors. Now have a Grand Picasso which with 3 small kids is way to small for our needs. Anyone selling a T5 Kombi? 😆

The size of these people carriers are deceptive and alot of people think the SMax is a ‘small’ people carrier. It’s not. The Alhambra is exactly the same size as an SMax and Galaxy. SMax roofline tapers down towards the back so you lose headroom but Galaxy has a squarer back end with more headroom so more suited to adults being in the 6th and 7th seat as those seats are higher off the floor.

Nah, the Smax has a much smaller boot than the Alhambra. Also compare the rear 2 seats – the Alhambra actually gives more foot room than the second row of seats.

I had a smax – and have moved on to a ford tourneo custom – short wheel base.

The smax was great – but the lack of hight in the back meant carrying bikes inside was a pain. and with growing child – bikes were getting bigger.

So we got a tourneo with 8 seats ( 2 up front so we can walk through)
The rear 3 seats hardly live in the van and i realise i could have the transit version – but the tourneo comes with full aircon and windows and can do car speeds – not van speed limits.

Now bikes can go in the ‘boot’ – to get 4 bikes in a front wheel has to be removed… but thats no drama.

The only issue i have had is trying to park in multi story car parks – as it is taller than a VW or transit.. so be warned.. sometime height barrier at car parks are a scrape

Nah, the Smax has a much smaller boot than the Alhambra. Also compare the rear 2 seats – the Alhambra actually gives more foot room than the second row of seats.

*digs out boot size spreadsheet*

behind the middle row of seats, a galaxy is 1236mm and a sharan is 1240mm (basically the saem) – an smax is only 1209mm – so a couple of cm in it. height wise though the smax is a good 10cm lower than the other 2. a t6 is actually shorter behind the middle row (according to ridc – they may have just slid the row forwards?) – 1075mm, but way higher (10cm), wider (10cm) and longer (50cm) behind the front seats.

the fact is, with all these cars being about the same length and having an engine at the front (as opposed to under floor, or electric) – they’ll all end up with roughly the same dimensions inside.

Another point to bare in mind is speed limits. Van speed limits are lower on A roads and dual carriageways (50 and 60) respectively and it is no longer simple to change them. My camper is now stuck with the lower limits since they shifted the goal posts. Most of the time I don’t care but there are times such as the single carriageway bits of the North Devon Link Road that you can cause quite a tailback. The static cameras can’t tell the difference (yet!) but the mobile units can and do. It’s worth thinking about if you are buying a van to convert. Something like a caravelle would be registered as a car. Not sure about combis though.

My T5 with roof bars fits in most multi-stories provided they allow for 2.1m.

My t6 kombi is classed as a dual purpose vehicle. There’s a long thread on the t6 forum so normal speed limits for me.

Mines a factory t32 kombi with dsg. 4 motion would probably make me too heavy but I just creep under the weight and am fine on the other things (windows/seats)

Mine is on standard wheels and suspension. I can get under a 2m height barrier

Ah ok about the speed limits. Didn’t know about that, something else to consider.

Get a van , everything else is a poor compromise.

If it’s a toss up between car/MPV or van, the Tourneo Connect is worth considering. We’ve got the Grand, and can get our tandem and a couple of other bikes in the back (the double seat folded) without removing wheels, saddles etc. Or a few bikes and a good amount of luggage. As it’s the car version, there’s sound deadening and there’s a sliding door on each side and subject to car speed limits. It cruises happily at the speed limit, and last year I did 3 round trips from Perthshire to Sussex quite comfortably – the dogs’ toilet needs being the main limit on time between breaks.

Get a van , everything else is a poor compromise.

I’d get an MPV derived from a van.

All the upsides of a van, but with windows and seats when you need it.

The only downside I think is if you wanted to convert it then insulating it would be more of a faff as you’ve got nice (relatively) trim to remove then decide if you’re going to replace or just ply/carpet.

In general the “car” versions have much lower tax and insurance too (some years the same Berlingo gets either £30 car tax or £275 comerical vehicle tax!).

The “downside” of cars is all the carpets to get muddy, but that varies by model, and you can often buy molded rubber liners for the footwells anyway.

The “downside” of it looking like a van is other people treat it like a van. No one offers to take muddy boots/clothes off before getting in (including me TBH) so the interior looks trashed 24/7.