The ultimate MTB transport

checked it on gocompare and its returning as a 150. I didn’t think they did a 4motion 150 though. Wouldn’t be the first time VW have incorrectly registered a vehicle.

On DVLA website it shows as 172g co2 emissions which equates to a 204 4motion of that era, so yeah it’s registered weirdly!

[/url]

Quite enjoy my 2006 Subaru Outback for bike transport when needed. It’ll 3x cx bikes inside along with 3 adults and kit if needed. Or our tern gsd and a kids bike and camping kit. Actually more practical than the t3 Doka due to covered over aspect. Also 26mpg from the Subaru vs around 22mpg for the t3. It’s also really satisfying when an ignorant motorist harps on at me for cycling on the road and ‘road tax’ to point out that I pay around a grand a year in VED so they can take their outdated ideas and do one.

£32k and this is all he could be bothered writing about it;

“Blue, 2 owners, £32,000
Vehicle registered: 26/05/2016”

and it’s in Merseyside and the seller is wearing white AirMax and trackybottoms…..*

*Other stereotypes are available

£32k and this is all he could be bothered writing about it;

“Blue, 2 owners, £32,000
Vehicle registered: 26/05/2016”

and it’s in Merseyside and the seller is wearing white AirMax and trackybottoms…..*

*Other stereotypes are available

Yeah there is something not quite right about the ad. The first owner was obviously a little old lady as it was doing 3k between MOTs!

So if Merseyside isn’t too far, how about Northern Ireland? 🤨

For a bloody lovely T6.1 in an awesome blue, maybe not! LED’s, check. ACC, check. Digital dash and 6.1 upgrades, check! *Checks ferry prices

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202303155269748?atmobcid=soc3

I’ve got a history of buying vehicles from NI, my Aprilia motorbike came from there too…

^ooooh that’s nice!

Those photos of the one in Merseyside were taken in New Brighton about 10 minutes from me.
I don’t mind popping to have a look if that’s any help?

Those photos of the one in Merseyside were taken in New Brighton about 10 minutes from me.
I don’t mind popping to have a look if that’s any help?

Cheers for the offer – logistically I’m going to need to buy a car from a dealer and part ex mine so anything private isn’t going to be any good. Someone else might be interested though – it’s a very decent price and could be genuine…

Update/non update on this, I’m still looking 🫤

Also this thread might be interesting reading for @jonba

Haven’t actually managed to find a caravelle local to me to have a look round/sit in/measure up but there’s one (out of my price range) that I’ll hopefully be able to look at this weekend.

There are 2 vehicles that have come up at the same dealer (2 hrs away) with the spec I want (no 2nd heater, I’d be waiting months for one to come up with that specced) – a 2019 150Tdi with 38k for £45k, which is right at the very limit of what I can spend, but is the age and mileage I’d want. And a 2016 204BiTdi 4Motion with 60k for £40k which is a bit older and higher mileage than I’d want…

Part ex price they’ve given is £16k which is about £1-1.5k less than I was hoping for too.

If the older one was £36/38k I’d be very tempted but at £40k it makes little sense to save only 11% to get something 7 years old Vs 4 years old. That’s a big age difference.

I’m slightly tempted to hold out and (unless something perfect comes up) wait until autumn when prices (which are already falling a bit) should have dropped by a few k, I’ll have more money saved up, and I might be able to get a 2020 t6.1 for a grand or 2 more than the 2019 t6 above.

You could hold out till the Autumn but you need to factor in that you will have missed a summer of using it. 😉🤔

You could hold out till the Autumn but you need to factor in that you will have missed a summer of using it.

Yeah, that’s another issue! I’ve got 26 days holiday still to take this year (before Dec 31st) which I’m holding off booking anything because if I get a van I

1. Won’t be able to afford 2 or 3 £500-£1000 trips this year, and
2. I’ll be using it to go away camping a lot

But if I don’t get a van this summer I’ll want to book a few trips away to use up my holiday…

Gaaaargh!! 😬🤣

2019 150Tdi with 38k for £45k, which is right at the very limit of what I can spend, but is the age and mileage I’d want. And a 2016 204BiTdi 4Motion with 60k for £40k which is a bit older and higher mileage than I’d want

There’s 2000 miles difference? That’s like 1 trip to France and back or a few weekends away.

There’s 2000 miles difference? That’s like 1 trip to France and back or a few weekends away.

38k miles Vs 60k miles, 22k miles difference 😉

There’s 2000 miles difference?

22,000 miles or over 50% by my maths.

£40k for a leggy, 7 year old van is absolute madness imo – it’s got to be halfway through its serviceable life and will have some big bills on the way, but there you go.

Sorry I read the 40k as miles 😁😁😁

£40k for a leggy, 7 year old van is absolute madness imo – it’s got to be halfway through its serviceable life and will have some big bills on the way, but there you go.

Yeah, whereas the 2019 one is priced about right (for the current market) the older one I’d expect to be a few grand less – the fact it’s a rare 4motion does mean it’s a bit more valuable, but I think it’s about £2k too much. VW main dealer though.

And I’m looking to keep whatever I buy for 5 years, minimum (current car I’ve had for 3.5 years, bought at 2.5 years old) so I don’t really want something that’s going to be well over 10 years old within the time I own it.

I managed to install my second hand Eberspaecher engine pre-heater. It’s -7c overnight here in Austria at the moment and the heater is on a timer to come on for 30 minutes every morning. Works brilliantly.
It’s definitely a doable retrofit.

For the prices you are looking at now, you could keep the skoda for when you have accommodation sorted, and buy an older van for when you want to sleep in it. You are well and truly into mission creep – especially if you are spending so much money that you won’t be able to do the trips you wanted to do.

Spend 2k on a posh pop up roof tent thing for the car you have, leaving lots of spare cash for trips.

For the prices you are looking at now, you could keep the skoda for when you have accommodation sorted, and buy an older van for when you want to sleep in it. You are well and truly into mission creep – especially if you are spending so much money that you won’t be able to do the trips you wanted to do.

I considered this, buying a cheap 4 or 5 grand Berlingo XTR/Partner Teepee, but it would mean driving pretty much everywhere in it, as I honestly only a thousands miles a year, if that, on non MTB related driving. So I’d end up driving the 10hrs to Scotland in a 20 year old car. And the Skoda would be used once a month to drive to the office and back, and the occasional shopping trip.. it would literally get used once every 3 weeks.

And it’s not that I won’t be able to afford the trips, it’s more than I will have just spent 40 grand and so will want to save the coffers for a while afterwards!

Spend 2k on a posh pop up roof tent thing for the car you have, leaving lots of spare cash for trips.

Also considered this, but it didn’t solve a couple of issues I want to solve, that is a lack of accommodation with bike storage, and camping with the bikes out in the open for any scrote to try to nick. A single bike will go in my car with the front wheel off, but with kit it’s a ballache.

Nah, I’m pretty much sold on a van, and I know for a fact I won’t be able to live with one without adaptive cruise control, which basically limits me to either a Ford Tourneo Custom, or a VW Caravelle. Just need to find the right one!!!

Is ACC really worth the 10-15 grand mission creep? I have it on my car and it is good, but it’s not the end of the world (to me at least). I don’t know your personal situation; maybe you are swimming in cash with mortgage paid off etc, in which case perhaps 10-15k is no big deal to you, but that’s a serious chunk of money. Especially when you have a really nice car sat there with a towbar rack already.

Vito Tourers from 2020 could be specced with Distronic (ACC).

I don’t get the adaptive cruise control at all. The number of times I need to change my speed when on cruise, well it’s honestly not that often. Certainly not often enough to restrict my choices. Maybe it’s something you need more when you’ve used it a lot previously. But out of all the possible add-ons, this is one I really don’t get

I don’t get the adaptive cruise control at all. The number of times I need to change my speed when on cruise, well it’s honestly not that often. Certainly not often enough to restrict my choices. Maybe it’s something you need more when you’ve used it a lot previously. But out of all the possible add-ons, this is one I really don’t get

I do a lot of motorway miles and it’s a godsend – one of the first things I look for. Not a deal breaker, but I’ll get it if I can

As a small aside, obvz it depends, but it’s possible to retrofit acc…

Magic car cruise thingy

I don’t get the adaptive cruise control at all. The number of times I need to change my speed when on cruise, well it’s honestly not that often. Certainly not often enough to restrict my choices. Maybe it’s something you need more when you’ve used it a lot previously. But out of all the possible add-ons, this is one I really don’t get

I had a post written out and then the site crashed, but basically yeah it’s an absolute must have for me. If I lived in Scotland with few motorways and even less traffic then maybe not, but I live in the congested south east where traffic is constant and heavy, and anywhere hilly is 3-4 hrs drive away.

Just driving on the M25 without ACC would be annoying on its own, traffic is normally so heavy that you’re always behind someone, or waiting for a gap to overtake, or limited to 60/65mph by just the amount of traffic. It’s very rare you have an empty road ahead and can actually sit at a constant speed. Manual CC is a no unless you want to be adjusting the speed every minute, which then distracts you from driving.

Then there’s slow moving queues, and stop start traffic.. again, normal CC just isn’t suitable for that. ACC You can turn on and only need a tap of the throttle if the car completely stops, otherwise you’re free to concentrate on what the other traffic is doing, watching out for motorbikes filtering etc.

I’ve only had it on my Skoda but it’s a revelation. I still remember driving back from collecting it, a 2.5hr drive in heavy traffic and torrential rain, half of that on the M25 – it felt like I’d done 30 minutes in the car, not the best part of 3 hours. It makes stuff like 10hrs up to Scotland so, so much easier.

Is ACC really worth the 10-15 grand mission creep?

ACC is one thing but over a £32k Peugeot Traveller you are getting more than just that with a £42k Caravelle. And cost wise, it’s about £200 a month extra, over 5 years (loan monthly cost) which I’m lucky enough that I won’t really notice that extra. I’m not swimming in money by any means but I have a decent amount of disposable income left after all my bills have been paid. I’d be looking to clear down any loan within 3-4 years realistically with overpayments. I am aiming to have another 40k saved up in the next 4 years, which this won’t really affect too much, so that probably gives an idea of my financial state. “Comfortable” would be an accurate description. 👍

This has been useful!

I need to play with some vehicles. How the seats fold or can be removed seems key to space. Probably need to measure some bikes too.

This has been useful!

I need to play with some vehicles. How the seats fold or can be removed seems key to space. Probably need to measure some bikes too.

Good, thought it might be! The last couple of pages has turned into a bit of a blog by me, but then I’ve considered probably every single ‘ultimate MTB transport’ out there!

And you’re right – especially in a van based MPV – how the seats can be arranged is crucial, especially if you want to be able to sleep in the van alongside a bike or 2. Of course you could remove them all to be left with basically a van, but that’s neither practical nor easy with some vans. The Caravelle rear bench seat is 100kg+ for instance so that’s a 2 person job, unless you have a trolly made for the job.

I bought my caravelle from these guys several years ago. Mine was 3 years old at the time but with moon and back milage so it was a bargain – it’s probably worth what I paid for it still now – motoring doesn’t get cheaper than that!

Anyway, I found them great to deal with and they’ve specialised in caravelles for years so probably worth a call to see if they can sort you out.

https://www.motors.co.uk/car-65464100/?i=3&m=ds

helicopter. be great for the lakes.

I bought my caravelle from these guys several years ago. Mine was 3 years old at the time but with moon and back milage so it was a bargain – it’s probably worth what I paid for it still now – motoring doesn’t get cheaper than that!

Anyway, I found them great to deal with and they’ve specialised in caravelles for years so probably worth a call to see if they can sort you out.

https://www.motors.co.uk/car-65464100/?i=3&m=ds

Interesting, cheers. They don’t have anything with the right spec at the moment but I’ll keep an eye out – they do seem to have more Caravelles in stock then the entire south east put together!

Just driving on the M25 without ACC would be annoying on its own,

I spend a fair chunk of my working day on the M25 or Motorways in general. Does active cruise not mean you end up speeding up and slowing down with the nodders on Facebook/texting etc?
Not tried it myself. Is it as much of a revelation as a decent Auto box?

I spend a fair chunk of my working day on the M25 or Motorways in general. Does active cruise not mean you end up speeding up and slowing down with the nodders on Facebook/texting etc?
Not tried it myself. Is it as much of a revelation as a decent Auto box?

It does, just means you have to notice when your speed has dropped to 50mph, but it saves the constant speed adjustment on normal CC due to the heavy traffic.

As big a change as an auto box, for sure. I’d never go back to a manual now. Constantly having to feather the clutch or depress it in heavy traffic? Nope.

And with an auto box, if the ACC is one that can stop the car completely, it’s utterly brilliant.

On my Skoda, it will bring the car down to a complete stop, feet fully off the pedals (the first time it does this your butt will be gripping the seat, trust me! 🤣) and then the stop start kicks in. When the car in front moves off the engine starts again and if you’ve been stopped more than 5 seconds the cruise just needs either a tap on the accelerator pedal or a pull of the cruise stalk towards you and it’ll resume itself, again no feet on the pedals required.

Honestly (IMO) ACC is as big an improvement to driving as an auto box, or built in android auto, or climate control. I mean, setting temperature by the means of ‘somewhere between roasting hot and Antarctic’? Nah, if I’m a little chilly I’ll turn it up from 20.5 degrees to 21 degrees, thank you. 😉😁

I don’t think you want a Transit Auto though. Couple of mates have them and get mid 20s… 23-26mpg regularly…. which lets face it, isn’t great.

Hmm, good to know – having owned an auto since 2018 there’s no chance I’m going back to a manual.

For the Caravelle it seems around 35mpg is doable on a long run – figures on the forums are all over the shop, thanks to people with stupid 20″ wheels, or fully loaded camper set ups adding several hundred kg. Most of the caravelles seem to be the 204bhp BiTdi engine too, although not a huge difference to the 150bhp – they’re the same base engine.

I know I’ll have a sizable mpg drop from the easy 50+ mpg I can get with my Superb, I’ve accepted that – but dropping to half that would be a big no. On a long run up to Scotland with the wind behind me and cruising at 65mph I can get 55mpg without any trouble.

I’ve had a Transit Custom auto 130ps 2.0 since new in 2018 (assume we’re talking about Custom rather than bigger Transit here).

It does more long trips than local running around. It’s never dropped below 36mpg and will do 40 on a run. I am light on the throttle though and will do 60 rather than 70 on motorway/DC.

It’s a bit thirstier than equivalent manual I think. I believe 6th gear in the auto is a bit lower than the manual which probably contributes to this.

I managed to have a look inside/take some measurements of a 2019 caravelle today, the step up in interior quality over the stellantis group cars (Traveller/Proace verso/Spacetourer) is, quite frankly, massive. Silly little things like the armrests not having 3 inches of play in them when you have them a waggle. Just a much much nicer place to be, equivalent to my Skoda I’d say, maybe even a bit nicer.

The wires on the heated screen are almost invisible, unless you really focus on them so a non issue over mine without the wires. I swear the 64 plate ford van I drove with one a few years back had much bigger wires.

Size-wise, inside: my Geometron will only go in wheels on with both 2nd and 3rd row out, I knew that already. Front wheel off it’ll go in with the 2nd row slid all the way forward, meaning I can have 3 rear seats in permanently if I’m ok with removing the front wheel each time I want to put it inside (which isn’t exactly a hardship, takes all of 30 seconds).

In case they’re of any use to anyone (all in cm):
2nd row slid fully forwards to boot: 175
2nd row in seating position to boot: 160
2nd & 3rd row removed to boot: 230
Interior Height: 130
Boot width behind seats: 125
Width of one rear captains chair: 50
Width one seat removed plus table width: 75

Even with both rows removed, wheels on it only leaves 20cm behind the driver/passenger seat, so not enough room for a camping pod which are typically around 30-40cm deep. Might be room in front of the 2 seats left in though…

There’s enough room to get 2 bikes in, front wheel off, side by side with the bars turned slightly so that’s ideal for trips when I’d be taking both bikes and sleeping in the van.

I swear the 64 plate ford van I drove with one a few years back had much bigger wires

Not all screens are equal. I’ve had 4 screens in a year and the fitters put a different make screen in each time. They also did varying amounts of damage each time to the bodywork and dash. Also varying degrees of success getting the wipers set correctly.
Vans just don’t seem to get the same respect despite being £30-40k in commercial spec. One of the reasons I’ve never entertained owning a van.

Thread revival time!!

Went to look at a 2018 Caravelle today, had a test drive and I’ve put down a deposit. 😬😮

Should hopefully be able to pick it up in just over a week, next Monday or Tuesday. Just in time for me to go on holiday to the Alps for 11 days!! 🤣

2018 with 43k on the clock, 150bhp TDI, DSG. It has some factory options I was after, including the 2nd leisure battery and air parking heater, electric folding mirrors, app connect. It’s a standard ‘executive’ spec so has the half alcantara/half leather interior, plus the multiflex board and window black out blinds, plus the laminated glass option (which deletes the heated screen, but not needed with the parking heater). It also has a 3 pin plug, and usb/12v sockets fitted running off the 2nd battery, and a camping hookup plug, all professionally fitted, and a Fiamma wind out awning. All in, about £2500 worth of stuff if I wanted to retro fit it mydelf. Oh and a swivel passenger front seat and sliding side windows (yes, I know thay can leak, these look ok, drain holes clear and no signs of any leaks). Its got the LED headlights too.

It’s missing adaptive cruise control BUT after some digging it can be coded back in for £500 so I’ll be getting that done asap. It’s also missing the reversing camera, I’ll get that done soonish.

Test drive: It’s a big old girl, isn’t it! 😮 But quiet as you like, plenty of poke even with the 150 version, and such a comfortable driving position, arms on the arm rests, just cruising along! Takes a decent bit more input on the wheel to get it to go around corners, I won’t be taking roundabouts as fast as in my Superb, that’s for sure.

The only thing I’d possibly want changing is the colour, as it’s in deep pearl black – but tbh I’d have probably ended up with a grey one anyway. I’ll decide over winter whether to get it detailed and ceramic coated, or maybe get it wrapped with a full colour change…

Sounds awesome. Parking heater is superb, particularly at school run time in the winter: blip of the remote at breakfast and it’s all warm and toasty ready to go. It’ll have a thermotop to heat the engine too.

Got mine serviced today. I’m currently in the “I love it” camp, though it eats tyres quicker than the Giulia, despite being tracked by at least 4 garages. </p>

Yeah the parking heater be was the big sell for me, I’ll need to get a remote bought and coded though as the original owner lost it and didn’t ever replace it as they never used it.

Also, it only had the ‘eberspacher’ sticker on the driver’s door, not the webasto one so it may only have the parking heater – either that or the sticker has fallen off!

Looking through some brochures I think there was a few options for the parking heater, I did see the spec list but can’t remember if it said ‘both’. I’ll see when I pick it up!

The awning is £700 new as well so that’s a bonus.

One of our riding group has a Toyota Hilux pickup. I love it when it is his turn to drive as it is an easy set up with no faff. It has been designed around biking though. It has no rear canopy but a metal flat ‘boot’ that the bikes are secured to. 3 full bikes with wheels on and the option of more on a towbar carrier. There are long slide out drawers in the bed for equipment storage. I like how all the dirt stays out the cab. Generally there is just three of us though so in the cab we travel in comfort in the leather interior. I think this set up is best suited to a max of 3 people and  it works very well in this capacity., It is a biking focused set up though. He was a previous van owner and was fed up wondering if he was going to get out of wet camping fields/event parking. He says when the Transit Custom Trail combi  becomes more affordable he may change back.  I have a LRD4 with a tow ball carrier, but this is a work/other duties requirement before biking, it suffices though, I consider it just a large car with the pros/cons thereof. Due to be replaced hence looking at this thread.  Hope this little insight helps.

a car that goes zoom and can go round corners, but fits a roof racks