OK – having decided they are probably the bike transport of choice, is this actually true or do the masses rate Vito’s etc….?

Also do people on here go for:

1) Kombi style and never need to take more than 5/6 people
2) Shuttle / minibus and leave the back seats out unless actually needed (so making a 5/6 seater)
3) Convert a panel van
4) Go for a Caravelle and have a bed available from the back seat?!

Guess will be looking at 05 onwards T5, hopefully with sensible mileage and am guessing 130bhp?

Any pointers / comments from those in the know much appreciated.

So no one on here has a tranny?!

😉 once in Amsterdam and boy was I surprised 😯

I have a T4. But its a camper conversion, so in all not very relevant to your OP. I think a lot of people run T4s compared to T5s.

I ran a 90 hp panel van with bench seat in the front and had it chipped. It went like stink, was very frugal and could swallow bikes and gear with ease. Wife had no real issue with it on the drive as it was small enough to be inoffensive and other than being cold in the winter due to taking an inordinate time to warm up I loved it.

I sold it to by a Sportline Combi and at first had concerns about its carrying capacity but with my previous load of 3 people it will take 3 built up bikes and gear, and if I ever have 4 or 5 of us then with front wheels off it easily takes 5 bikes and gear. Not quite as frugal, in all honesty too fast and sadly still cold, but other than that just a better version of the original.

I would buy again, however after buying a transit for the company must say the spec level is a little low on the VW’s….But win overall due to looks, build quality, size and cost to run…

Great vans, I’ve had 3 over the years. Avoid automatic versions as the gearboxes aren’t that reliable and cost a lot to rebuild. 1.9’s tend to have less go wrong than the 2.5 engines (130 or 174), are cheaper to buy and easily remapped.

I’ve had 2.5 130 and 1.9 104/102 versions. The 100bhpish 1.9’s don’t feel slow but do lack the 6 speed gearbox. Gearing is fairly high tho so the 5 speed box isn’t a problem. I’ve had panel vans and a kombi. You need to figure out what you want really in terms of space/seats. If you get a 9 seater version you have very little luggage space even in the long wheel base version. How often will you really want/need to carry more than 3 people? It’s not hard to get a seat fitted in the rear, about 600 or 750ish if you want it to be removable. They’re not as comfy as the genuine vw ones but fine for occasional use and if you don’t have windows things in the rear are more secure most of the time.

Figure out what you need first and go from there. Kombis carry a huge premium over standard vans so unless you need more than 3 seats all the time then I’d go for a standard panel van. If you have any more questions post here again or drop me an email.

C58
I’ve got aT5 and mainly go for option 1. Very rarely have to take the seats out.

vitos rot. Mk1 vitos poor for porous blocks & head issues engines generally made of cheese.
Mk2 vitos still rot.
Merc electrics famous for almost being french.

minibus can be harder to insure if >8seats as standard.
kombi most versatile but expensive
velle more trim to damage with bikes n kit.
adding seats / windows limits your insurance options.
if you go for a panel van if you get the version without a bulkhead the twin pass seat does fold down to access the rear should you wish to use as occasional camper, bulkhead versions normally have a fixed seat back.
http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk for loads of t4/t5 info.

i have an ex builders lwb panel van with a sld window and an extra seat in the back. it is an 02 2.5 5 cyl 88bhp with a chip apparantly and does 37mpg or more on a run, or 630 miles to a tank. costs iro 90 odd quid to fill up.
I thought i might be bothered with the lack of power, but i really don’t miss it at all. (my car has 225bhp) every time i drive it i wonder why i bother keeping the car. i love it. nothing gone wrong at all apart from 2 wheel bearings cos i tried to ford a river that was 900mm deep…
cost 2.5k with 170k miles on it.
it’s been to afan and peaks. great for getting changed in ‘cos you can stand up! couldnt go back to a car&bike rack. get one bought!

ps – my bro had an old shape vito, and it wasnt very nice to drive, and rusted in front of your eyes. he how has a new shape 150bhp one, and it is fantastic, but cost about 7k i think.

I got a new VW T30 Transporter 130 Kombi about 4 weeks ago and I have to agree with nwilko that they are a bit pricey but I am very impressed with it so far. I had quite a few extras on mine and that bumps the price up a bit but worth it IMO.

Performs very well so far for both work and play. Had 3 bikes in the back without too much hassle (had to take a front wheel off 2 bikes but with a bit of thought could have arranged things much better) with associated kit. A lot easier to live with than I thought it would be as it is my only vehicle at the moment and rather civilised to drive, with good fuel economy. I’ve had nearly 700 miles out of a tank of diesel. Seems to have enough power to deal with what I need it to do. I have had vans before and the VW is much better than anything else I had.

Thanks all – only thought with the 9 seater was that it’s essentially a Kombi once the rear seats are removed (except windows in the side rear) but they seem to be cheaper than Kombi’s.

May be because a lot are ex minicabs etc.. though I guess??

I’ve got a kombi, very frugal, was expensive and hard to find but really practical. Takes 3 built up bikes or 7 or so with front wheels off. Reliability can be an issue as with many modern diesels due to dual mass flywheel issues. The good thing about a kombi is it is just a car. Want to fling some stuff in the back, no problem as there is a side door on the drivers side. Any questions just ask.

Russell

Toyota Hiace and enough change to buy another bike.
Same size, much the same power options, better heater, half the price.

Mine was a LWB panel van as I would sleep in it at events and for group rides it would swallow 20 or so bikes and we’d have to take a few cars anyway.

If you get a 9 seater which is a shuttle not a caravelle then yes it will have the more basic interior of the standard vans. The extra windows make bikes less secure in transit and expect to have to pack carefully to prevent damage to the glass (they sit at bar height). If they’re cheaper than kombi’s for equivalent miles/age etc then why not though.

As i said before you really need to think how many seats you need an how often. I had a kombi for 12 months and the rear seats got used about twice, the simpler van would generally have been more useful and having to take another vehicle on those couple of occasions would be mildly annoying but probably worth it overall.

Got an 07 Shuttle – not sure what SteveH means about basic – full aircon front and back, cruise control, plush carpet – much better than a van with a layer of cheap cord carpet.

Mine’s LWB which means 4 blokes and 4 bikes (2 in boot, 2 on rack) and tons of space.

Buy a 2 year old one like mine and it’ll cost about £12+VAT, as opposed to £25k new.

Toyota Hiace and enough change to buy another bike.
Same size, much the same power options, better heater, half the price.

hardly any out there to choose from though, they are about 4 inches too short in swb guise to be useful to most tradesmen (and either not long enough or too long in LWB) so not many get sold new for you to choose from second hand.

spokebloke compared to the interior of a caravelle the shuttle is much more basic looking. They still have all the features you mention but proper caravelles are much more luxurious inside.

Caravelle executive – yes please! (is it wrong to want a van this badly??)

it is an 02 2.5 5 cyl 88bhp with a chip apparantly

WTF? How hard must it be to make a 2.5l engine so lame?

To add to a post up the page somewhere – I’d rather lay a turd in the grass and fall backwards than own the, quite frankly, horrible Hiace.

Transporter all the way.

Kombis have more equipment and are classed as cars so tax different and higher speed limit. I converted a 130 Bhp 2.5l panel van. Now has Windows, seat bed and extra seat in the back which is removable. Love it, but sub 40 mpg. Can get 4 passengers + bikes without dissassembling.

mmm – interesting, so are all Kombi’s classed as cars or do they need to be “factory originals” as opposed to converted panel vans?

What’s insurance like on transporters generally (in comparison to cars).

Mmmm, not sure that Kombi’s are classed as cars, willing to be proved wrong on that though. Mine is a T30 (1 tonne + payload, important for VAT) so pretty sure that it is a van. Insurance is higher than a car but shop around. Mine has the new VW engine (meets Euro v emissions) in it so tax is low and as I stated above fuel economy is good. Compared with a mates standard transporter the standard Kombi interior is quite nice, although I have the upgraded interior which is even nicer.

Colwyn, not sure what year you are looking at but the only Kombi VW are offering at the moment is a “factory original”.

Some kombis are definitely classed as cars, they have the CO2 emission info, speed limits, tax bands etc in the PDF brochures on the VW website.

Its important to know if you are thinking of running it as a company car because the BIK could get out of hand on the higher-specced models.

There is thread after thread about the kombi tax thing on vwt4forum.co.uk, some were wrongly classed as cars a few years back, most are classed as window vans and attract tax at £245 a year, that’s what mine is registered as anyway.

Kombis are a lot of money but you are generally assured of a good spec, electrics, ac, cruise etc. I have a 2.5 130bhp, pulls like a train and returns good mpg.

spokebloke compared to the interior of a caravelle the shuttle is much more basic looking. They still have all the features you mention but proper caravelles are much more luxurious inside.

Been in both and didn’t notice any difference in trim – are there different levels?

As for the tax with the shuttle you get the best of both worlds – classed as a van (cheap tax) – go over the Severn Bridge and classed as a car.

I thought they each only came in one level but the ones I’ve been in were very different hence the price difference between them.

i have got a 07 plate mwb transit crew cab. six people with six bikes and gear no problem. air con, heated screens, heated seats, etc etc as good as a car to drive and as comfy. 130bhp

Or get a 110 Defender. Will go anywhere, 7 seats that completely fold away, wash down floor, much better allround visibility, heated seats, etc. Finding ours to be a cracking surf and mtb mobile, having used many a Transporter and Vito.

Plenty other vans outs there that are nice to drive and costs a heap less than the sought after VWs. Transit, Vivaro/clones and Boxer/clones all worth a look, and plenty of cash spare to find a mint one with all the toys!