Dave Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 (edited) It seems that three of my good mates have ditched their normal rides for vans One is out of an R32, the other an A3 Sport First mate went for one of these: It's an Mercedes Vito SportX.. has the 3.0litre V6 diesel pushing out 204bhp.. he reckons 0 to 60 in around 8.5 seconds.. leather inside with sat nav, blue tooth.. just about every toy you can have in a saloon. The others have gone with with one of these: That's got a 2.5 litre 175bhp diesel.. and it shifts too!! It seems like vans are the new cool, and they are plush, comfortable and can move... They are tradesmen.. one's a carpenter, the other a painter and decorator and the other just your standard builder.. but still...they put my van to shame! Edited July 11, 2008 by Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ritey Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 My friend who own's his own website development company has just bought a Vauxhall 2.5td van too, guess it must be something in the air! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steelwind101 Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Yep the vans seem to have improved alot! However when loaded they are just as sluggish as they have always been. Atleast the ones i have been in, the transit connect is a nice little car. Have to say the Bipper adverts make it look cool little van for florists and stuff. I do like to look back on "ye old days" with the old Citroen cans and stuff from the 1930's-1970's as they had plenty of good looking ones. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Why vans? tax reasons. One vehicle, VAT back (I think) and not too much to worry about if it gets a slight scuff. Unlike the R32/S3! They also go well and probably (in V6 diesel mode) sound quite decent too. I bet servicing is cheaper! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1MAC Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Practicalities, convenience, circumstances etc. I suppose unless you are a real petrolhead then if you aren't too bothered about image and the van has a modicum of comfort, it's a fair choice. Someone I know gave serious consideration to one of those Merc vans (but not sure why he didn't in the end) to replace a current 5 series. Had decent cars in the past, totally commited to bikes these days and so not interested in a flash car to commute locally in and doesn't need performance outside decent economy. Van can manage this and can be used to carry stuff (including the bikes - keeps the non hooning mileage down, I suppose). Plus as we all know, it's based on a Sprinter - officially the fastest M-Way vehicle in the world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanG Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Tax No VAT, and depreciation (part) and running costs can be put through the business Why there are so many pick up on uk roads these dasy too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snoopy Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Also they can drive in no car lanes. Don't know about were you guys live but in some of the citys in the north east they have 'no car lanes' so having a van cuts down on commute time and fuel costs by a large %. I know this is why one of my mates has one. Also he has Alfas so needs a van to get parts all the time LOL. As long as the van does not have a ford badge they can be quite nippy. Also theres plenty of aftermarket tunning for them too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOSE Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Seems like all ya mates are using their common sense and using the vans to pack their shyte and move out of this hell hole of a country! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booster Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 A mate of mine has just switched an A4 2.0TQ S Line avant for a VW Caravelle as his daily ride. More to the point, his Mrs' daily ride! He has a works astra van for pottering about in but his wife has to take the Caravelle with their two kids in it shopping. Must be a right PITA if trying to park it anywhere but a car park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riz Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Nowt wrong with van`s... they rule! Ive got 104bhp on tap... yay! Riz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 You can also take them to the GP and put a double matress in the back and use it as a bedroom. Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1MAC Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 TaxNo VAT, and depreciation (part) and running costs can be put through the business Why there are so many pick up on uk roads these dasy too. To be fair, that's no different to the situation for cars. It's just that vans get assessed at a flat rate BIK. Plus, a lot of people have what is (to me at least) surprising attitudes to company vehicles, tax on them and their costs generally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted July 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 It could well be the tax issue.. isn't it a straight £3000 for a van, whereas for a car it's related to emissions & cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1MAC Posted July 12, 2008 Report Share Posted July 12, 2008 It could well be the tax issue.. isn't it a straight £3000 for a van, whereas for a car it's related to emissions & cost. Yes and it used to be a flat £500, which was what really kicked off the explosion of the Mitsu Warrior and other pick-ups and people driving them around all whistled up. Think I'd rather just shell out personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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