LCP

Van or estate? What's best for bikes, family and work?

trailwhale

It's time for a new mode of transport and I'm torn between a van like a VW Transporter Kombi or Ford Transit Custom or an estate from one of the usual german lot - VW Passat, Audi A4 Avant or maybe a BMW 3 Series if the budget can stretch. It can't be a standard panel van as it'll be the main family form of transport for us and the kids, which makes both leasing from new and buying second-hand starts to even prices out between the two options.

I drive a fair bit for work and often take the bike with me when I do, but we also like heading off with bikes - and everything else - in tow of a weekend when we can.

Has anyone made a choice between these two? What's the drawbacks and advantages to each? Is a van that much more tiring to drive? Can you squeeze enough in an estate for a family trip away? Is a van much more of a pain to park? I've a lot of questions, so it'd be good to hear from anyone that's been in a similar position.

4 comments

4 years 4 months ago

Estate plus towbar rack works for me (Atera Strada DL). Get something relatively old, well-depreciated, with a top of the range interior and spend what you save on bikes. In my case that's an almost 20-year old Mondeo Ghia X which has some of the best seats I've ever sat on (and that includes various German autobahn-munchers), great driving position, good handling for a big car, and a mahoosive boot. Will happily carry 5 in comfort with room to spare. If you do go down the towbar rack route bear in mind that some car parks will be tight - you'll be longer than the bay, and this will make it harder to swing in/out of them.  

5 years 3 months ago

estate if you want to take people too, easy decision.

5 years 9 months ago

I've mostly had giant estate cars and MPV's but after about 20 years of pulling bikes and camping kit in and out of them, reassembling them and knackering my back I decided to get a van. I went with a VW Kombi LWB which was able to swallow my L 29+ bike behind the seats with wheels on and seat 5 of us on our travels.  Was it the perfect answer - well no. LWB is huge and parking can be a problem as mentioned above regardless of sensors you have to find a space and one without a height restriction. Mine was 1.97m high. The internal van drone sound was oppressive on a long journey and meant having the radio on most of the time was essential. The complete lack of arm rest's or any method to stop my son from sliding and slipping around on his seat when asleep was another issue which we solved with huge bags and pillows. So not ideal then.

Well no and yes. The huge benefit of rolling the bikes in and out plus all our camping kit plus a spare bike for me and plenty of stuff we never needed to use was a godsend, plus my back is better. The added security of having everything inside the van and out of sight was another bonus meaning stopping at services a less troublesome experience. The MPG was poor - high 30's but the standard all weather tyres on the FWD VW were awesome in fields and poor weather.

I would sum it up by saying the van is a great idea as long as you get one designed to carry the family in comfort if it is to be your family motor. Having the extra armrests and the soundproofing makes it far more comfortable for longer trips, which of course are the kind you want to do with it. Adding soundproofing is simple and many friends did it themselves so that's another consideration.

I don't have the van anymore - back to an MPV roof box and rear bike rack so in reality, I might as well have the van. But it is a much more comfortable place to sit and drive........

I've not helped much have I? Can you hire one? Buy a cheap one to find out if you can live with it before you go the whole hog and commit to new one. VW have better reputation than Ford Custom Transit but the latter is loaded with more kit as standard esp in Limited version. Also check out the new Toyota Proace, Citroen and Peugeot versions which are very good. I must admit I'm leaning back towards a van myself, but SWB, low roof (under 1.80) and with all the creature comforts I can find for my family.

Good luck.   

5 years 10 months ago

I looked at going down the van route but decided against it. You can run into issues with transferring no claims bonus back and forth between a van and a car, they're a pain to park and simply not as comfortable or pleasant to drive. If you're going abroad, the road tolls are much higher with a van too.

Even small vans like a VW Caddy have a fair number of drawbacks, though you can at least get changed in the back, which isn't possible with an estate. I've never struggled to pack enough for trips away in an estate, especially if you use a bike rack.

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