I'm pondering what to do when the lease on my e-Niro finishes in ~10 months (yes I know it's a while, but the reason I'm looking now is below)
While it's a great car, and ticks almost all the boxes, it does let us down somewhat when going on family camping trips. Since the other half decided to get a dog - a very big dog who takes up 90% of the boot - loading up the car is a bit of a game of tetris, with bags piled up around the kids, a roofbag stuffed almost to bursting with sleeping bags etc., and a lot of "sorry, can't take that, not enough space". This is frustrating but bearable when packing at home, but when you're packing up a wet and muddy tent that weighs 40kg dry in the rain... yeah, not fun at all; we've only been camping once since getting the dog
That leaves me thinking it would be great to have a (4+ seat) van; not only for camping trips but also if we fancy taking the bikes out somewhere (saves having to put a bike rack on the car) for tip runs, etc.
The reason for looking now is that we have a family camping trip arranged in July, and would be nice to have something in place by then if it fits the requirements.
So TL;DR; looking at van options to either replace or run alongside a cheap EV (as mentioned above, my preferred option would be an EV van, but due to current pricing I'll disregard those for now)
The main options I've looked at so far:
There are the obvious other options, e.g. the Vauxhall Vivaro and other Stellantis equivalents (which seem a bit cheap and cheerful) or Ford Transit (custom? or is it the Tourneo?), but they all seem to be a bit of a muchness to me to be honest.
Would really appreciate some thoughts, owners' experiences, suggestions of alternatives etc.
Edit: In terms of budget, if it was replacing the EV completely then let's say ~£15k, to run alongside then ~£7-8k
Edit 2: I have plenty of tools etc. and not afraid to get my hands dirty, so would be able to do a reasonable amount of maintenance/repairs on an older ICE myself. I can't weld though, and certainly wouldn't be confident in something like a full engine rebuild!
While it's a great car, and ticks almost all the boxes, it does let us down somewhat when going on family camping trips. Since the other half decided to get a dog - a very big dog who takes up 90% of the boot - loading up the car is a bit of a game of tetris, with bags piled up around the kids, a roofbag stuffed almost to bursting with sleeping bags etc., and a lot of "sorry, can't take that, not enough space". This is frustrating but bearable when packing at home, but when you're packing up a wet and muddy tent that weighs 40kg dry in the rain... yeah, not fun at all; we've only been camping once since getting the dog
That leaves me thinking it would be great to have a (4+ seat) van; not only for camping trips but also if we fancy taking the bikes out somewhere (saves having to put a bike rack on the car) for tip runs, etc.
The reason for looking now is that we have a family camping trip arranged in July, and would be nice to have something in place by then if it fits the requirements.
I've narrowed our options down to 4 choices:
1. Replace with an EV van, e.g. an ID.Buzz or PV5.
My preferred option in terms of simplicity and "nice" vehicle, however also the most expensive. the cheapest Buzz on AT is £30k - that's 3 years old with 74k miles. The PV5 has only just come out, and while I expect prices to drop, it's probably going to be a couple of years still before they're within my preferred budget.
2. Replace with a mid-range ICE van
Not ideal, while initial purchase price would be relatively low* (obviously depending on what I get), running costs would be significantly higher than my current car, and lots of short journeys aren't going to do it any favours!
3. Keep the e-Niro (if I'm able to buy it at the end of the lease, if not then replace with similar EV), and buy an older ICE van to run alongside.
Best option in terms of flexibility and vehicle suitability; keep the EV for day-to-day use, with the van being used occasionally for the camping trips etc. Price difference in fuel vs public rapid charging is negligible, so not much extra cost there, especially when considering the savings in eVED vs using an EV. Does however mean paying double insurance and double VED, although could consider SORNing over winter when we're unlikely to use it.
4. Keep the e-Niro and carry on making do without, or hire/borrow a van when/if needed.
While this would be the lowest overall cost, it's not a great option to be honest - doesn't solve the problem, and hiring a suitable van for a week is close to £1k, very quickly wiping out any savings vs the other options.
1. Replace with an EV van, e.g. an ID.Buzz or PV5.
My preferred option in terms of simplicity and "nice" vehicle, however also the most expensive. the cheapest Buzz on AT is £30k - that's 3 years old with 74k miles. The PV5 has only just come out, and while I expect prices to drop, it's probably going to be a couple of years still before they're within my preferred budget.
2. Replace with a mid-range ICE van
Not ideal, while initial purchase price would be relatively low* (obviously depending on what I get), running costs would be significantly higher than my current car, and lots of short journeys aren't going to do it any favours!
3. Keep the e-Niro (if I'm able to buy it at the end of the lease, if not then replace with similar EV), and buy an older ICE van to run alongside.
Best option in terms of flexibility and vehicle suitability; keep the EV for day-to-day use, with the van being used occasionally for the camping trips etc. Price difference in fuel vs public rapid charging is negligible, so not much extra cost there, especially when considering the savings in eVED vs using an EV. Does however mean paying double insurance and double VED, although could consider SORNing over winter when we're unlikely to use it.
4. Keep the e-Niro and carry on making do without, or hire/borrow a van when/if needed.
While this would be the lowest overall cost, it's not a great option to be honest - doesn't solve the problem, and hiring a suitable van for a week is close to £1k, very quickly wiping out any savings vs the other options.
So TL;DR; looking at van options to either replace or run alongside a cheap EV (as mentioned above, my preferred option would be an EV van, but due to current pricing I'll disregard those for now)
The main options I've looked at so far:
- VW transporter/kombi/shuttle/caravelle/etc. - The classic; plenty of these around, owners forums, parts availability etc. all seems great, but the scene tax is insane. Are they really significantly better than the other options, or is it just a case of being part of the "VW Club"?
- Hyundai i800 - this seems to be a bit of a hidden gem really. Plenty of space, a bit more "car-like" than some of the others, relatively cheap, from what I've found seems to be quite reliable. Too many seats, but looks easy enough to remove the 3rd row - problem then being storing them somewhere.
- Honda Stepwagon - slightly more expensive than the Hyundai, and due to being an import insurance may be a bit higher, but what I really like about it is the 3rd row "magic seats" which fold completely flat into the floor. The vast majority of time we'd only need the 4 seats, so this would be really handy, rather than having to store them somewhere.
There are the obvious other options, e.g. the Vauxhall Vivaro and other Stellantis equivalents (which seem a bit cheap and cheerful) or Ford Transit (custom? or is it the Tourneo?), but they all seem to be a bit of a muchness to me to be honest.
Would really appreciate some thoughts, owners' experiences, suggestions of alternatives etc.
Edit: In terms of budget, if it was replacing the EV completely then let's say ~£15k, to run alongside then ~£7-8k
Edit 2: I have plenty of tools etc. and not afraid to get my hands dirty, so would be able to do a reasonable amount of maintenance/repairs on an older ICE myself. I can't weld though, and certainly wouldn't be confident in something like a full engine rebuild!
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), even if only for a couple of years until the PV5 comes down
bv charging might be fun
