Hi,
Having spent time travelling around Scotland and Ireland in hired campervans, we are looking at purchasing a campervan. Our budget is £10,000 and our requirements are:
A pop-top campervan
4 berth (two in the bed, two in the pop-top)
Ideally 5 belted seats.
Sink, hob & fridge.
Preferably diesel powered.
I also think we would use a driveaway awning.
I have looked at the Toyota Granvia 3.0 diesel and thought it was fine, however, the talk of banning diesels from cities, etc is concerning. I have also looked at the VW T4/T5/T6 which seem expensive.
We wouldn't envisage using the van outside the UK, but would be using it to to travel around the UK and ROI.
UKGary, if you look through the posts, you'll find that several others have made similar requests, so you may find some useful info in the replies to those.
I recommend (as I have to others) to look at Autotrader Motorhomes, enter your criteria and see what comes up. This will at least give you an idea of what's available and cost etc...
Banning older diesels from some cities is a possibility, and if possible, I'd look for at least a Euro 4 spec.
Downtherhatch, you read my mind! - I've just started looking at the Toyota Alphard 2.4 auto conversion (with the possible option of an additional conversion to LPG). I think I should be able to nudge over the 30mpg mark with LPG.
Do you have one? How does the interior size compare to a Granvia?
Cheers!
Have a look at the Mazda Bongo. A great owners club too! We had one for a few years until someone stole it! There are diesel and petrol options, 2WD or 4WD, auto and manual gearbox options. Ours was a 4WD diesel auto, and it was great to drive.
You should get a really good one for less than your budget. Take a look on ebay.
I have a Toyota Alphard conversion and am very pleased with it. It's a 2.4 petrol 4WD but it has an automatic transmission.
We too were looking at the VW T5's but were put off by the price and then we noticed the Alphard. The vehicle is a 2004 but the Japanese vehicles don't suffer from any rust and it is in very, very good condition. The conversion is new and takes place once the vehicle is imported. You can specify what you want (within reason) and pick your own colours and upholstery etc.
So, what you end up with is a very good condition base vehicle with brand new conversion (fridge, cooker, bed etc.). At around £20-22K it's very good value.
Having an import makes some things a bit more fiddly but I think it's worth it - had it about 15 months now.
If you are thinking of using it abroad and it is lpg converted, I don't think you can use the channel tunnel, only the ferries but please check before booking.
Hi Gary, sorry for late reply. We've never had a granvia so can't comment but an alph has plenty of room. There are 2 alphard forums which have loads of helpful info. It's debatable whether a 2.4 will give much better mpg than a 3.0. Our alph isn't LPG'd but I think an LPG'd one will give better than 30mpg. Why not test drive one, there's no substitute for having a poke about inside one for yourself. Then if you want one speak to an experienced dealer. Loads of peeps on the alphard forum swear by Paul McKeown who runs Newacre cars which you will find on google. Good luck.