Addicted to base

By Malcolm Street

In recent weeks I have been getting around in a fair selection of light commercial vans. Mainly those that have been converted into campervans or motorcampers but still vans, rather than B or C class motorhomes. Some of these include Toyota HiAce, Kia Pregio, VW T5, Renault Trafic and Ford Transit (SWB).

During that time I have had an opportunity to at least sit behind the wheel of each of them and do some basic evaluation. There is, of course, no perfect van: each has its strengths and weaknesses.

Swings and roundabouts

The availability of vans over the past 30 years has been a bit cyclic. For many years, the ubiquitous VW Kombi was king for campervan conversions. Slightly less favoured, but still popular and larger than the Kombi, were the Ford Transit and, one of my favourites, the Bedford CF van. Exactly why GM/Bedford let the CF die is a mystery, it was certainly a good campervan prospect.

When Japanese cars became more popular, the vans followed suit – Toyota HiAces, Nissan E20s and Mazdas were all over the place and Kombis and Transits moved to the background.

The present day market is very interesting, to say the least. The Transit is back, the current VW in several forms has made a resurgence, several other European players – Renault, Mercedes and Fiat – have moved in, Japanese vans have taken a step backwards and a new Korean player, the Kia Pregio, is here as well.

Which is better? Below is a small chart comparing mainly engine characteristics and prices. To keep it simple, I have opted just for diesel motors and manual gearboxes: the latter still being very strong in the light commercial market (see table below).

I opted for diesel motors, mainly because a couple of players either don’t have, or keep a low profile with, petrol motors. As you can see, the Europeans seem to have a very good hold on turbodiesel technology.

Their engine performance figures are very impressive, much better than the HiAce and the naturally aspirated Pregio. It’s a point of curiosity in Australia that diesel prices are considerably higher than that of petrol, yet distances are vast, in comparison to Europe, and even many cars there have diesel motors.

Continental competition

On the road, all the Euro vans are certainly more car-like than van-like to sit in and drive, whereas the Asian vans are still built as if they are tradesman’s workhorses. Solid and reliable yes, but giving driver comfort over long distances, well, maybe not.

Both Toyota and Kia have a distinct price advantage though, especially the Kia. Toyota too carries its reputation as a good reliable vehicle. It also has its petrol motor (not listed below) 2.4 litre 111kW, 241Nm, $31,900 which is popular with many people and in the case of the new HiAce, has much better performance figures than the old motor.

Another long term factor to consider is vehicle servicing and repairs. Both Toyota and Ford have the advantage here, with significantly more dealers around than most of their competition.

The point of this article being that when considering a campervan, it’s good to consider the base vehicle as much as the camper layout. If budget is a prime consideration, something like the Pregio or HiAce will be winners.

However, if you’re planning some long-term, long-distance travel, then other factors come into play, such as van handling, performance and comfort. The extra initial cost may well be worth many happy years on the road. If money isn’t such an important factor, then there are other larger van contenders too, all turbodiesels – LWB Ford Transit, VW LT, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, Fiat Ducato, Iveco and even now, Renault. The choice is almost endless.

What all this means for the intending buyer is that there is plenty of choice around and it’s a good idea to visit a various assortment of motor dealers and take a test drive before deciding on the campervan/motorcamper layout of your dreams.