Vans!

[fgpsi]

Originally Posted by kevino

What are you saying?
Bring back the Lightace.
What an absolute pos that was in the 90 s
Bus set up 1.3 litre four **** dragging on the ground
Hilarious

If you think the new Hiace is big try a semi trailer or 16 pallet heavy rigid round the inner city.

The previous Hiace was the perfect size. The TownAce of the early 2000s was also a nice size and unbreakable.

These new hiaces are huge, good luck parking that on high st

[Franco Cozzo]

The biggest tragedy about the new Hiace was the V6 being discontinued after like 6 months, thirsty but it absolutely ripped

Speaking of - OP

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/det...15785080/?Cr=0

Can your crew drive manual?

2021 model
560km on clock
Roof racks
Manual
V6 unleaded - think of the single peggers.

207KW van - get your deliveries done real quick, boss pays for fuel so who cares, hopefully they pay for impound fees too

[kevino]

Originally Posted by fgpsi

The previous Hiace was the perfect size. The TownAce of the early 2000s was also a nice size and unbreakable.

These new hiaces are huge, good luck parking that on high st

Most shop centres and retail street strips have loading zones.
Big vans can be reverse parked but yes need more room.
I take your point but never had I not been able to park a big Crafter van somewhere nearby on a million fmcg retail deliveries.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

The biggest tragedy about the new Hiace was the V6 being discontinued after like 6 months, thirsty but it absolutely ripped

Speaking of - OP

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/det...15785080/?Cr=0

Can your crew drive manual?

2021 model
560km on clock
Roof racks
Manual
V6 unleaded - think of the single peggers.

207KW van - get your deliveries done real quick, boss pays for fuel so who cares, hopefully they pay for impound fees too

When Toyota launched the new HiAce with that V6, I thought wow, what a very un-Toyota thing to do. And they offered it as a MANUAL as well!

My sister rented a V6 HiAce when moving to a new apartment a few years back, I think she got a bit of a surprise with the amount of grunt it had.

[lamborghinifan]

Originally Posted by fgpsi

The new Hiace is massive. Too big

Toyota should release a smaller van. I'd rather the previous model Hiace over the new boat

Definitely requires more thought to park than an iload. And more three pointers to get out mostly. But nice to be able to carry everything. And the cameras and beepers help quite a bit.

[XP6]

Being a Handyman I'd love a new SLWB Hiace to replace my way to small Mitsabit****i Express.
I run a BT50 ute as well... until it died that is, I need the tow capability for my trailer(8x5 high sided tipper with cage)unfortunately the Hiace only has 1900kg max and my trailer weighs nearly 900kg alone and I carry a good 500kg in tools and gear, so not a lot left for a load of premix or sand.

My only real option is a 430E Transit to replace both van and ute just need to win xlotto to pay for it... and the wait for it, if it is even possible to get one by the sounds of it :(

[Giant Cranium]

Originally Posted by fgpsi

The new Hiace is massive. Too big

Toyota should release a smaller van. I'd rather the previous model Hiace over the new boat

the contract I work on is buying 20 Peugeot partner vans, the caddy is too small (cabin size) and rubish and the hiace is too big, we exclusively service the Sydney cbd

if Toyota had their own small van they would sell heaps of them

[XR Martin]

They still sell the old Hiace in Japan I believe.

https://toyota.jp/hiacevan/?padid=fr...ineup_hiacevan

And doesn't even look like they sell the new Hiace in Japan yet.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by XP6

Being a Handyman I'd love a new SLWB Hiace to replace my way to small Mitsabit****i Express.
I run a BT50 ute as well... until it died that is, I need the tow capability for my trailer(8x5 high sided tipper with cage)unfortunately the Hiace only has 1900kg max and my trailer weighs nearly 900kg alone and I carry a good 500kg in tools and gear, so not a lot left for a load of premix or sand.

My only real option is a 430E Transit to replace both van and ute just need to win xlotto to pay for it... and the wait for it, if it is even possible to get one by the sounds of it :(

You really need a small truck

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

When Toyota launched the new HiAce with that V6, I thought wow, what a very un-Toyota thing to do. And they offered it as a MANUAL as well!

My sister rented a V6 HiAce when moving to a new apartment a few years back, I think she got a bit of a surprise with the amount of grunt it had.

Yep agree very surprising just how fast it was when we had a rental for 2 weeks once...but boy did it drink....I gave our Transit Custom a hug when it came back from the panel beater as I regained 200km of range and at the time paid less for a full tank of diesel.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by XP6

Being a Handyman I'd love a new SLWB Hiace to replace my way to small Mitsabit****i Express.
I run a BT50 ute as well... until it died that is, I need the tow capability for my trailer(8x5 high sided tipper with cage)unfortunately the Hiace only has 1900kg max and my trailer weighs nearly 900kg alone and I carry a good 500kg in tools and gear, so not a lot left for a load of premix or sand.

My only real option is a 430E Transit to replace both van and ute just need to win xlotto to pay for it... and the wait for it, if it is even possible to get one by the sounds of it :(

Hyundai Mighty EX4 SWB Pantech in Allison auto

No SCR or DPF either

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

However Transporter has a bangin' stereo for Kylie

Hmmmmm....................



Perfectly appropriate song for navigating Friday afternoon school pickup hour.

[Citroënbender]

Specks of dust!!! 😱 I feel faint.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Specks of dust!!! 😱 I feel faint.

Not my vehicle, which would explain why I ran the car wash soap broom over the whole thing, including the wheels, when I washed it 30min after that shot. It felt all kinds of wrong doing that.

[DFB FGXR6]

Updating this thread, the boss picked up his brand new van late this afternoon.................







Probably not my first choice, but immediate availability is king in this market. It's a long wheelbase model with the DCT auto. Time will tell if that was the right situation.

Initial impressions are positive, lots of innovative little features here and there, it also has full-LED headlights. Also, props to the local dealer for putting black and white slimline plates on the thing instead of the typical Victorian governments political statement plates.

I get a drive tomorrow. Meanwhile, FREE DELIVERIES all week was my suggestion!

[Citroënbender]

How’s the audio system?

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

How’s the audio system?

Ha ha, I'll find out tomorrow!

Question is, will it be Kylie, Jessie Ware or Hiam?

[Citroënbender]

Goldfrapp

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Probably not my first choice, but immediate availability is king in this market. It's a long wheelbase model with the DCT auto. Time will tell if that was the right situation.

RIP

Oh well, on the upside you don't have to pay to fix it I guess

Not sure what Euro manufacturers fetish is with commercial vehicles and DCT/DSG gearboxes, a van doesn't need to change gears in .0000000000000001 second.

Out of curiosity, when its loaded up, reverse up someones driveway on a hill and see if it acts up.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Goldfrapp

Hmm, maybe...............

[anobserver]

Wonder why Toyota never made a TRD Hiace?

Heres a low mileage v6 that could use some upgrading:

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/five...van/1317915743

[kevino]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

image

RIP

Oh well, on the upside you don't have to pay to fix it I guess

Not sure what Euro manufacturers fetish is with commercial vehicles and DCT/DSG gearboxes, a van doesn't need to change gears in .0000000000000001 second.

Out of curiosity, when its loaded up, reverse up someones driveway on a hill and see if it acts up.

My advice owning a dsg Puma is don’t reverse up hill driveways - rather back down and drive out- or better still park on the road and walk. The dsg hates hill driveways esp in reverse

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by kevino

My advice owning a dsg Puma is don’t reverse up hill driveways - rather back down and drive out- or better still park on the road and walk. The dsg hates hill driveways esp in reverse

Imagine having a vehicle that can't drive backwards up a hill without damaging itself, I'm sure the trade off is so worth it so your 92KW/170NM monster can change gears in .0000000001 of a second, shaving off countless milliseconds from its agile 10 second 0-100 time

This is what happens when you let engineers make decisions, they should all be kept in a dark room and fed through a hole in the wall with tight control over what they do

[kevino]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Imagine having a vehicle that can't drive backwards up a hill without damaging itself, I'm sure the trade off is so worth it so your 92KW/170NM monster can change gears in .0000000001 of a second, shaving off countless milliseconds from its agile 10 second 0-100 time

This is what happens when you let engineers make decisions, they should all be kept in a dark room and fed through a hole in the wall with tight control over what they do

Well I would have been really happy with a manual Puma
But of course Ford don’t sell manuals unless you want a zillion dollar Mustang.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Imagine having a vehicle that can't drive backwards up a hill without damaging itself, I'm sure the trade off is so worth it so your 92KW/170NM monster can change gears in .0000000001 of a second, shaving off countless milliseconds from its agile 10 second 0-100 time

This is what happens when you let engineers make decisions, they should all be kept in a dark room and fed through a hole in the wall with tight control over what they do

See, its actually the other way around, the marketing department wanting headline figures (be that acceleration, but most likely an economy) to make it easier for them to sell to customers. Then the accounting department gets in on the deal, wanting lower fuel use figures so that (in certain countries) the company doesn't have to pay additional CAFE levies.

It's all of the above that led to the whole Powershift debacle. The engineers knew there was a problem, and how to fix it, but the people in the office didn't want to spend the money, nor did they want to compromise the fuel economy numbers to get that all important CAFE number.

[Dr Smith]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

image

RIP

Oh well, on the upside you don't have to pay to fix it I guess

Not sure what Euro manufacturers fetish is with commercial vehicles and DCT/DSG gearboxes, a van doesn't need to change gears in .0000000000000001 second.

Out of curiosity, when its loaded up, reverse up someones driveway on a hill and see if it acts up.

I'm also stuffed understanding how such a choice gets made. They must be because they are cheaper, surely, no other reason...because apart from micro-second gear changes, they are inferior over a good torque converter auto for smoothness, judder on take-off, reverse parking power-on-off jerking, towing.....stopped me buying a T6 Transporter way back.

In my experience the Renault Trafic had the most car-like ride of the vans I own/drive and in manual I enjoyed it quite a bit..but 80Kg tow ball down limit and under 1800kg tow rating/fwd killed it's suitability for us.

[roKWiz]

I would like to take a moment to honour a real van.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by roKWiz

I would like to take a moment to honour a real van.

image

Thats a funny looking L300

[DFB FGXR6]

Ok, so I did about 20 km in the new Renault Traffic today running errands.

Before we go any further, the choice was the fabulous Jessie Ware and her song Imagine It Was Us. A base heavy track that would put any sound system to test!



The audio system is decent, but the cardinal sin, there is NO volume knob or buttons, only the audio controls hidden on a separate stalk behind the steering wheel. And the volume control buttons disappear from the screen after 5 seconds. Silly, silly arrangement. Amazing, Ford mastered remote audio controls with the AU Falcon in 1998!

However, the very first thing I noted was the heavy steering. Think older hydraulic style power steering in a BA or FG Falcon. It's nice on the move and makes the vehicle feel solid on the road, but its surprisingly hefty at parking speeds. Not a deal breaker, rather something that surprised me considered how most electric power steering systems can dial in more assistance at lower speeds to aid parking. The leather steering wheel is brilliant though, puts the material on my Mustang to shame!

And.........the DCT has that usual hesitation from rest. I haven't driven a DCT in quite some time, in fact it was the wet-clutch Powershift in our MC Mondeo. It certainly takes some acclimatization, you have to be patient with it from rest and resist the temptation to mash the throttle in panic. While I'm probably the only one who will use it, high five to Renault for choosing the correct orientation for the manual function!



Again, something that surprised me as most brands, including our VW Crafter, go the opposite and counter intuitive forward for up, back for down. As such, I found this so natural to use, and yes, the DCT does fire off nice quick shifts. But then so does the 8-speed torque converter auto in the Crafter.

The other thing I love about the Traffic is the dual sliding doors, one on each side. This makes it more convenient to work out of running deliveries and loading up stock. I did have to dive into the menu system to disable some of the locking nannies, the default locking of the cargo doors while the engine is running a bit over the top, I guess that would make sense in dodgy area's. Thankfully that is selectable in the menu system.

Engine noise is extremely well suppressed, only showing its presence in first gear above 2500 rpm. It's so hushed that it tends to highlight the tyre/road noise a bit. I also found the ride to be quite stilted and not as settled as the Crafter, the extra wheelbase and width of the Crafter makes it more settled, laden or unladen. Considering the vehicle only has 90 km on the clock, and I suspect the tyres are at the shipping pressures, I expect that to settle a little as it breaks in.

Very early days, but I think having this smaller van in the fleet will be extremely useful for us. It's also more approachable for the female staff. The Crafter will still do the bulk of the work, we need its size to fit large, advanced trees. But for shorter runs with less to deliver, the Traffic should serve us well.

[Citroënbender]

Has it got a name yet?