Right folks, its question time. Can you remember the first van you travelled in or went to work in? I can, and it's not pretty. Its goes by the name of a Toyota Hiace circa 1979, which was purchased from new in 'Migrane Yellow', by my dad.
He owned a supermarket in Merseyside at the time and many a school holiday we would drive back from the 'cash n carry', ahem, fully loaded, with the rear axle scraping the ground, hoping we wouldn't collapse the Mersey Tunnel as we veered through on the way to the shop in Birkenhead. Here's a picture that's as near as dammit to our trusty carrier. So which van made it's debut in your life?
Good news folks, it seems there's going to be more potholes on the roads than ever before after the big freeze. All that lovely ice is now turning to water, pushing open those cracks into a more substantial arrangement ...which got me thinking.
Just who makes the best riding van? Well, you can always count on those Germans (Mercedes and Volkswagen) to put together a vehicle with well sorted suspension, however one vehicle that still draws my praise is Vauxhall's Vivaro.
Ok it's been around for a while now, but by crikey, it still impresses with its excellent damping arrangement, ideal for soaking up that hangover the morning after.
However this title may be inder threat...by a Fiat. Yes, the new Doblo Cargo, on sale in March really impressed when I tested it on its launch, check out the video...
Besides the recent introduction of Nissan's NV200 based on Renault Kangoo, a slight disapointment based on an underwhelming product, there's little to get excited in van world at the moment. And considering its the CV Show in April, minus a small outsider called Ford at least, it seems every CV manufacturer is holding their breath, awaiting to resurface in 2011. But let's not get too down shall we. This blog, and the subsequent video road tests, should keep you company throught the year as I dig a little deeper into that most practical of vehicles
