[The Jester of Wibbly]

Starting to switch towards the new Vivaro 120BH van as opposed to the Transit Custom 125 as finding a few better deals out there.

Only concern is the 1.6lt engine, although I see in the specs the Torque and BH is fine.  I know new technology in engines can see smaller engines with more power.  You only have to be an F1 fan to to see this happen 

However on speaking to Ford, they tell me the Vivaro will not perform when loaded with a 1.6lt engine.  Are they spinning me line?

[kempy]

I think so ...
Vauxhall are not going to produce a van that can't carry it's pay-load are they ?

They spend ££££s on research

[C o z y]

Spruce and a couple of lads on here have the knowledge of all that. However, the smaller newer engines are powerful, but not sure they're better than a 2.5 ltr motor when it comes to carrying a full load every day.

I was a little unsure when our Renault dealer showed me around the new model.

[ChumBucket]

I think so ...
Vauxhall are not going to produce a van that can't carry it's pay-load are they ?

They spend ££££s on research

I agree. Don't you worry about something that a global company has spent umpteen hundreds of thousands of pounds researching & developing- that's their job. You just buy what suites you best both physically & financially. Like I said before, I ran a 400ltr system for over four years with a van (doblo multijet) that had a 1250 turbo diesel engine in it & it was more than up to the job, never missing a beat too!

[Neil Jones]

I've got one. I've got the LWB sportive and fully loaded it pulls better than my 2008 vivaro. I even drive it with Eco mode on, take this off and it drives even better.

[Jakey boy]

Starting to switch towards the new Vivaro 120BH van as opposed to the Transit Custom 125 as finding a few better deals out there.

Only concern is the 1.6lt engine, although I see in the specs the Torque and BH is fine.  I know new technology in engines can see smaller engines with more power.  You only have to be an F1 fan to to see this happen  

However on speaking to Ford, they tell me the Vivaro will not perform when loaded with a 1.6lt engine.  Are they spinning me line?

there puuling your leg trying get your custom, the vivaro engine would be more than suffiecnt to carry its payload and some .

[Neil Jones]

My only concern with these new vans is the amount of stuff that can go wrong. Everything is electric and with Eco mode, sensored wipers, cruise control etc etc it just worries me a bit.

[Walter Mitty]

There was a time that I would have had more faith in the research.  However, couldn't the same have been said about the 6 speed gearbox that allowed water in underneath to corrode and screw up the gear selection?

[Clever Forum Name]

Starting to switch towards the new Vivaro 120BH van as opposed to the Transit Custom 125 as finding a few better deals out there.

Only concern is the 1.6lt engine, although I see in the specs the Torque and BH is fine.  I know new technology in engines can see smaller engines with more power.  You only have to be an F1 fan to to see this happen  

However on speaking to Ford, they tell me the Vivaro will not perform when loaded with a 1.6lt engine.  Are they spinning me line?

there puuling your leg trying get your custom, the vivaro engine would be more than suffiecnt to carry its payload and some .

I see what you did there

[Spruce]

Starting to switch towards the new Vivaro 120BH van as opposed to the Transit Custom 125 as finding a few better deals out there.

Only concern is the 1.6lt engine, although I see in the specs the Torque and BH is fine.  I know new technology in engines can see smaller engines with more power.  You only have to be an F1 fan to to see this happen 

However on speaking to Ford, they tell me the Vivaro will not perform when loaded with a 1.6lt engine.  Are they spinning me line?

Aren't Ford the ones who are now putting a 1.0 turbo petrol engine in a Ford Focus?

Cozy, I'm old school and am 'nervous' about these tiny engines that have been given Turbo boost to achieve torque and horse power.

With regard to diesels, when it comes to torque it is achieved low down in the rev band on a bigger engine. As I've said before, the C5 in 2005 was the first Hdi that convinced me that small isn't always better.

Citroen boosted the 1.6 Hdi to 110 hp on the C5 facelift model which was the same hp as the 2.0 hdi fitted to the original C5. The 1.6 C5 ran OK with that engine solo but it couldn't pull a caravan. The previous 2.0 hdi engine got towcar of the year. The bigger 2.2 hdi in the same model C5 wasn't a patch on the 2.0 hdi either even although it had 136hp.

The original diesel Picasso was a 2.0 hdi 90hp. The second generation 1.6hdi Picasso was boosted to 110hp, a figure which was achieved with turbo boost in 3rd gear only. IMHO that engine wasn't a patch on the 2.0hdi.

But the market gets to accept new standards pushed by Government tax legislation. lower emissions mean lower costs and a business man will just accept this even if we are forced to drive vehicles in the future which have the power and performance of an old Morris Minor.  

[C o z y]

lol @ Moggy Minor 

[Spruce]

There was a time that I would have had more faith in the research.  However, couldn't the same have been said about the 6 speed gearbox that allowed water in underneath to corrode and screw up the gear selection?

Also on a wide selection of 5 speed gearboxes on other makes as well.

When Ford first brought out the 6 speed gearbox on their Mondeos they replaced most of the original batch under warranty with the customers being unaware that they had done it.

The 6th gear wasn't actually sitting in the oil and relied on splash lubrication. It didn't work and they were forced to replace them by the vehicle inspectorate. They could do this on the QT as it wasn't a safety issue.
Ford had done so much advertising to launch the new 6 speed gearbox that they couldn't admit it was a failure, especially as it was fitted to the upmarket Titanium Models first.

So just accept that most of what comes from the motor trade is sales hype and isn't always correct or advantageous to the customer.

[dd]

Personally I would not trust a Vivaro sized van with a 1.6 engine. Even if it does perform well surely the engine will have to work very hard and will be more prone to wear and faults. Especially when it regularly carries around 1/2 ton of water.

[Clever Forum Name]

What do you think to the new Ford Customs spruce?

[craig mcneil]

Smaller engines are progress. The Ford Model T had a 2.9l engine which put out 20hp. The next generation of Mondeos will apparently have 1l engines that put out 140bhp.

I would have no issue with buying one of these vans with a small engine providing it could put out the necessary pulling power.

[Scrimble]

I have a 1.6 fiat doblo 105bhp and it does really well carrying up to 600l on board, I have even pulled a car on a trailer with ladders on roof and 400l+ water and it pulled fine didnt struggled at all

why dont you test drive a 1..6 vivaro and find out yourself?

[The Jester of Wibbly]

I have a 1.6 fiat doblo 105bhp and it does really well carrying up to 600l on board, I have even pulled a car on a trailer with ladders on roof and 400l+ water and it pulled fine didnt struggled at all

why dont you test drive a 1..6 vivaro and find out yourself?

I don't think you can test drive them fully loaded can you?

[Spruce]

What do you think to the new Ford Customs spruce?

I think they look good. They also still use the 2.2 TDci engine that has been around for quite sometime in various forms. What I like is the low down torque that comes from a bigger diesel engine. I'm old school and old school says that HP on a diesel engine means nothing. Its all about torque. Its genuine torque assisted by turbo charging and not totally reliant on the turbo charger to produce it.

I also like the over engineering that has gone into the body shell. Compare it to the sparseness of the internal structure of the vans produced by the French and Italian boys.

I'm 'scared' about all the 'attachments' to help get emissions down, which, as another poster noted, are more things to go wrong. The more complicated the engine, the more chance the main dealers have to service them - a kind of blackmail to force users back into overpriced workshops.
For example. Why do they need to route all of the battery charging instructions through the ECU? I know why they are doing it, I just don't understand why its so necessary to do this.

Whilst DPF filter technology has got better, a van doing short trips like we do is going to give us hassles. To prevent the hassles we have to take it up the motorway once a week and give it a good burn. Again, this just doesn't make sense to me.

Take the new 1.0 turbo petrol engine put into the Focus. It has an electrically driven motor driving the turbo. Yes, they sell you the advantages, but they won't tell you why they had no option to do this. If they didn't do it and drove the turbo the conventional way, ie with the exhaust, then you wouldn't buy the new Ford Focus with that engine, period.

I can understand why Craig McNeil said that this engine design is progress, but I don't buy the the reasons why they are doing it. Its all to do the the climate change EU lobby that are in it for their own financial gain - Al Gore for example.

[capn sparkle]

Ask the 'keen' salesman to hold a bag of water in the back. Purchase big balloon - think you can guess the rest  

[Spruce]

I have a 1.6 fiat doblo 105bhp and it does really well carrying up to 600l on board, I have even pulled a car on a trailer with ladders on roof and 400l+ water and it pulled fine didnt struggled at all

why dont you test drive a 1..6 vivaro and find out yourself?

I don't think you can test drive them fully loaded can you?

Tell them that you want an extended test drive and tell them you want to test its suitability with a full payload. The dealers have to accommodate this as part of their commercial agreement with the manufacturers. They do their best to object, but stand your ground. If they don't agree then phone Vauxhall and complain.

You might have to do a Heath Robinson strap down of your tank, but it's only going to be for a short time. Otherwise you maybe able to arrange a bag of builder's sand on a pallet loaded with a forklift.