Stay away from PSA vans! Virtually every single one I’ve driven has broken. Utter crap. The only PSA van that’s any good is the Vivaro/Trafic/Primastar, especially the new ones (will average 45+ mpg when driven with care on a motorway).
Sprinters are built like brick ■■■■■■■■■■ - I used to agency for DPD so can say with certainty I’ve given them thorough testing on countryside routes. Although the base engines are absolute ■■■■-weak. The PSA vans have more power and are cheaper (Sprinters are expensive) - so it depends.
If you want a cheap van with decent power to keep for a few years then throw away, buy PSA. If you need something to last, get a Sprinter. Transits are good all-rounders, but I dislike the new ones (French interior, mediocre performance and handling, can’t reverse more than 5mph).
I’ve run most vans as service vans mostly Renault Masters and Sprinters which would be my top two picks.
Things I liked about the Master were low floor, big doors and very spacious load area. You could drive them like a race car and excellent brakes. The biggest downside was head off type engine troubles by the time 100k started to come around - they may have improved the engines since then.
The Sprinters didn’t have any of those advantages of the Master and cost a lot more but the engines would run and run.
Transits sit in the middle with middling design and middling reliability, vastly over-rated and inexpicably popular in this country.
That’s the choice really a well designed van that’s good to drive but with reliability issues or an expensive badly designed van that is not particularly good to drive but is reliable.
Punchy Dan:
0Well I would suppose I do have the best sprinter ever made the German Gardner 5 cylinder ,it’s done 850,000 miles and although it’s getting like triggs brush it’s ready to go anywhere at a minites notice ,
A testament to your vehicle maintenance/management and care as well the engine PunchyDan. Really good to see.
Well that’s another factor, actually - I tend to look for things with it in mind I’ll be sat inside it all day, rather than paying for it. PSA vans have more toys inside, and useful things like clipboards and storage bits, Mercs are more bare but you can fit 3 fat builders in them without awkward leg-brushing on every gear change.
Punchy Dan:
Merc every time ,no buts ,everything is crap .
From what I heard, they are garage queens. That being said, they are great to drive.
Just avoid euro 4 twin turbos 313/315 they’re OK for approx 200,000 +| - but then just sieze up with no warning ,we had one cut out on the services ,after a while it started ok and drove back , then a mile down the road on test run after it had been plugged in and shown no faults it siezed up in the quarry entrance end of ! The single turbo versions were very rare .
Pity he can’t make do with a normal size van, as Toyota Hiace is probably the most reliable one out there, not to be confused with the latest one which is apparently a rebadged Pug Expert.
Years ago I ran among others a Merc 307d that I bought of a removals company, the box on the back was so big there were days when the wind was blowing hard it stayed in the warehouse. Horrible thing !!
Juddian:
Pity he can’t make do with a normal size van, as Toyota Hiace is probably the most reliable one out there, not to be confused with the latest one which is apparently a rebadged Pug Expert.
adam277:
I’d have a transit over a sprinter anyday.
Same here.
Best of a bad bunch to be honest.
Mate of mine used to work at a commercial Merc dealership where they looked after fairly new ambulances that were mercs.
He spent most of his time fitting new turbo’s to them or complete engines under warranty. That was about 4 years ago.
Stay away from Vauxhall as well, chocolate gear box’s from a lot of things I’ve heard about them.
I’d also agree that front drive is crap from a 3.5 ton perspective.