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TWO OF THE BEST
Page 58
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The Vauxhall Movano has completed a
year with CM's long-term test fleet; here's its end-of term report, with an update on the Volkswagen Caddy The news is all good...
The cavernous Vauxhall Movano spent 12 months at CM and clocked up more than 20,000 miles. Did it win us over or were we glad to see its departure?
putting a vehicle through its paces for a year can become tedious. If it's not to your liking it becomes a real slog, and the long-wheelbase, high-roof Movano proved a slow starter, spending more time in the workshop than on the road.
Those early tribulations— mostly brought about by us (see panel below) —were soon forgotten, and apart from winter playing havoc with the dials on the dash. and the handbrake sticking if left for more than 48 hours at a time, it came through unscathed and valued.
The 3.0-litre engine is a beauty, providing a consistent 70mph up and down hills — although its power output when running empty is a little scary. Chipping it down under a certain weight might take the edge off a lively driveline.
Over the past two months the Movano eased off the mileage, and with more local trips the fuel economy dipped below its strong performances at the end of 2005.
Our full roadtest (CM 14July 2005) produced 33.0mpg unladen, and that figure steadily improved up to the last couple of tanktop-to-tank-top calculations that we made.
During our last throw of the dice around the Kent test route it turned in a 5.1% improvement in its laden fuel figure, which is a decent result. Handling, apart from a wide turning circle, is immaculate, but if you pick one up make sure the load interior is lined,This will improve load security and help keep it clean.
Poor road surfaces, especially when empty, make for a noisy drive.Although we praised its noise insulation earlier in the test, this remained the one factor that bugged as throughout.
'That aside, it has been consistent from bumper to replaced bumper. •
Likes and dislikes...
101 Solid construction V Strong engine V Acceleration X Poor turning circle X Noise insulation THE LOWDOWN A good all-rounder with decent fuel economy that makes it a number-one contender. The cabin is well designed too. During its 12 months with us, only the long wheelbase caused us any problems in a part of the country noted for narrow roads and junctions.
We were sad to see it go.