PANEL VANS
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UNDER 3.5 TONNES OVW
ith three new contenders in this group—the Sevel, a revised Transit and Nissan's reduced wheelbase Hiace Compact— judging was not easy.
Toyota's Hiace got off to an excellent start taking pole position after the productivity calculations, thanks to its 1.2-tonne payload and nippy performance. While the VW Transporter turned in the best fuel economy and speed, its 800kg payload let it down. Sandwiched between the two was the Peugeot followed by the Transit.
With a panel van you have to buy the complete package and load volume is important but we took the view that if it were paramount then an operator would go for a long-wheelbase 3.5-tonner with the optional high roof. On fleet appeal the pendulum starts to swing towards Ford and Peugeot While the Ford's list price was the highest, its track record on trade-in prices is enviable. Our basket of parts would only cost you £370 for the Ford and there are 160 Transit specialist dealers to cure any ills. Both counted in its favour.
Both Toyota and Peugeot suffer with their parts costing over £500. While Toyota has 270 dealers, they are in no way van specialists—Peugeot does have van centres but they number 52. As both are new products, trade-in prices are yet to emerge.
The VW Transporter gave a fair to middling account of itself. Both its list price and spares cost are in the middle of the pack, while 350 van dealers counted in its favour. Where it did take the honours was with ride and handling, leading the Peugeot Boxer by a short head. Close behind was the Ford but the Toyota lost a lot of ground here.
When it comes to driver appeal, Ford's expenditure paid off. Having tackled noise vibration and harshness in the lab, the Transit was easily the quietest in the group and impressed our testers. As the vehicle we tested came with the ABS, electrical windows and mirrors (although it needs a headlamp levelling device) it carried off the prize for driver appeal. Also rated highly was the Peugeot: a high driving position, slick gear lever and good stowage space weighed heavily in its favour.
Toyota trailed the pack in this area as cab access requires a degree of agility and once the driver is installed, conditions are rather cramped. Also Toyota's effort at a third seat let it down while VW took the view that if it couldn't do it properly, it wouldn't do it at all.
It was, perhaps, to be expected that the Peugeot scored well when it came to innovation. The maximisation of load space, full-height side door and dinky gear lever were all positive points. Ford's new wide angle mirror on the Transit also gained it a point or two.
As for safety, none of our contenders was fitted with bulkheads. This is strange on the Ford and Sevel as both come with dual passenger seats preventing any walkthrough access. Having suffered from a high list price, there was nothing to touch the Transit in the safety stakes. Fitted with ABS, lap and diagonal centre seat belt and twin air bags its score in this area gave it the edge over the Peugeot. But the Sevel is new whereas the Transit has had 30 years to