switch to a pickup?

mawk

hey guys, looking for advice/experiences;

currently driving a 1.6 petrol golf. it does me ok but I've a mad urge to buy an l200!

my insurance company quoted me as slightly lower than on my golf and the doe means cheaper tax. fuel usage therefore is probably a big concern. I pulled the usages from spritmonitor for the golf and l200 into excel and did some tinkering. normalising the diesel usage to reflect the price difference I worked out the difference to be an average of 2l per 100km difference. this doesnt seem too bad but is like to hear from anyone who has one what they are like on fuel.

the other two concerns are speed and noise. is a pickup happy to do 120-140kph on the motorway? or would cylinders be making a break for freedom? and how is road noise at speed? my golf was an oasis of silence compared to previous cars and it was nice.

one other thing is how does the 2.5 in the mitsubishi deal with wvo? very interested in trying that too

TrailerBob

Realistically with an L200, expect 22-25 mpg tops - The 2.5 is a bit of a pig really. Any reason why you want a pick-up? Looks?

They all have leaf springs on the back - so not exactly comfortable on the road. Noisy too - and you'd need an area the size of Longford to turn it. The L200 is noisier than my landcruiser - which is not exactly whisper quiet at motorway speeds. Apart from that they are a fairly reliable workhorse... but not an ideal replacement for a car. But hey.. each to their own.

Also have to consider tax - Will you be able to tax a commercial crew cab with the restrictions now being enforced?

mawk

im told I can tax it, but until I put a disc up I guess abutting could happen.

I do like the looks of them, but I just qualified as an engineer and will be starting work, and also need it for transporting kayaks. one kayak is comfortable on the golf but it would save a lot of hassle to carry three on occasion

TrailerBob

mawk wrote: »

im told I can tax it

I have to ask, who told you? did you enquire in your local Tax office? If not i'd be wary. They are getting very tight on new registrations - ie: when you go to tax this for the first time you will likely be asked to declare its business use along with proof - VAT number - and potentially employees.

If you can sort the above then go for it. Personally I think there are machines more suited to your needs, (VW Transporter springs to mind) but needs and wants are very different! (I'm guilty of this at the best of times)

mawk

not the tax office yet. just friends who have done similar.

van is too short for kayaks in the back, need about 14 feet. they'd have top go on the roof.
pickup is handier, 2 on the roof rack, one in the bed with the gate down.

plus I just like the look more than a van

reilig

I have a 06 L200 for the farm. Its sound for the farm, but that's it! It roars when it crosses 100kmph. It drinks diesel if you're going motorway driving. Its slower than a wet week and suffers from serious lag. Its tight on leg room. if you are like me, over 6ft tall, long journies will be painful on the knees.

On the other hand, its very reliable - the old model weren't as reliable.
It's great to pull a trailer and goes very well off road.

Its optimum speed is 80kmph - ideally suited for the farm, pulling a trailer etc. If you are looking for something that will do a lot of road driving above 100kmph, stay away from it.

Del2005

mawk wrote: »

not the tax office yet. just friends who have done similar.

van is too short for kayaks in the back, need about 14 feet. they'd have top go on the roof.
pickup is handier, 2 on the roof rack, one in the bed with the gate down.

plus I just like the look more than a van

You'd have to hang a red flag/light off the kayak in the bed, it'll over hang by more than a meter.

Any estate would be a better buy for what you need than a 4x4 and nearly all 4x4s are better than the L200 for road use, you can even get some 4x4 estates if you want.

TrailerBob

Agree with Del, At 14ft long, even with the single cab version you couldn't put that kayak in the loadbed. In the crewcab the loadbed is only 5ft long tops. It would be lethal. Big estate will do that job just as well. Forrester maybe?

Also dont rely on what mates might say, each tax office seems to treat the issue differently, even individual clerks differ.

Another option, my local kayak club uses a canoe trailer...

colm_mcm

My 3 litre petrol jag does better mpg than an l200 despite weighing roughly the same.

No way I'd buy a tractor like that.

mawk

colm_mcm wrote: »

My 3 litre petrol jag does better mpg than an l200 despite weighing roughly the same.

No way I'd buy a tractor like that.

its probably ever so slightly more comfortable too..
but I couldnt throw pumps and generators into it. or afford the private tax

hmm disheartening to hear the l200 is useless on the road. I like the option of the four low and the carrying capacity, but if its horrible on the tarmac then there isn't much point..

any off the other crew cabs better?

JBokeh

They have the worst lock of anything i've ever driven! at 100Km/h you'll be doing 3000 RPM in top gear with a 2.5

only thing is if you go for an estate you won't get commercial tax and you'll end up paying through the nose.

Maybe try a hilux?

FrontDoor

What about a people carrier. With the seats down in something like a Galaxy, you have enormous space.

dgt

Does it have to be a crewcab?

How about a big estate? Carry it all on the roof and have plenty of room and comfort inside...

Del2005

JBokeh wrote: »

They have the worst lock of anything i've ever driven! at 100Km/h you'll be doing 3000 RPM in top gear with a 2.5

only thing is if you go for an estate you won't get commercial tax and you'll end up paying through the nose.

Commercial tax is for the vehicle use not the vehicle type. Plenty of estates are commercial.

JBokeh wrote: »

Maybe try a hilux?

They still have the problem of having a too long a load out the back.