This thread had got me thinking that such a van sized MPV could be useful for me as an alternative to my 300TDi Disco. I've "got my heart set" on a MKII Espace as MKI's are ultra rare and even MKII difficult to find so yesterday visited the local scrap yard to see what alternatives were affordable. After all if they are in scrap yard then surely must be in my price range 
Toyota Previa not bad but back home a little research shows they can rust / rot plus decent can demand good price so that is off my list.
Kia Sedona a well worthy contender as all the ones in the yard were rust & rot free. Only problem is they are Band K VED and not available pre March 2001 where VED based on engine size. Looking on eBay cheap to buy as well
Chrysler Voyager immediately appealed to me - especially the US styling and column auto gear selector. Huge inside with both Voyager and Grand Voyager. Again Band K VED but you can get them in the older VED system so a fixed rate with being over 1549cc. Again no rust or rot on the ones I saw. Another cheap Ebay vehicle.
For some (very) strange reason I accidently though about a Fiat Multipla last night. Fugly but can't find a really bad review about them so looked a bit further. Possible to fold standard seats down into two single beds although I'd want either an airbed or foam mattress on top to improve comfort (I'm an "old fogie" ).
If you remove the front centre seat then plenty of room for single person camping with feet in the gap. For double sleeping then you have to remove front seat headrests and slide them fully forward then tilt backrest toward windscreen - or so I've read. Diesel versions post March 2001 are actually cheaper VED band than petrol plus lower cost than pre March 2001. They are also "cheap as chips" from quick look at ones for sale.
You can rearrange rear seats so they are just behind the fronts and facing backwards thus creating a "picnic" area.
So whilst MKII Espace is top of my list next is now probably a Multipla then pre 2001 Voyager.
I should add VED cost is important to me as I have 5 vehicles (Smart, Fabia, Mahindra, Disco and Marlin - all require VED paying even if Smart is cheap) so seeing this would be an occasional use toy lowest rate is important and the K Band would be a "final straw" in deciding what to buy. So whilst I fully agree with the argument that it's only a few quid a week more for the higher VED band vehicles it is still one of the things I take into account.
Toyota Previa not bad but back home a little research shows they can rust / rot plus decent can demand good price so that is off my list.
Kia Sedona a well worthy contender as all the ones in the yard were rust & rot free. Only problem is they are Band K VED and not available pre March 2001 where VED based on engine size. Looking on eBay cheap to buy as well
Chrysler Voyager immediately appealed to me - especially the US styling and column auto gear selector. Huge inside with both Voyager and Grand Voyager. Again Band K VED but you can get them in the older VED system so a fixed rate with being over 1549cc. Again no rust or rot on the ones I saw. Another cheap Ebay vehicle.
For some (very) strange reason I accidently though about a Fiat Multipla last night. Fugly but can't find a really bad review about them so looked a bit further. Possible to fold standard seats down into two single beds although I'd want either an airbed or foam mattress on top to improve comfort (I'm an "old fogie"
).If you remove the front centre seat then plenty of room for single person camping with feet in the gap. For double sleeping then you have to remove front seat headrests and slide them fully forward then tilt backrest toward windscreen - or so I've read. Diesel versions post March 2001 are actually cheaper VED band than petrol plus lower cost than pre March 2001. They are also "cheap as chips" from quick look at ones for sale.
You can rearrange rear seats so they are just behind the fronts and facing backwards thus creating a "picnic" area.
So whilst MKII Espace is top of my list next is now probably a Multipla then pre 2001 Voyager.
I should add VED cost is important to me as I have 5 vehicles (Smart, Fabia, Mahindra, Disco and Marlin - all require VED paying even if Smart is cheap) so seeing this would be an occasional use toy lowest rate is important and the K Band would be a "final straw" in deciding what to buy. So whilst I fully agree with the argument that it's only a few quid a week more for the higher VED band vehicles it is still one of the things I take into account.
