best van type car but not a van

atrixblue.-MFR-.

most MPV's have fold flat seats with just a lift of a handle their back up again.

greatgimpo

Whatever you buy, your accountant will tell you to get one with emissions lower than 156gms for tax purposes.

System

You should be able to get a Nissan X-Trail or a Honda CRV diesel for £4k. Diesels from that era should be fairly reliable and fine for town driving or motorways and should be fairly economical.

Issue with the CRV would be that it has the spare tyre on the boot door so the boot opens outwards and not upwards. When I had one I found this to be great for loading but not so great for parking in some car parks or street parking in London. The seats are however very easy to fold down and the raised height of the vehicle makes it very easy to load/unload.

If you fancy something more truck based there is the Mitsubishi Shogun Sport but economy and ride on them are dire.

Slightly smaller would be the Suzuki Grand Vitara and the Toyota Rav4. I don't have any experience with these but the reviews I read were mostly favourable.

OddballJamie

greatgimpo wrote: »

Whatever you buy, your accountant will tell you to get one with emissions lower than 156gms for tax purposes.

If it classes as a commercial vehicle it doesn't make a difference, that's why I suggested the Navara type of vehicle.

bigjl

I have done a side by side comparison with a 2008 Pathfinder and a 2011 Galaxy.

The Galaxy has much more room and is easier to load.

A Black Galaxy with a nice set of alloys and privacy glass looks about as professional as you are likely to get without spending a lot of dosh.

Onky go for the later shspe as the early ones had roll forward seats which didn't create a flat floor without removing the rear seats.

Your budget limits what you can afford and i would be very wary of spending that kind of money on some form of double cab.

A mate had a really nice 06 L200 with all the toys. Two turbos in three months and he sold it and bought a Focus estate.

25mpg was the order of the day but i would expect better as his was a "wrong un".

You can find ex NHS CR-V cdtis down at "theauctioneers" in wales which are a good deal, they are silver and mostly civilianised, but they are all 57 and onwards in the later, few signs of wear to the seats, buy some leather on eBay, but will have been serviced better than anything you are likely to find on eBay or Gumtree and they are guided at £2/2500.

I can see the attraction of a double cab, but they are overly complicated for what you need and you are buying the cheap ones which are likely to have been abused and mistreated by the numerous previous keepers.

dacouch

londonTiger wrote: »

items are size like a coffin for 8 year olds.. Thats a horrid description but the closest I can think of

I don't recall a van manufacturer who advertises their van based on how many 8 year olds coffins it can hold

marleyboy

I have the Ford S-Max, the seats fold flat, effectively turning the vehicle into a van. Its wide enough as well as deep enough to transport bulky items.

chrisw

Nissan Note. Small outside but huge inside.

Tigerprint

How about this..... slightly ugly but may fit the bill

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-cars/fiat/doblo/used-fiat-doblo-1-9-multijet-active-5dr-120-huddersfield-fpa-201310129252457?logcode=p

Flying-High_2

Diesel Estate such as an A6... Navara's load bed is a approx 1.5m long ,thats as a Double Cab the King cab or Single will obviously be longer.

You'll get more MPG from an estate aswell than a 4x4 My Navara is the High 20's low 30's... It'll save you camping out in between jobs to save on the Juice;)