First time van driver

Nebulous2

I've driven vans and bigger vehicles intermittently for many years, so I can't really remember what it is like to not have that experience, but anyone who has driven my van has been surprised at how good it is to drive. The high position gives better vision in many circumstances and they are much more carlike in behaviour than they used to be. 

Mine is a long wheelbase and I'd slightly disagree with some of the comments above about turning. In a small car, the back wheels to all intents and purposes track the front ones. If you clear something at the front you are going to clear it at the back. The longer the vehicle wheelbase gets, the less that happens, with the tail taking a tighter line. It is perfectly possible to clear an obstacle with the front of the van while turning and clip it with the rear. So you can hit a pole or a  bollard with the rear side /corner of the van. 

The answer to that is to allow slightly more distance from the object at the front, and to turn slightly later. If passing a close object and turning, keep an eye on it in the mirror at that side. 

The level of adjustment needed is fairly small, but it does exist. Many of the big swings you have seen people doing are completely unnecessary, they think they are manoeuvring a boat, not a vehicle.   

fabfor

Yes, drive a bit more slowly, take a wide berth when turning and watch out for your nearside mirror hitting the mirrors of parked vehicles of similar height - in narrow tunnels, I often pull in my LHS mirror until exiting the tunnel to avoid mirrors clashing.

Alanp

Mildly_Miffed said:

Alanp said:

And remember, speed limits are different in a van

A Tourneo Custom will be M1 type approved, and the same speed limits as a car.

Yes, the crazy speed limit laws for vans, basically, if it has windows it’s car speed limits, if it’s the same van without windows, it’s not..

Herzlos

The 9 seater is a large people carrier rather than a van, so speed limits will be like a car and it'll have a rear view mirror. It'll be much higher up than most cars and a bit wallowy, but visibility should be pretty good all round and hopefully you can get one with parking sensors or reversing camera.

As mentioned it's not much bigger than many cars, and should still fit in a regular parking space, though you'll need to be careful about the height and park somewhere a bit quieter to have space to comfortably get the doors open.

Can you hire one for a day before the trip just to try it out?

gcoopermax

Thanks all, should have mentioned one more bit, I plan to take this to Highlands and Lake district. Does anyone see any unforeseen challenges? What to look for in terms of roads/parking?

Ectophile

gcoopermax said:

Thanks all, should have mentioned one more bit, I plan to take this to Highlands and Lake district. Does anyone see any unforeseen challenges? What to look for in terms of roads/parking?

Do take notice of height, weight and width limit signs.  As a car driver, you're probably used to ignoring them.

Herzlos

gcoopermax said:

Thanks all, should have mentioned one more bit, I plan to take this to Highlands and Lake district. Does anyone see any unforeseen challenges? What to look for in terms of roads/parking?

You should be able to fit in most normal spaces, though be careful because a lot of Highland roads are pretty narrow, so stop and use passing places if you're not sure.

Your biggest concern is probably going to be how much space you need to leave behind to open the boot because the tailgate is huge.

gcoopermax

Thanks, sounds like I could do with a test drive however was surprised to see that it costs £200+ to hire for a day from Enterprise! Any suggestions for trying it out cheaper elsewhere? 

Nearlyold

Local firms may be cheaper than the big national names, they certainly are in our small town. 

Geodark

Just (almost) finished a van conversion (so a camper van now) and when I got it I was terrified of driving it. after a few miles it felt no different to driving a car. I love my vivaro I have to say, to the point I got rid of the family car and use this for my daily drive, and got an MX5 RF as my car.