Recommendations for the "best" / most reliable car option for a wheelchair passenger.

Stubod

Hi all, and many thanks to all those who replied to my earlier thread regarding a car for a friend who needs a wheelchair accessible car.

We have now ruled out the need for a "side access", and we have narrowed the choice down to the following vehicles:-

Peugeot Partner, Peugeot Rifter, Citroen Berlingo, Fiat Doblo, and possbly a Fiat Qubo as they really want a vehicle that is as small as practicable.

I really know nothing about any of the above cars, as in general I am a bit concerned about the reliability of French and Italian cars. However they seem to be the only makers of small to medium size wheelchair access cars.

The only other criteria is that it needs to be an automatic. (NB The wheelchair user will be a passenger only, and is not looking to drive the car).

Considering 2nd hand vehicles only, and looking for any advice as to which of the above cars we should be considering, and what would be the best engine option, (diesel or petrol??)

Many thanks for any input.

Herzlos

The Skoda Yeti apparently has a pretty good boot space for taking a folded wheelchair, though they will be getting a bit older now. It's quite a tall hatchback so there's a boot lip but it's pretty square and the back seats slide forward if you need a bit more space. There's also the Skoda Roomster which is the same idea.

That said, the Citroen Berlingo is only about 20cm longer, but has a much bigger boot with no lip. It may even take an unfolded kids chair. It takes ours, and with a strap attached to the floor point it only takes a few seconds to throw it in and secure it. The only downside is that the tailgate/boot door is huge, so you need a lot of space behind you to get it open.

Your friends best option is to go to a few of the car supermarket type places with the chair and see what they can get in/out easily.

Does your friend have a budget in mind?

I also wouldn't worry about the badge/country of manufacture, most cars are built to a much better standard these days and with platform sharing you'll find the same car sold as a Toyota (Proace Version) and Citroen (Space Tourer).


Actually, can you clarify if you're talking about a setup where the passenger is on a seat and the chair is in the boot, or one that's been modified so that the passenger stays on the wheelchair in the vehicle, with a ramp etc? Because with the latter you're much better just looking at stuff that's already been converted and that's almost certainly going to be a Berlingo or a Rifter.

chrisw

Do they qualify for Motability? They can then go round the dealers to find out which best suits their needs and reliability is much less of an issue.

Stubod

Thanks for the replies. 

I can confirm that the wheelchair user will be in the wheelchair as a passenger while in the car. They are not interested in motability, they are looking to buy a 2nd hand car that has already been modified, probably around £15k.

After doing some further research I have noted that most of the cars I have listed are actually all based on the same basicc platform, so I guess they will all have a similar reliability? 

Still not sure about best engine options? (ULEZ not an issue where they live, so could be petrol or diesel).

43722

Can I ask where the individual lives? This is absolutely not a recommendation, but Jubilee motors in the west midlands has sold second hand accessible vehicles for years, might be worth looking online at least.

Rodders53

Petrol is probably better for short journeys occasionally. 
Diesel likely best for lots of longer distance trips.

Best research some specialised forums for Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) and also the Peugeot / Citroen vehicle forums for known issues with  engines and auto gearboxes used in them.  That may sway which combination you want to get.

Though some may also lurk on here.

Stubod

Hi again and thanks for the replies. Person lives in Shropshire, so fairly close to West Midlands. Good point re diesels, low mileage and DPF's. Sort of rules out a diesel recommendation for me!

born_again

I think your bet option is to find a local WAV dealer
or visit somewhere like this & try out a few to see what suits.
https://www.alliedmobility.com/used-wavs/

This forum might be a good starting place for how people find them.
https://forum.whichmobilitycar.co.uk/forums/forum/mobility-car-main-forum/

Do not rule out the EV versions, if they have the facility to charge @ home, as they will find them very easy to drive. Something like Berlingo.

Martin_the_Unjust

43722 said:

Can I ask where the individual lives? This is absolutely not a recommendation, but Jubilee motors in the west midlands has sold second hand accessible vehicles for years, might be worth looking online at least.

We have recently bought a second hand WAV (wheelchair adapted vehicle) and whilst we ended up buying from elsewhere we were impressed with the range of vehicles they had and the knowledge of the salesperson.

We bought a VW caddy by the way, it seems much better than the Peugeot it replaced.

Top tip, if you are looking for as small as possible take the wheelchair user with you to make sure they can get in it, some of them are very tight. 

400ixl

One thing to make sure of engine wise is to avoid any with a wet belt system if reliability is a factor.

Goudy

You're right, most of the small van based MPV's are based on the same vehicle these days.

The latest Rifter, Combo, Berlingo, Proace and Doblo are all the same bar the badges and the petrol engines mainly come with the dreaded Wet Belt.

Slightly older Partners, Berlingos and Combo's were the same as well.

They are really based on a small vans so tend to sell in diesel manual's, though the newer ones are available in EV form, which are all effectively automatics.
There are a few auto's, but some had semi automatic gearboxes that drive awful as they don't creep.
To reverse you have to use two feet, one on the throttle and one on the brake.

Renault sold the Kangoo.
The earlier, MPV versions sold a few in petrol auto.
The newer ones are based on the latest Clio platform (my Clio auto have been totally faultless)
The diesel engines used (obviously) in the diesel versions are a lot more reliable and don't have a much fussy emissions equipment on them, so are generally better if short tripped. These diesel engines are used by everyone these days, even Mercedes use them.

Ford sell their Tourneo Connect which these days is a rebadged VW Caddy (2021 onwards).
They have VW engines and can be had with DSG automatic gearboxes, but they will be pricey.
Earlier ones are all Ford and best avoided, they used Welt Belts and liked to rust for fun.

These vehicles are no longer made in France or Italy no matter what the badge might suggest.
More like Spain, Poland or Turkey these days and as you might have gathered by now, by the same people.

You will struggle to find an auto version, particularly in petrol form of any of these types of vehicles, there are some but not many, not unless you buy a recent model.
You might want to think about the EV versions, yes they cost more but if you can home charge you should see the extra back at some point in your ownership.
I think Nissan sell their E-NV200 and have been converted to WAVs.