James Ruppert: Ideal purchases if your old man is a van man? Car News

Papa vans, do you like it? These are really all the mobile boxes on wheels that you will ever need. This is probably why the owner of a Skoda Yeti, whose car was hit by a reckless driver while parked, is now looking for a van-shaped minivan to replace it.

He is part of a family of four who love to go camping so they need a lot of space and would prefer an automatic gearbox if possible. And since they live in the Ultra Low Emission Zone of London, he wants a gasoline.

His budget is relatively high, up to £ 18,000, and he likes the idea of ​​a Citroën Berlingo or a Vauxhall Combo Life. But I’m sure I can find alternatives for a smaller expense.

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The Ford B-Max is a pretty decent midsize MPV. I came across a 2017 1.0 Ecoboost Titanium Navigator with 26,000 miles for £ 9,495 from a main dealer. It only had a previous owner and looked like new, but our reader wanted an automatic to handle city life, so I turned my attention to a 2015 1.6 Titanium Powershift with 40,000 miles at just a bit. over £ 7,000. It offered poorer fuel mileage, but that’s the price to pay for having a car.

Here’s a strange one: the Ssangyong Tivoli. It’s only weird because not enough of us think about this super-reliable little bus, which I consider good enough to drive, as no one really cares about its performance.

It also comes in the right flavor for our research, like the 1.6 e-XGi ELX auto. These little beauties have sensational value compared to cars of mainstream brands, and there may also be residual manufacturer’s warranty. I found a 2018 example with just over 14,000 miles for £ 10,995. This is a high level job with a full dealer service history, plus four years of coverage remaining.

The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer is anathema to me, but some people like the idea, so let’s go for it. A pretty cool 218i from 2017 with 40,000 miles and one owner isn’t bad at all at £ 12,700 at an independent dealer. And while it’s style rather than actual substance, a 2019 218 M Sport with just 17,000 miles might well appeal at £ 16,800.

I really like the unassuming dimensions and quite minibus and Postman Patness of the Renault Kangoo. Many of these have been adapted for wheelchair users, but I found a standard 2010 1.6 Expression car with 54,000 miles for a tint under £ 6,000.