Hi,
does anyone have any opinions regarding the reliability and quality of the new T5 transporter/Caravelle. Our 02 T4 caravelle has been very dissapointing (no where near as bad as the v-Class, but that's not saying much).
We are struggling for alternatives as we need a wheelchair accessible vehicle that has enough weight/power to tow a decent sized caravan. Any ideas would be most welcome.
Thanks,
Mark
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HJ's roadtest plus my impressions based on a six day hire are to be found here: www.honestjohn.co.uk/road_tests/index.htm?id=105
Noting your comment about towing a caravan, in turn note the comment I made about the rear door; if you buy a T5 be sure to get the split double door, not the huge one piece tailgate.
I was highly impressed with the vehicle, and when I asked the rental company employee for his 'long term' opinion he said "great". The police are apparently amongst his customers, and despite the vehicles being given a hard time they are apparently a paragon of reliability.
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An excellent review I hadn't noticed it had been updated.
I had a short test drive in a Caravelle executive and was equally impressed.
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Friend has just got a T5 SWB Transporter (basis for the Caravelle). I have driven it and been all over it, and I can say its the best put together van I have seen, and for a van drives very nicely indeed. The owner and I both agree it knocks spots off a MB vito for instance.
My only complaint is the dip stick. Its about 17 feet long, thin and flexible and wont go back in unless you guide it with fingers on the oily bit!
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And yes, you need the twin rear doors option.
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That'll be a dipstick designed by a dipstick then :-)
I'll get my coat
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I agree with everyone else on here, we hired a T5 2.5TDi PD 130 auto in June to go to Le Mans for the 24h race. It covered 500 miles on the Friday night and another 500 coming back on the Sunday night, 7-up, with absolutely no fuss or drama at all. It was immensely practical, spacious and comfortable and the air-conditioning was more than capable of cooling us all in the 37 degree heat.
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I've had a T5 Caravelle 174 bhp, tiptronic, for 15 months now and
I reckon the reviews on this site are pretty accurate. There are
issues with it though. One problem was the tiptronic gearbox
had a serious fault from new and after much messing around VW finally replaced it with a new one, this was at 3000 miles, I'm
now at 20,000 without problems. There is also an intermediate shaft
in the steering mechanism which had to be replaced, this may have to happen again, I can feel it starting to click again. All the faults I've had have been experienced by others. Two sites that may be of interest to you are
www.t5board.de and
www.jewuwa.de
both are in German but you can use babelfish to translate.
Apart from the problems above and a few niggles, like the easily scratched plastic, the van is really great and I wouldn't want to drive anything else. Engine, gearbox, steering and comfort/visibility being it's best features.
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