Mini Van's - Pro's And Con's

[sundown]

hey guys..

can anyone who knows anything about mini vans enlighten me on which makes are the best and engine displacements too..

the key criteria are reliability, economy and maintenance..

thanks,

cheers..

[Jayathu]

  sundown said:

hey guys..

can anyone who knows anything about mini vans enlighten me on which makes are the best and engine displacements too..

the key criteria are reliability, economy and maintenance..

thanks,

cheers..

Don't know much about other models, but one of my relatives has a Mitsubishi mini cab.. Must say that it is quite good on reliability and maintenance aspects.. Never heard of a break down or repairs during the past two years.. Economy wise it does about 15kmpl and being a 600 something CC vehicle, it is no surprise. Have to admit though that it feels like you are driving a bullock cart after being used to the SR18DE engine...

But once you hit about 50kmph, then the driving becomes much more smoother.. Some times I have felt that stability is a bit low under strong wind conditions near beach roads even though the low center of gravity of the vehicle suggests otherwise.. All in all can recommend the mini cab for someone who is looking for a family + delivery vehicle that does not give much headaches..

[HardHat]

sorry to drop a spanner in the works but if u think safety, you would be worried

A head on collision is most likely to do very painful damage to the legs of front seat occupants

These are designed to to deliver food and merchanisice, etc through narrow streets and busy market places and the like in congested cities, not really meant for highways.

By all means buy one cause they give commendable value for money and very economical to run, but be careful on the road

[MasterDon]

drove a D*MO batta for a few hours last month around a coconut estate....was pleasently surprised at the handling and the power from the tiny engine...and was good with a load on it's back too...yes safety might be a issue as pointed out earlier,do some extensive research before you buy one.

[JadeyBlitzen]

guys what we shouldn't forget is that these cars have tiny engines which are under huge stress. for instance some kei class cars and vans had engines with some means of forced induction. taking the power upto 64bhp. thats the equivalent of you corolla having 150-160. and the vans and trucks which are somewhat heavier and are used to carry large amounts off goods and/or 5 passengers work a lot harder than an equivalent kei car. so the engines wear out a lot faster even if they are NA than they would on a normal car. so anyone who thinks of buying such a vehicle should be aware of this matter. IMO with a hard life a rebuild will be due between 100-150k km.

[Ripper]

  JadeyBlitzen said:

guys what we shouldn't forget is that these cars have tiny engines which are under huge stress. for instance some kei class cars and vans had engines with some means of forced induction. taking the power upto 64bhp. thats the equivalent of you corolla having 150-160. and the vans and trucks which are somewhat heavier and are used to carry large amounts off goods and/or 5 passengers work a lot harder than an equivalent kei car. so the engines wear out a lot faster even if they are NA than they would on a normal car. so anyone who thinks of buying such a vehicle should be aware of this matter. IMO with a hard life a rebuild will be due between 100-150k km.

i think honda also makes a mini van and if "honda" reliability is present in those vans they shouldn't be too bad on at least that front...

I've not driven or owned one but have been in a few since some of these are running around as call cabs... they seem to be quite nippy for a van with such a small motor... but at higher speeds stability is of a concern... at least that was the case with most of the vans i've been in... a speeding truck or a bus in the opposite lane is enough make this thing move about... and like somebody else said, don't think these will protect you that well in a collision cos i bet the body is designed to be as light as it can be to be powered up with those small motors...

Guess a purchase decision will certainly depend mainly on intended use... As for me, I would not risk my life or anybody else that i hold close in one of these things...especially at speed...

[sundown]

Thanks guys for your responses..

this info was for a friend and he would be using it in colombo, so i guess the argument of safety is justified to an extent taking into consideration slow moving colombo traffic..

cheers..

Edited April 30, 2009 by sundown

[tharindu6]

  JadeyBlitzen said:

guys what we shouldn't forget is that these cars have tiny engines which are under huge stress. for instance some kei class cars and vans had engines with some means of forced induction. taking the power upto 64bhp. thats the equivalent of you corolla having 150-160. and the vans and trucks which are somewhat heavier and are used to carry large amounts off goods and/or 5 passengers work a lot harder than an equivalent kei car. so the engines wear out a lot faster even if they are NA than they would on a normal car. so anyone who thinks of buying such a vehicle should be aware of this matter. IMO with a hard life a rebuild will be due between 100-150k km.

I agree with u...couple of people i know have these small vans..thease are the things I have seen in them..

1) engine wear out very quickly..around 100K on the ODO ( not normal for a small petrol engine ) guess this happens cuz of the small motor.

2) One of my friends drove one of these babys and colided with a concreat pillar in his garden..van got condemd

3) seats are not very comfertable