Van Modification - Do We Have The Choice?

With van sales in the UK at an all time high this series of articles is looking at why drivers in other countries frequently use their work van as their sole vehicle, while in the UK we choose to swap our van for another vehicle at the end of the working day. To summarise what was discussed in part one it was concluded that one of the main reasons was the superior styling of the vans in these other countries. Another reason was put down to the fact that there is a good supply of after market parts for these types of vehicles abroad. This can all contribute to cheaper vehicle insurance premiums and other lower costs associated with the use of one multi-purpose vehicle rather than running two machines.

This article will look at the performance issue related to commercial vehicles and discus the differences in performance for CV's sold abroad and in the UK .

Performance

We have all been stuck behind a van at some point travelling at a lower speed than other vehicles on the road. The problem is that vans aren't designed for speed or to be nippy around town they are designed to be robust and carry fully laden loads. With this in mind who wants to use their works vehicle for pleasure when your top speed is limited and it is difficult to manage a stop start town drive?

The main question is why can't we have both? In countries like Australia the works vehicles not only have a style to embarrass the vans on the UK market but also have performance to compete with and in some cases out compete most other cars on the road. Vehicles such as the Holden SS Ute and S Ute, which is one of the best selling Ute's in Australia manages to combine style and power in such a good mix that most Australians would like to own one whatever walk of life they are from. The Holden's 5.7litre V8 and V6 engines are showing van makers all over the world that we don't have to compromise on power or performance with our works vehicle. The Crazy thing is that Holden is the Australian trading name for Vauxhall so why isn't this British based company capitalising on its Australian success and storming the UK markets with these vans?

Obviously the main issue would be that of the cost to run these machines, the petrol cost alone to fuel the 5.7litre engine would be astronomical. The next consideration would be the cost of your van insurance premium which could sky rocket with the size of the engine.

In closing, with the choice of vans in other countries being so much better than in the UK why are we so far behind? Obviously the practicalities of running a CV with a 5.7litre V8 engine have a lot to be desired with increased petrol costs and higher commercial vehicle insurance. However would the cost of owning one multi purpose vehicle resulting in one vehicle insurance and limited running costs balance out the larger engines? When manufacturers identify the fact that by introducing CV's onto the market that can compete in style and performance but still be realistic to run they could not only revolutionise the CV industry but give some everyday cars a run for their money.