Renault Trafic 2016 Video Review AutoeBid

After an extensive 18-month bedding in period, Roger reviews his Vauxhall (or Opel) Vivaro 2900 1.6CDTI BiTurbo 125PS Sportive 2.9 H1 Double Cab. I bought my Vauxhall Vivaro van just over a year ago. It was one of the first ones off the line with the Euro 6 compliant engine with Ad Blue. I had waited patiently for this engine as Vauxhall were late in changing over but I was very keen to minimise my emissions particularly as I have to drive around cities. I was told by the dealer that the trick with Euro 6 engines is to run them hot. If you are doing a short journey you need to warm the engine up by keeping the revs high so in a quick trip down to the merchants you don't want to go higher than 4th gear. The danger is that the Ad Blue will be sprayed onto a cold exhaust and that will clog the filter and put you in limp home. If that happens the best thing is to take the van on a fast run down the motorway, easier said than done in Central London. So that apart what do I like and what do I dislike. I chose the long wheelbase crew cab which has a bulkhead. It gives you about a 6-foot load space which is obviously too short for 8 x 4 sheets so one of the first things I did was to fit a Vanguard roof rack. The make roof rack mounts for all the popular vehicles so it was a very easy one man fit. I have never taken it off because for me it is too much hassle. The downside to that is that it cost around 2 mpg in fuel. The upside is that with the rear roller it is very easy to load 8 x 4 sheets and ladders. Is this about the roof rack or the van I hear you ask. Back to the van. The bulkhead keeps the dust and mess out of the driver's cab and, for the most part, I am resisting the migration of tools and parts in the cab. There is also enough under-seat storage and glove boxes etc. to keep all those essentials tucked away so it looks tidy. Like many tradespeople my van is often my office and, I admit, even a place to catch forty winks if I have to hang around. I find the rear passenger seat perfect for this and I even keep a pillow in one of those under-seat compartments. The Sorts version van has lots of refinements such as computerised compensation for load shift on the bends and even steering compensation if you try to slew it around a corner it will correct your error by some magical process that I don't quite understand. It also has cruise control and a speed limiter and optional stop-start to save fuel and, again, lower emissions. The other thing I like is the Eco mode which helps even out your driving so you don't accelerate too fast. Like the speed limiter, this can be overridden in an emergency simply by putting your foot to the floor. Most of the time the Eco mode suits me fine and you can still achieve the high speeds only slightly less quickly. The engine has a Bi-Turbo which, presumably is twice as good as having one turbo. Just after I bought the van an RAC man who was helping me with my old van told me he had recovered three Vivaros with failed clutches. These were all less than a year old. This troubles me and after investigating I found there was a problem with an 'O' ring (it is always the 'O' ring ) on the hydraulic clutch. That problem was fixed in my models but I have had two recalls. One was an issue with the engine mapping and didn't affect all vehicles but ( in the light of Volkswagen) they weren't taking any chances. The other issue was a hose that went to the turbo (they didn't say which one) and that was replaced. So, fingers crossed, that is all solved. I have done a number of long journeys in the last year and can really appreciate the comfort and handling of this sprightly 1600 cc engine. Getting insurance for a six-seater van is not cheap and most of the time it is just me so you might want to think about whether you can justify all those seats. My one real gripe with this van is that if you happen to close the left-hand rear door and then slam the right hand (which is the wrong order) you end up with a nasty little dent. It has become something of a traffic jam pastime of mine to see just how many Vivaros have that dent in the edge of the rear left-hand door and it is nearly all of them. It annoys me more than you might they care to admit. =================================================== Don't forget to stay up to date with Skill Builder! Get in touch by email - contact@skill-builder.uk Join our mailing list - http://skill-builder.uk/join Visit our website - http://skill-builder.uk See our Tweets - https://twitter.com/skillbuilderuk See our Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/skillbuilderchannel See our Pins - https://www.pinterest.com/skillbuilder1