Full-size van preference?

Re: Full-size van preference?

Our 2500 shc sprinter (thats the hight top, mid size) has averaged over 23 mpg in the 5.5 years we had owned it. Cost of ownership to date, 1 set pads and rotors at 72,000, 4 tires at 75,000 and 2 sets of wiper blades. Compared to previous vans, an E150 Econoline (V8) 16 mpg and a new transmission and a Chevy 3500 with a 10' cube, the Sprinter easily justified the $12k premium. Better turning radius, visibility, build quality (though not as good as the Euro versions with the 3 pointed star), but it is not great in snow, so we leave a couple of subs and the rigging trunk in it.
 
Re: Full-size van preference?

Has anyone seen the new NV series of Nissan Vans? They look pretty good on the road - one showed up in my rear-view - What the f? The grill work is massive! No mistaking this. I dropped back and drove around it - NV2500 - nice long wheelbase - much more square at the top of the cargo area than Ford/Chevy. Visually my favorite - does not seem to offer a diesel, though.
 
What's big, white, has 4 wheels, and gets good gas mileage (relatively speaking)

My new (to me) Chevy Express. I just picked up a 2009 Chevy Express today - 81K miles, $11K.

Thanks for the advice - I'm looking forward to not being at substantial risk of death everytime I drove my Astro van packed to the ceiling if I ever had to stop quickly.

My thoughts after doing a lot of shopping -

Size of the vehicles is as follows:

Ford E short: 217" long
Chevy Express short: 224" long
Ford E long: 234"
Chevy long: 244"

I was shopping either for the short Chevy or the long Ford, as it didn't seem the short Ford had enough more space than my Astro to be worth an upgrade.

Almost all of the Fords around here have no windows in the rear. Almost all the Chevys do (my preference).

The 2008 rev of the Ford is a nice upgrade - better engine choices, a little better build quality, etc. Still not as nice as 2003+ Express.

Apples to apples, the Fords are a little cheaper than the Chevys. The Fords have more weight capacity and towing capacity, neither of which were super important to me - the larger interior space of the Chevy was more attractive.

There are a lot more 1/2 ton V6 Chevys around than the 3/4 or 1 tons, and therefore are quite a bit cheaper. I got the 1/2 ton V6 and believe it will be appropriate for my needs. It still won't preclude me from needing to rent a cube van occasionally, but gives me a lot of extra space compared to my previous vehicle.

You can get any color you want as long as it's white. Of the 60 or so Express/E series for sale in my city at the moment, 58 of them are white. I did have a chance at a jacked up chromed 2001, but passed.
 
Re: What's big, white, has 4 wheels, and gets good gas mileage (relatively speaking)

I've had my '06 Savana 1500 (same as yours but GMC) for a little over 2 years. It's been pretty inexpensive to operate. Major improvement over the Astro van it replaced- though that was a great old van too.
 
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Re: What's big, white, has 4 wheels, and gets good gas mileage (relatively speaking)

I just picked up an extended 2011 Chevy Express. So far I'm really enjoying it. Got it on a monday and drove it to Ottawa on friday loaded with all my gear. Round trip was about 650 miles. Had the ac going and did the trip with under a full tank.
I looked at the ford extended but didn't like it. The chevy's extra length is between the wheel base, and ford's is after the rear wheels.
 
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