Funnily enough the Tuktuk probably doesn't offer significantly less levels of safety and comfort than an L300.Anyone who is still considering buying one of these things needs to be aware that they are buying something that first saw the light of day in 1986.They were OK for the time but a bit of a sad old joke these days.Mitsubishi's response to the need to provide a safer and more environmentally acceptable vehicle for the new millenium appears to be the fitting of a thicker front bumper.
gunhand,
Dec 23, 5:44am
Not sure of actuall year but would be about 99 to 2002 if not newer.There was nothing good about it at all. some stalks hit the shifter when you tried to use it. you put something in the side pockets and it dropped to the bottom of door and unretrevable unless you stopped, seats were awfull as well. Thank God St John didnt go with them and went with sprinters.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 23, 6:17am
That makes sense, thats first of the second generation, the facelift happened in 2003. The story's I have heard indicate the finalization of the second generation Ducato became a real rush job at the end. Apparently Mercedes was jumping off the blocks with their common rail Vito and the revised Sprinter was hot on its heals.
Fiat who invented the Common rail had to drop their ancient bodyshell in a hurry and while the Ducato was fundamentally finished some of the last details suffered. They were still using some old engines to begin with as well. From what I am aware the likes of Ford were under similar pressure too.
My Folks have a new Ducato (current shape started 06) and it is ergonomically supurb. actually its just supurb full stop.
Was a shame about the rush job with the MK2, it wasn't typical of Fiat of the time. The ergonomics of the Multipla for example with relation to the gear lever etc are spot on. In fact it would be hard to find a more ergonomical and cleverly designed vehicle of that era.
r15,
Dec 23, 11:17am
i thought it sounded awesome on mine. until i'd owned it about an hour and got annoyed with it
next-to-normal,
Dec 23, 12:34pm
merc 5 cyl diesel.great motor, just ask amercian pickers
scoobeey,
Dec 27, 10:14am
Behind in reliabilty.what an idiot
sr2,
Dec 27, 10:26am
Very much behind!After running a number of Hiace vans over the years I have gone Euro, sadly the new Hiace'sshare little of the legendary reliability that made the name famous.
stacie_nz,
Dec 27, 10:39am
keep the euro vans where thay are made thay are all rubbish, toyota are the best van and sell the most in all countries
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 27, 10:47am
Fleetnews reliability survey for this year. Results from a combined fleet of 1.2 million vehicles.
Most reliable vans
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Ford Transit Connect Volkswagen Caddy Ford Transit Volkswagen Transporter
Most reliable van manufacturers
Volkswagen Ford Mercedes-Benz Fiat Renault
Where's Toyota!
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 27, 11:35am
Not sure how they can sell the most when there have been over twice as many VW Transporters sold in the world as there have been Hiace vans.
Toyota produce a lot of cars but a fairly modest number of commercial vehicles.
Mercedes Benz (Daimler AG) are the worlds largest producer of commercial vehicles.When it comes to current numbers and specifically vans though, Mercedes and Fiat groups have been battling it out of the last year or so in terms of the greatest number sold in the world.
friendly_prawn,
Dec 27, 6:28pm
common rail! after seeing that one on fair go that got some water in to the fuel system and was going to cost over 20k to repair! Madness.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 27, 8:49pm
I havn't seen the fair go thing so can't comment on that specifically. In generally common rail only means greater reliability and much much longer service intervals. Every manufacturer now uses common rail technology and for good reason. To try and avoid it will soon be like trying to buy a car with a 3 speed manual or a side valve engine for greater reliability.
peasgood,
Dec 27, 11:06pm
Am doing about 700k a nite in a 2010 Merc Sprinter with a 4tonne sticker,and is nice to drive ,out corners alot of cars round the hills ,has just under 400,000 ks ,itdoing about 1400k in a 24hr period!apart from the odd headlite bulb no issues,runs quieter than the asian rail engines.
scoobeey,
Dec 28, 2:56am
yes and why do neally ALL courier drivers etc run hiaces and not euros.If the hiaces were that badwhy would they be trusting the MANY years of "reliability: theyhave enjoyed :)
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 28, 3:21am
You live in Tokoroa, your milk is probably dropped off at the gate in glass bottles with a horse and cart too.
ALL couriers do not drive Hiace's where I live at all, in fact it is getting quite rare to see anyone in the trade with a new Hiace around these parts.There are still a number of old ones driving around and a few low budget couriers use those but thats about it.
The Mercedes sprinter seems to be the vehicle of choice for long haul couriers, you see them up for sale with between a million and a million and a half km's on the clock when they are done.
I think there are a few urban couriers who use cab foward vans simply because they want the maximum load space with minimum length and seem happy to sacrifice performance, comfort and safety to do so.
The VW Transporter seems to be the vehicle of choice for the vast majority of our posties around here too.
These occupations also attract a lot of fairly simple minded folk who are not generally going to make the most sound financial decisions if left to their own devices anyway. They are also easily swayed by silly wives tales, peer pressure and what is popular in their area. That may explain why you have so many in your parts. There was a postie on the boards having a whinge and a moan because fuel was so expensive yet they had just bought a Toyota because they didn't want to pay for the VW name!
The stupid thing is they would have been saving a significant amount overall if they had bothered to take a calculator out but they never even bothered to do any maths for themselves at all.
Your argument is weak and not very factual.
3tomany,
Dec 28, 3:32am
most couriers around here drive euro vans with the odd hyundai chucked in
Thanks FP, I have set that to download. My internet is ridiculosly slow at the moment soI wont probably see it until tomorrow. I will watch it though. Thanks for taking the time to find it for me.
friendly_prawn,
Dec 28, 4:16am
any time mate. cheers jazz To anyone else thats' watching online just got to wait for the silly add to stop first.
friendly_prawn,
Dec 28, 4:19am
actually, it would be well worth starting a thread on the topic of that link if anyone wants to. It would be a good warning for others, of what my happen if they dont make a point of having a very good fuel filter system on their common rail diesel vehicle.
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 28, 4:39am
O.K I have had a watch, thanks again for the link.
There are a number of points I have noticed.
1. This is a Hyundai, while their vehicles are getting better I am still not a fan. I especially dislike their advertising regarding their diesels which can be taken to make them out to be more efficient than they are. Technically they are doing nothing illegal with how they do it but its misleading in my opinion none the less.
Its also worth noting, while Hyundai possibly make better diesels than some of the Japanese they just don't have the experience and track record with them that the Europeans do.
2. Imagine for a moment that was a brand new vehicle with a traditional diesel engine (even though they don't exist). Chances are it would still have failed with an equally massive bill for repair from the water contamination.
3. Fair Go clearly don't understand Diesels or the technology very well. They said Common Rail engines are something that has come out for emission control reasons of the last 4 years. This is just rubbish, common rail engines have been in mass production for over 15 years now. While emissions are better because they are more efficient they were not invented for "emissions" reasons. They are a MUCH better engine, longer servicing, less fuel consumption and much more responsive power.
4. I think Hyundai could have handled this a lot better. Sure its not their fault that someone put contaminated diesel in the car. However given their elderly customer just spend 50K on the vehicle they could have taken it on board themselves, done some research, sorted out who was actually to blame and sought payment that way. Especially as the warning system in their vehicle failed.
5. Its a shame that this has become a bit of a media issue that likely spreads the wrong message. There is no reason to panic regarding this sort of thing, even the 200 vehicle failures nationwide is tiny considering the number of common rail diesels we have in NZ.
Compare that to how many thousands of head failures you get on Toyota Diesels that goes completely un-publicized and its all a bit askew and a panic over nothing.
3tomany,
Dec 28, 4:40am
hyundais attitude absolutely sucks that is one motor company i will avoid and not because it was there car but there attitude sucked
thejazzpianoma,
Dec 28, 4:46am
Thats how I felt as well. I would avoid their vehicles though anyway. I feel Hyundai are a bit like Bose, Brother and Suzuki, they are all marketing and little substance. They aim their advertising at the non-savy and make out that what they are selling is somehow "special" or "new" when its often quite old technology and not even a good example of it.
savanna71,
Dec 28, 6:15am
Jazz you know as well as i know the warning light never failed, the reason it never illuminated was the water has emulsified into the diesel. The sensor is designed to detect free water not water that has emulsified. Your posts hinting otherwise detract from your credibility when discussing CRD technology. Hyundai NZ ltd is in no way responsible for the repairs caused by contaminated fuel, a new car warranty covers manufacturing defects or faulty workmanship, contaminated fuel is neither. Of course the scan tool wont have logged a DTC or even a provisional DTC as the water trap sensor is not a MIL on detection circuit
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