[Closed] 'Lifestyle' vehicles. Am I missing something?

Golf GTi is arguably a lifestyle vehicle.

I don't have one, but if money were no object I'd have kind of camper.

There aren't hotels in all the wild locations people might want to stay (especially for biking) - plus there's something relaxing about living in a field in the countryside for a few weekends a year.

Is this a T5 bashing thread, or just a SUV bashing thread ?

Need to know, in all honesty they're different demography and we don't want to go slagging some off for no reason do we 😆

Please, define "lifestyle" vehicle, there's a laddio.

We have a motorhome (7.5m) and a car.

If we could only afford one vehicle I'd probably go for a small van conversion over car plus caravan.

I think a lot of lifestyle vehicles are often aspirational rather than actually used in the wilds on a regular basis.

How many people take a T5 to a remote spot with no toilets and crap in a bucket/portapotti? A motorhome is far more practical 'off grid' but a pain in most major towns.

Cars are a status symbol.
Either to show others how well you've done, or simply to convince the owner that they've got what they wanted.
Or they're an expensive toy.
Or they're a tool for the lazy.

Take your pick, though I'm sure other options exist.

What do you drive and how much is it worth? I'm sure I'd pick something different.

Thing is binners, once you've got a £9k bike you need an appropriate vehicle to hang it off so others can see.

I think a lot of lifestyle vehicles are often aspirational rather than actually used in the wilds on a regular basis.

I aspire to have an aspirational lifestyle vehicle, if i'm honest..

DrP

Not all users/buyers go to dealerships and buy brand new T5/6.

Our T4 Multivan cost just over €10,000 in 2009.
Since then it's done 3 or 4 weeks a year in Europe.
Probably 15 weekends away per year in the UK. And it was a daily driver for the first few years we had it.

Still in great condition, and still averages over 40mpg.

Not bad value for money I don't think.

I agree, the recent popularity has inflated the prices somewhat and VW seem to be riding the trend. Have a look on pistonheads at the cost of some of the converted ones!

I'd be very tempted by one but it seems they are very nicakable at the moment and I live in mini beirut so will be avoiding until that's levelled out a little.

My parents have a T5 (or T6, I'ev no idea, it's new-ish), yes it was eye wateringly expensive.

I think it's great, their house is provided by dad's job so unless they go away somewhere he effectively ends up on call 24/7 so it gets used a lot (previously they had a canal boat moored a few miles away for the same purpose). They're probably away either on day trips or for the weekend 3x a month at least.

Summing up the pro's, could you at the drop of a hat decide to stay in a remote beach-front hotel in Scotland with no other guests for miles around Friday (tonight) and Saturday night? They can and do.

It's be even more useful if they were MTB'ers/surfers or whatever. Drive upto Glentress from London after work, get 8 hours sleep in the car-park, shred trails, lunch in the van, afternoon at Inners, off to Ae for the night, shred for another day, drive back and not have to unpack anything until Monday after work.

wild locations

There aren't roads in wild locations

There aren't roads in wild locations

You've clearly never driven through Rotherham

Summing up the pro's, could you at the drop of a hat decide to stay in a remote beach-front hotel in Scotland with no other guests for miles around Friday (tonight) and Saturday night? They can and do.

No. even if I had driveway full of RVs and caravans, my delightful offspring and a crazy busy life would put end to those dreams 😉

DrP

The thought of being able to chuck my bikes (plural), gear and most of my cycling family into one comfortable, well made vehicle is quite a compelling one. If I could sleep in it too then that's a bonus.

However, having seen the prices of them, I don't want one that much. I'll settle for an Italian saloon car and a bell tent instead.

There aren't roads in wild locations

MEhhhhh, it'll do.

(not their van, just just google image search for [i]remote scottish beach campervan[/i])

[img] [/img]

No. even if I had driveway full of RVs and caravans, my delightful offspring and a crazy busy life would put end to those dreams

I suppose it works best if you share hobbies in the family or couple, or are single. Having said that the OH has decided she wants one.

Mate of mine bought a T5 and had it converted by a specialist - 9 (?) month wait and £50k +

With 3 kids sleeping in it is a nightmare by all accounts

[img] ?itok=UlxJSYva[/img]

It's for posh [s]Glamping[/s] camping bin boy.
What's not to like?

Oh hang on,do you hate camping? 😉

Mate of mine bought a T5 and had it converted by a soecialist

Jeremy Corbyn?

As opposed to a Kampfervan?

jambalaya - Member
Mate of mine bought a T5 and had it converted by a [b]soecialist [/b]- 9 (?) month wait and £50k +

With 3 kids sleeping in it is a nightmare by all accounts

Freudian slip Jamba? Not all VW drivers are hippies 🙂

[edit: beaten by a better joke from PP and 38seconds!]

Beats sleeping outside Gregg's on a piece of cardboard to get the first pastie out the oven.

£50k is only five and a half triathlon bikes.

I'd like one when the kids move out / don't want to come. But it'll be second-hand

I'll settle for an Italian saloon car and a bell tent instead.

Mate of mine bought a T5 and had it converted by a soecialist - 9 (?) month wait and £50k +

Damn. Too slow. Was a gift I suppose 😉

Just fat finger typing on the phone

@fast camping is fine its the concept of doing it in a van which costs twice an equivalent car which you could put a tent into the boot ?

Must be all that money the country's awash with post Brexit.

I think it's great, their house is provided by dad's job so unless they go away somewhere he effectively ends up on call 24/7 so it gets used a lot (previously they had a canal boat moored a few miles away for the same purpose)

Read this loads and still imagine your dad on 24/7 'urgent' call out firing up the motor on a canal boat to get to a job. Is he a lock gate repair man 😉

I had a socialist campervan once.

Had to sell it.

It kept Stallin'

Mate of mine bought a T5 and had it converted by a specialist - 9 (?) month wait and £50k +

With 3 kids sleeping in it is a nightmare by all accounts

I spent 2K on a T4 and its ideal for taking 3 kids camping with bikes, boards, kayaks, whatever. Not really a lifestyle statement, more practicality once you realise a S Max or XC90 isn't big enough for 5 plus camping gear and toys.

Campers are a different story, I'd not want more than 3 in a camper conversion myself.

For us, and our white builders-style Vauxhall (which was second hand and ALOT cheaper than a T5), the appeal was having the space to put our bikes, walking and kayaking kit in for one trip and not having to take everything out when you get to a place to find the one bit you need. In the winter slop it's great to get changed in. In the summer we play darts on the board hung in the back door. We take a tent and sleep on sites, and know we have enough space to chuck the box of bike packing stuff in if we want to go wild. It's our only transport, it isn't pretty and we've had so many great adventures as a result of the extra space.

@perchy 🙂

They're not cheap are they?

Not read the other replies so don't know if this has already been said but take a look at the price of a new T6 California.

I priced one last week, decent spec and with a couple of options added in it was nearly £70k! Think they start about £57k. I know they hold their value but who the **** buys these new?

I'd love one but I couldn't justify spending that on a camper that size and my wife doesn't do 2nd hand cars.

Well, we have ours because we bought it for a specific purpose; travelling around Europe for a summer, for which it was great.

Ours is not a big money conversion though; £8k for a 50k mile panel van (in 2010), plus a £4k camper conversion kit which I fitted myself.

We've kept it cos

a) it's ace for camping in (it's basically a metal tent, with a decent fridge and some heating)
b) it's a practical vehicle in it's own right (It's basically the same dimensions as an estate car, but bikes fit in it fully assembled, you can get changed in it, loads of room for trips to the tip etc)
c) occasionally it's useful as a free B&B after a night out when discreetly parked on a side street 🙂

I have a 2009 T5 California. Had it for 6 years now. A Transit with a sofa in the back it is not.

This is my 4th Camper. Ok, they have all been VW and the first 2 were '70's air cooled.

I would not rather spend the money on posh hotel.

Always loved camping and generally always been happy to do it in a tent or an old S*** box camper. However, small editions to the family happened to coincide with a nice windfall so we went for the Cali.

Small enough to get into Supermarket car pars yet kitted out well enough to enjoy 'wild camping'.

It may be Glamping but I see more and more Cali's around in recent years so we don't tend stand out quite like we did when we first got it, which is nice. I do still get a little embarrassed when pop the roof up as it is hydraulically powered and should really play the Thunderbirds theme tune while doing it.

Anyway, up yours to the nay sayers. I got myself a bloody Cali!

They're brilliant. Really they are, I've had several VW vans before I became poor. No interest in any of the 'aspirational' aspects. Nice to drive, roomy, very very versatile, and they enable a lot of other fun stuff.

They're too expensive I grant you that, but badges aside, vans are great. I don't really understand people criticising other people's choices. By all means don't join them, but just because you don't agree doesn't mean people are wrong.

(Unless you're talking about reading the Daily Mail, then, in that case, they are wrong.)

I spent 2K on a T4 and its ideal for taking 3 kids camping with bikes, boards, kayaks, whatever.

I had a socialist campervan once.

Had to sell it.

The fuel gauge was constantly in the red.

The clue's in the name, if your 'lifestyle' isn't being in the countryside away from home the majority of weekends, then it probably doesn't make sense. In the same way a sports car makes no sense if you have kids (and probably fills the same sized burning hole in your pocket).

Read this loads and still imagine your dad on 24/7 'urgent' call out firing up the motor on a canal boat to get to a job. Is he a lock gate repair man

Haha, no, he works for the National Trust so get's to live in the house he manages.

@fast camping is fine its the concept of doing it in a van which costs twice an equivalent car which you could put a tent into the boot ?

That's pretty much what I do with my C-max, with the back seats out I can even sleep in the back with a bike if I want to do a weekend away (or sailing races).

But, the difference is comfort. However much I enjoy camping, it's still battling the elements (too hot, too cold, too wet, ground too lumpy) and nature (picking 101 slugs off the inside of the flysheet before packing it up in the morning). Vs a proper mattress, a proper duvet, and a proper breakfast in the morning tat doesn't taste like titanium camping mug.

I had a socialist campervan too and also had to sell it.

Wasn't conservative enough with fuel consumption

bought a T4 in 2008 for £5k, stuck a Ikea futon in it for 7 years- wife and I were away most summer weekends surfing, running around the countryside & generally having a great time.

had a proper conversion in 2015, e.g. rock n roll bed, fridge, hob, sink etc for another £5k. Alps trip next month - we shall mix it up with a few night's on campsites and a few "off piste" evenings.

we've never really referred to it as "lifestyle" vehicle.... just a campervan.

I would never sell it.

but would agree that when you have a VW badge slapped on the front (whether that's a T4/T5/T6) your probably looking at a 20% hike in price

I had a socialist campervan once.

Had to sell it.

Got fed up of having to iron the curtains

do you hate camping?

I took the kids camping last year. It pissed it down and taught me a valuable life lesson... never ever go camping with the kids again

I doubt the experience would have been greatly enlivened by being in a £60k works van instead

Seriously... when I saw how much they cost I marvelled at the front of the marketing men who sold everyone pictures like the ones posted above, whereas the reality is a steamed up four-wheeled prison cell with an engine

Nope... this is why god invented holiday cottages

I had a socialist campervan once

The kids were sickle over the back seats.

Nope... this is why god invented [s]holiday cottages[/s] Nannies

[i]I had a socialist campervan once

The kids were sickle over the back seats. [/i]

on the plus side Hammer time was always fun.

Price is almost exclusively set via the law of supply and demand.

Their is a big demand for VW Vans because of lots of reasons, they're good, they're fashionable, they impress the neighbours where a Transit does the opposite.

It's not Rocket Surgery, everyone who's ever had a hobby that needs moving stuff has thought about having a van, they're wander into the local VW place and think "holy shit, they're soooo expensive" and moan about it - they'll be reminded that they could buy a Ford, a Vauxhall, a Citroen, a Renault etc etc etc for fraction of the cost "oh I don't want one of them"

The upside of that is they can be fantasic value, if you've got the momey to spare in the first place - they're the slowest depreciating vehicle in the UK and have been for years - buy one for £15k, sell it for £15k a few years later.

I had a socialist campervan once.

It was taken by the state.

All property is theft.

That's why you don't have any money for a jacket.

A fair point 🙂 - though I blame the kids rather than the van.

I had a socialist campervan once.

Had to sell it.

Fine in the UK but didn't like driving on the right.

I had a socialist campervan once.

Kept breaking down, think it had a Kremlin in the engine

A decent small caravan like a Tab, Eriba Puck or Kip Shelter is both much cheaper and more spacious.

I had a socialist campervan once.

Had to sell it.

Seats were covered in Marx

I had a socialist campervan once but the left wing disintegrated in the late 80s.

I had a socialist campervan once.

It was a bit small, had to Karl up to go to sleep.

I doubt the experience would have been greatly enlivened by being in a £60k works van instead

until you turned on the heating and got a brew on

I had a socialist campervan.

Braking was really difficult - too much Momentum.

Socialist campervans are perfect for vanguard parties.

I had a socialist campervan.

the French police pulled me over for not having a kGB sticker.

I've always fancied one of these....

[img] [/img]

I can even sleep in the back with a bike if I want

I've done that in the back of a few vans too - in my younger days, naturally....

I had a socialist campervan once.

I had to sell it.

Couldn't work out how much fuel to Putin

HoratioHufnagel - Member
I've always fancied one of these....

[/quote

Get to the back of the question.

I reckon it's perfect

 

[i]I've always fancied one of these.... [/i]

You rascal.

I've always fancied one of these....

My in laws had a bambi, drove from UK to spain in it a couple of times a year and went camping all over the UK. Was a great wee van, total nightmare in strong sidewinds though.

I had a socialist capervan once

I had to sell it

Kept leaking Castro GTX

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/camper-van-gives-illusion-of-freedom-2012061430501

As with most Daily Mash stories, the title gives you all you need to know.

I had a socialist campervan once.

I had to sell it.

Engine had seized the means of production.

A decent small caravan like a Tab, Eriba Puck or Kip Shelter is both much cheaper and more spacious.

But then you have a caravan.

Which is a PITA on a single track road, can't be quite so stealthy in laybys, wouldn't work in any sense of 'off-road' beyond billiard table smooth camping grounds that aren't muddy, isn't great for trail centers or beach car parks when all you want is a big car that fits bikes/boards in but doesn't take up 3x parking spaces. And you still need to buy a car with the change anyway.

I can see the appeal of a caravan, put a fair bit of thought into the pros/cons Vs a campervan whilst following your line of logic after my parents got the T5. But decided they were fundamentally only suited for retired people with no hobbies who holiday in Skegness.

I've had a few campervans, last one was a new California. Past tense as I sold it late last year. I think we suffered from far too many miserable wet weekends and weeks juggling a small child, there were only 3 but when its hoofing it down and cold they aren't massive and its like a complex game of jenga. We're from camping stock and caravans but the combination of a lot of capital tied up in a vehicle, it being quite fragile so you had to be careful, unreliable weather etc we decided to give it a break for a few years and do other stuff. The reality of heading off on a whim was that most weekends we're doing something anyway. For a couple, totally, we had a couple of weekends just the two of us inc Torridon biking and nowherespecific for another night on the fly - that works. Next step is a cheap caravan on a seasonal pitch, much easier for us to manage and still camping sort of.
EDIT: They do hold their value, we had ours for 18 months from new, it cost me 3k in that time total which I didn't think was too bad, not great and i could have had a fair few weekends away but it was also our second vehicle. The new ones are mental prices, 70k easy if you want an Ocean. The only upside is petrol engined models. They aren't great to drive really either despite what anyone says, better than a van but still not exactly comofortable, well mine wasn't and it had all the bells and whistles.

Next step is a cheap caravan on a seasonal pitch, much easier for us to manage and still camping sort of.

That's what we have, well apart from the cheap bit 🙂 One of the best things we've ever done. Heading there in about 10 minutes.

Ever tried booking a hotel room in the Scottish Highlands and Islands in the summer with less than 3 months notice?

Don't get me started on caravans! Socialist or otherwise. Having just driven back from Wales (where we stayed in a lovely, reasonably priced cottage, not the back of an exorbitantly priced transit)

When I'm running the world, it will be legal to deploy anti-tank weaponry against those sheds-on-wheels. You've had fair warning!

You see, for me a vehicle has to be as multi functional as absolutely possible. For past 5 years I have mainly driven my Landrover 110 out of necessity of needing to regularly tow a large trailer, fetch loads of sheep feed, drive around fields and up steep muddy tracks in winter where 2wd just doesn't work. I also use it to sleep in when on biking weekends and on weeks away. However, it is not great for fast economical cruising or for carrying a 3rd person as I sometimes need to, and being old and with no Cat is increasingly restricted where it can go. Meant I always needed a car as well. So anyway, the car has gone and has been replaced by a 4momtion T5. Euro 5 and high 30's mpg is considerably better than the Landrover (low 20's mpg), Tows 2500KG which is enough and about 1 tonne more than most vans out there. Much more spacious and practical for sleeping in and bike carrying (and for bags of sheep feed), and it also seats 3. So the 110 is being mothballed for the time being and I hope the T5 can be my one do-it-all vehicle. Yes it is a lifestyle vehicle, but only in the sense that it is the one vehicle that comes closest to matching my lifestyle.

When I'm running the world, it will be legal to deploy anti-tank weaponry against those sheds-on-wheels. You've had fair warning!

Yeh whatever, a seasonal pitch means it doesn't get towed. 🙂

Camper vans are great, vw camper vans are a cliche though.

Binners lives the cottaging lifestyle.

Ironic, given his distaste for their so called pie.

binners
When I'm running the world, it will be legal to deploy anti-tank weaponry against those sheds-on-wheels. You've had fair warning!

[img] [/img]

^ rotfl

We bought one at the end of last year. Its based on a 10 year old transit so way south of £10k fully converted with cooker, fridge heating etc. Have to say its excellent. So far we have done weeks in N wales, 2 weeks in the alps, numerous weekends away in it with more planned.

Having looked at several I wouldnt want a T5, way too small for 2 once you start to factor wet biking kit and you cant stand up in them unless you open the tent on top. Whats the point of having a campervan thats got a tent roof?

You can park it in a garage ?