Is a 4 cylinder/2 litre engine (in a cargo van (i.e a Ford Transit-Connect or Nissian 1500 Series van)) durable enough to handle a lot of highway speed driving.year after year? I do a lot of traveling throughout the year and wondering if I should get a van with this size engine or a mini van with a 6 clyinder enigne ie the Honda Odyssey or Toyota Sienna. Thanks.
Well , you say Cargo Van and a Honda Odyssey or a Sienna don’t meet that description . You might describe what this traveling is but since the 4 cylinder vans are used for service vehicles with lots of equipment in them daily I see no reason to worry.
Hi:
Thanks for replying to my E-Mail.
The traveling I do is touring. I’m a Musician so the van would be used for carrying a (not-so-heavy) PA equipment + luggage. I do a lot of highway driving touring throughout the Country. Currently I have a Ford E350 Econoline van which I need to replace by the end of the year and can’t afford a new van that size, that’s why I was inquiring if the engine sizes in the smaller vans I mentioned are durable enough to handle highway speed throughout the year, year after year.
As always a test drive is the way to tell if a vehicle performs the way you want. But now that you mention what you will have with you a Transit Van without side windows so thieves can’t see what is inside sounds like a good choice. Besides , todays 4 cly engines have more power that some V8’s of years ago.
Thanks for your valued insight. I will certainly take the selected vehicles on test drives, but a 10 minute test drive on the highway won’t determine if that size engine is durable enough to sustain highway speed day after day, month after month for a few decades.
Thanks; and always enjoy the show, even in syndication.
Are you aware that there has not been a new show in years and the reruns are not carried by many stations now.
This is not an engine size issue but how reliable will this vehicle be?
In Europe there are a lot of these vans (built in Turkey) and service is widely available, but in North America you would be driving a bit of an orphan!!! The Canadian Post Office bought a fleet of these and everyone hates them as they are quite unreliable for constant service. Few Ford mechanics are familiar with them.
If I were musician it’s the last thing I would buy!
Go for the Nissan and you’ll be happier.
Yup,
And as soon as the warranty is up, we use them as chicken coops.
I’d much prefer the Sienna or the Odyssey to do lots of freeway driving. Those work vans are used mostly for local short trips.
Thank you very much for this valuable insight.
The vans I will be looking at are the Honda Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna, the Nissan
(either) 150 or 200 NV and the Ford 150 Sprinter. While I’m gathering data (specs) on each vehicle and test driving each one, I continue to speak with people that have knowledge and insight on these vehicles and do on-line research regarding the reliability, dependability, durability, etc. then ultimately what one would buy each of these vehicles for; I have until the end of the year so this will be on-going.
Of course, the end of the year is the optimal time to buy a vehicle as dealers want to clear year end inventory and more likely to be flexible with the price they are willing to sell there vehicles.
Ideally, I would really like to keep the (1998) Ford E350 Econoline van that I am currently driving, this van is so ideal and perfect for my needs, unfortunately, despite me being maticulus on maintenance, servicing and care, the van has “crossed the line” where seemingly one repair issue after another
“all too often” is occurring warranting replacing the van. When I’m out on tour, I absolutely need reliability and dependability from the vehicle.
I will erase the Transit-Connect from my list. Thanks again. If any other ideas or insights come to mind, please E-Mail so I can make an informed decision. Appreciated.
That was my thought, but to have a comprehensive list I would check out the Nissan 200 series, the NV200 is a 6 cylinder engine so can (should) be durable for extensive highway driving. The Ford Sprinter 150 has a 6 cylinder engine so worth looking into this van because if (after my research) reveals these two vans are reliable and dependable and don’t have a history of mechanical issues, I would consider these vans if the Dealership offer the best price should the Salesman at either the Honda or Toyota Dealerships I go to not budge from there listing price.
By-the-way, what is the consensus with you and the other experts at Car Talk regarding the price someone should pay for each of these mini vans - the Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna?
The MSRT for the Odyssey LX, basic with no extras or frills is ~ $34,100.
The same for the Toyota LE is $34,135. I have read $100 over Dealer Invoice should be a reasonable offer. What is your recommendation as a fair price (range) to pay for each of these vehicles?
That would give me a solid foundation when I ultimately speak with the car salesman regarding price and purchasing the vehicle.
Thank you.
Having someone on the web guessing at the price you will pay just can’t be done . It depends on location and how bad the dealer wants to sell the one you are looking at . Now if you don’t care about color but do know what trim level just use the web to contact the dealer internet sales and they will quote you a price.
Thank you.
Ford does not still make the E-series vans, but Chevrolet still builds the Express full size vans. You can get them in cargo or passenger configurations. Gas mileage will be better for the minivans, but if you like the full size, check out the Chevy.
Yes, it’s fine. Ex: Ford’s Connect uses direct injection on their 2L. It’s not turbo, but still delivers 160HP. It has decent acceleration and you should knock down around 30MPG on the road.
I transport musicians with their instruments to gigs. I am on my 5th minivan and second Toyota Sienna. I have had 2 cellos, a violin, a French horn, a trumpet and a flute with all six players in the Sienna. I have hauled a set of 4 timpani. I was even able to help a friend by transporting a harpsichord.
The size of the engine isn’t the determining factor is durability. Plus, highway driving isn’t terribly hard on the engine unless you are driving at very high speed and/or are in hilly terrain.
If you are replacing a Sienna, I assume you’ll want the long wheelbase. Their cargo van is nice because of the cargo divider, but you’ll want seats, I assume. You might want to park your Sienna side-by-side and take a tape measure to both. I think the LWB Connect has a bit more space.
If you can get your hands on the dealership’s invoice, it’s probably fake. For obvious reasons, they don’t want you knowing what they paid for the car, because then you’ll decide they don’t deserve more than $100 profit, and in their minds they deserve as much profit as they can wring out of you.
You’re better off researching what the selling price range for the vehicle you’re buying is, and then offering slightly below the low end of that so that you have somewhere to come up to.