MPVcar.co.uk

I’m beginning some research, or at least planning to begin searching whether car manufacturers (globally) are producing a genuinely practical do-it-all recreational vehicle, in a similiar vein as the wonderfully thought out Synergie heralded here.

Niche markets are generally a no-go for the big car makers; we all understand that to remain profitable they must sell in volume – any quirky concepts that vary from what is percieved as a normal vehicle represent risk, and therefore remain as concepts.

Buyers looking for something a bit out of the ordinary are catered for by a small industry (in the UK at least) of custom interior and exterior Coachwork specialists, who for a price will bedeck your vehicle with an expanding roof, a hard modular floor with sliding ‘rock and roll’ bed, even a kitchen sink. They do a wonderful job, but there are negatives. The final vehicle price once converted into a camper or dayvan can soar in excess of £30,000. The vehicle height can exceed the maximum height permitted in many city car parks. The vehicles can feel ‘overburdoned’ with luxuries, many of which make the interior seem more like a prissy show home and unsuitable for the knocks and bangs of regular family use. And one of the biggest issues with interior conversions are the common loss of the ability to carry any more than 4-5 people – where’s a big cars usefulness as everyday transport if you can only ever carry 4 people?

I spent a little time browsing our local car dealers, which included some van manufacturers as well. Taking our Citroen Synergie as the benchmark, I quickly discovered how many current cars and vans are missing the basic features I now take for granted. Yes, sliding doors are firmly ‘in’ now, the public have accepted them as beneficial in tight spaces, and they’re even sprouting onto some city cars. But I couldn’t find anything with a pair of front swivel seats on a trip round Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, Ford, Nissan, or Suzuki. Volkswagen had swivel passenger front seats on their stunning show home on wheels T5 California, and some vans as well, as did Mercedes. But harder still was finding something with swivel seats, 5 removable rear seats, a 750-800 mile tank range, capable of 40-50mpg, and most importantly a flat floor.

I did find Volkswagen’s Caddy Maxi interesting, if not a little pricey on the used market. They’re still fetching upwards of £11k at present.

Essentially the kind of use where the Synergie shines is probably suitable for the majority of UK families.

It’s perfect for day trips: the Synergies wide opening doors, a boot which makes a huge shaded cover and sliding doors mean it’s great for arriving somewhere and all piling out. We keep a stove in the back, along with a tiny portable loo for kids.