Should you ditch the family car for a van instead?
As people, we like habits and conventions. But sometimes staying in the realm of the familiar can deny us opportunities to live our lives to the full. You might think that your next family vehicle should be a car – after all, that’s what you’ve always driven. But could you be missing out?
It turns out that there are many reasons why you might prefer to drive a van instead of a car. Not only are they relatively cheap to run, but they offer a host of practical advantages that make family living a little more convenient. Check out the following.
Great for family trips
Loading up the car with ski gear, bikes, luggage, and music equipment can be a hassle. Although modern cars come with plenty of boot space, there’s no denying that it can still be a struggle to make everything fit, especially when you have to transport your partner and kids too.
With a van, however, you don’t have this kind of problem. Boot space is enormous. Plus, everything fits safely and securely inside the vehicle. There’s no need for external bike racks or for putting equipment on the roof – something that can turn into a nightmare if you go under a barrier and forget it’s there. You also don’t have to worry about luggage flying forward and hitting you in the back in the event of an accident in a van. There’s a partition between your stuff and the driving compartment.
It’s not much more expensive than owning a car
With the rise of cheap van insurance and the fact that many vans have small engines, the overall cost of running a van isn’t all the much different from that of a car. Van manufacturers know that a lot of their customers are business owners, and so they do everything they can to reduce servicing and running costs, which benefits savvy consumers like you.
Easy to wrap
Want something that looks unique on the road? Wrapping a van is simple and doesn’t look out of place. You could go with a single colour, promote a brand, or just come up with your own family design. With a van, you’ve got options.
Excellent fuel economy under heavy load
When you load up a car, fuel economy drops considerably, especially during city driving. But vans, which are designed to bear heavy loads, don’t experience the same degradation. You can still get good mileage when you’re fully loaded.
Comfortable to drive
If you’ve ever driven across Europe, you’ll know that after several hours in the car, you can start to feel quite uncomfortable. Although vans aren’t perfect in that regard either, manufacturers know that comfort is a significant issue for the millions of workers who drive them every day. Comfort is usually exceptional in vans, even if the upholstery isn’t much to write home about.
Higher driving position
Like having a clear view of the road ahead? Vans, like some off-road 4x4s, give you an advantageous driving position so that you can see and anticipate hazards in front.
** This is a collaborative post
