In 2016, I had the privilege of adding yet another type of vehicle to the roster of those I have driven, in this case a 2008 Renault Trafic Passenger (the minibus variant of the normal Trafic van). On sale in various guises since 1980, the Trafic continues to be a popular van all over Europe, especially as it is also sold under various other badges, such as the Vauxhall Vivaro, Opel Vivaro and the Nissan Primastar. Some variants are even built in Britain at a factory in Luton (IBC Vehicles) which used to make Bedfords until 1986. A truly perennial design, the Trafic/Vivaro entered its third generation in 2014.
The second generation of Trafic was introduced in 2001 and was made until 2014, with a facelift in 2006. This model therefore had a remarkably similar production run to the fourth generation Ford Transit/Tourneo I reviewed last week (2000-2013). Whether this Anglo-French/Germano-Japanese creation was any better than its Ford rival is an interesting topic for discussion. Without a doubt, the current generation of Transit/Tourneo Custom is a vastly superior vehicle, but what happens when one takes a direct comparison with two of the same era?
The 2008 model I drove had a very poor quality plastic interior, not much performance from its 1.9 dCi turbo diesel (I think it developed around 100 bhp) and had an overall impression of fragility in finest French fashion. (We had hired a brand new 2013 model at the event I was working at a few years before, and the interior was no better.) The driving position was also better in the Transit, along with the gearchange. In some aspects, however, the Trafic was a bit better.
The design of the fourth generation Transit was always a little bit more evolutionary than revolutionary, and was exceptionally dated by the time of its replacement in 2013. The Trafic, by contrast, still looked reasonably contemporary by the time of its demise, and the version in current production is clearly takes many design cues directly from its predecessor. One thing I hope that they have not carried over is the rather 1990s looking key, which remained the same as the one from the 1998 Renault Clio until the end of production in 2014...
Some of the dashboard design, although the area itself was of poor quality materials, was much better than the contemporary Transit, and certain models incorporated a Tom Tom sat nav. Sadly, this was very poorly executed, as it was only possible to program this using a remote, which was easily lost, thus rendering the system useless. Why it was ever designed this way is beyond me...
These ubiquitous vans are all over Britain, France, Germany and many other European countries (it was built in Spain too), and although somewhat interesting in design, their poor quality, less than stellar reputation for reliability and mediocre driving experience do count against them. The Volkswagen Transporter of this generation is a much better vehicle, testament to the fact that it is still in production in modified form today. The fourth generation Ford Transit is probably similar in quality (building a factory by the sea probably wasn't a good idea in terms of rust prevention), but with hardier drivetrains and better ergonomics. Overall, I think if I was in the market for such a van, I would probably take the Volkswagen, if it was at a reasonable price.
