Most economical minivan?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Boatloads of vw vans here in Scotland all configurations. Unavailable in the states?

VW hasn't sold a van in the USA since they rebadged the Dodge Caravan as the Routan from 2009 to 2014. The only European style smallish 8 passenger van in the USA was the Mercedes Metris but 2023 is the last model year in North America. It has been a sales disaster selling less than 10K per year and more than 1/2 the total production has gone to the US Postal Service. Mercedes is pulling the plug after finishing the USPS contract.

The rest of the small vans are done too. Ford announced the Ford Transit is dead (legal issues) and Dodge is cancelling the ProMaster City as well.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by JSH

The only European style smallish 8 passenger van in the USA was the Mercedes Metris but 2023 is the last model year in North America. It has been a sales disaster selling less than 10K per year and more than 1/2 the total production has gone to the US Postal Service. Mercedes is pulling the plug after finishing the USPS contract.

The Vito/Metris was also not much successful in Brazil, as the passenger versions didn't have a turbodiesel option. It was supplied from Argentina, where AFAIK production was ended to focus on the Sprinter which sells much better in the region.

Ford announced the Ford Transit is dead (legal issues) and Dodge is cancelling the ProMaster City as well.

Ford is switching from a design of its own to outsource from Volkswagen for the next generation of the Transit Connect, while the Fiat Doblò which is the European equivalent to the ProMaster City is switching to a Peugeot design which was never federalized.

[Gringo-Gaucho]

I'm late to this thread, but I have/or had- the same problem. Owning 2 civics doesn't get your family, bikes, camping gear and friends anywhere easily. My wife was the one who really hated it, as she does most of the errands for our family. So with welcome pressure from her, we purchased a JDM 1996 liteace. I'm worried about the JDM factor- since parts acquisition is a mystery. However- this is the only van I could find with an economical, manual transmission drivetrain. In our case a 2.2L 3c-t Turbo diesel engine, true four wheel drive (we live remotely on a remote island in Alaska...) AND the 5 speed. We picked up the van with 87K for just under Isaac's budget goal of 10 thousand.
We're going to pick up the van next week, so it's true MPG is unknown, but I'm optimistically hoping for 35 mpg... Anybody have experience with these? Know where to get parts? I'm hoping to also do a veggie oil conversion, but the research is not yet begun...

[Hersbird]

We have 2 Metris vans in my post office fleet of 70 vehicles and they are POSs. We have 5 Caravans from 2015 while the Metri are from 2020 and 2 of them for 2 years have had twice the problems of 7 years of 5 of the Caravan.

They also suck in the snow being RWD vs the FWD Caravan. Why they PO didn't just buy RHD Caravans while they were still making them in Canada is beyond me. Oh and the Metris costs more than double a Caravan.

Even Doug Demero gave it one of the bottom 5 scores ever out of hundreds of vehicles he has tested.

[Piotrsko]

Maybe no Canadian because of BUY AMERICAN mandate and a lazy buyer?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Piotrsko

Maybe no Canadian because of BUY AMERICAN mandate and a lazy buyer?

The USPS doesn't have a buy American requirement. The 2020 contract was split between Mercedes Metris (Made in Charleston, South Carolina) and Ram ProMaster (Made in Saltillo, Mexico). There is a 25% tariff on any cargo vans imported from outside of USMCA (NAFTA).

Dodge doesn't make the Caravan anymore. 2015 was the last year for the cargo version and production ended completely in 2020.

In 2020 the options for cargo vans made in North America were: Chevy Express, Ford Transit, Mercedes Metris, Mercedes Sprinter, and the Ram ProMaster.

Imported options:
Ram ProMaster City (Made in Turkey)
Ford Transit Connect (Made in Spain)

[Hersbird]

The USPS uses the Metris as it's available in RHD for rural routes that deliver out the window and the Promasters (which for us are only available in LHD) for city routes that park and walk but with higher parcel volume. The Ram (Caravan) Cargo are for city routes that park and walk but with lower parcel volumes.

What we should have bought were 150,000 RHD Ram Caravans made for European markets while they were still being made in Canada and used those for high mileage rural routes instead of the Metris.

Our latest Metris "quirk" is you can only put about a gallon of gas in it every 2 minutes as it somehow creates air pressure in the tank and backs up in the fill neck. So now we have to pay someone 30 minutes of overtime to put 15 gallons of gas in it and they only get about 10-11 MPG in our use cycle. This van has all of 15,000 miles on it.

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by Hersbird

The USPS uses the Metris as it's available in RHD for rural routes that deliver out the window and the Promasters (which for us are only available in LHD) for city routes that park and walk but with higher parcel volume. The Ram (Caravan) Cargo are for city routes that park and walk but with lower parcel volumes.

What we should have bought were 150,000 RHD Ram Caravans made for European markets while they were still being made in Canada and used those for high mileage rural routes instead of the Metris.

Our latest Metris "quirk" is you can only put about a gallon of gas in it every 2 minutes as it somehow creates air pressure in the tank and backs up in the fill neck. So now we have to pay someone 30 minutes of overtime to put 15 gallons of gas in it and they only get about 10-11 MPG in our use cycle. This van has all of 15,000 miles on it.

But some group of officials got a nice steak dinner, a swanky party, and some nice tickets or vacation destination out of it.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by ksa8907

But some group of officials got a nice steak dinner, a swanky party, and some nice tickets or vacation destination out of it.

More like USPS didn't buy 150K caravans because the LLV replacement was supposed to be just around the corner, but then that new vehicle was delayed and the Caravan was discontinued when the USPS got tired of waiting.

USPS finally picked a LLV replacement - the NGDV produced by Oshkosh - with deliveries in 2023

[redpoint5]

Oshkosh is getting all the big government contracts it seems.

Do you think the USPS will be the last in the world to get a hybrid or EV delivery vehicle?