Just out of interest, why would you want to buy a kangoo?
(no offence intended, just wondered)
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hairy dog will be in back so rubber flooring easier to keep clean and hair free.the 4 wheel drive and economy questions are my major concern.
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Each to their own, but a tailor made plastic/rubber liner (as advertised in the back Country Life type magazines) in a proper car sounds infitely preferable to the utterly joyless experience of driving a Kangoo. Just a thought. I can't imagine they're very economical with those kind of aerodynamics.
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Cheap, practical, tough, and huge inside are the reasons why. The high roof is perfect for loading kids and large objects without risking back injury. Not too unpleasant to drive for what it is and as for economy I have a Pug Partner that is averaging in the region of 48mpg; I guess the Kangoo will be similar in 2wd form at least. It can be hustled along too, once you're used to the driving position and realise that although it might roll a bit there is plenty of grip. I'll be buying something similar in a few years anyway, because this one has been excellent--in fact normal cars feel cramped by comparison and I wonder how people manage with them. A spinoff from the "poor" aerodynamics and high roofline is that they are good for towing small caravans and box trailers without too much effect on mpg.
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Cheap, practical, tough, and huge inside are the reasons why. The high roof is perfect for loading kids and large objects without risking back injury. Not too unpleasant to drive for what it is and as for economy I have a Pug Partner that is averaging in the region of 48mpg; I guess the Kangoo will be similar in 2wd form at least.
1.5dci does slightly better than that actually at around 52mpg, but I prefer the Peugeot HDi engine, and out of all the Kangoo drivers I know, a large percentage have had problems of some sort ranging from trivial such as door latches, electric windows, etc not working, through to alternator and camshaft failure.
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Have you tried a Berlingo? - I like mine - and might be worth a test drive in order to compare with the Kangoo at least. Doesn't do 52mph, more like 42 but the HDi is a reasonably lively engine and seems to be able to be fully loaded with a mountain of stuff and performance and economy is not affected. I may be wrong, but I think that Cit offers make them cheaper than the (virtually identical) Partner, not sure of price against a Kangoo though.
Mine has now done 28,000 miles and no probs bar an indicator stalk replacement under warranty (didn't have a very "positive" action and was replaced without question)
Phil
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IIRC the 4WD Trekka with any engine has terrible economy. look up the figures on the web. Even the diesel is poor. Avoid 4WD unless you really need it. The 2WD is fine and with the diesel, economical.
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Espada III - well if you have a family and need a Lamborghini, what else do you drive?
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I'd also endorse the Berlingo as an alternative albeit bigger than the Kangoo for the same reasons as PhilW. In basic (non HDi) diesel format it's not that nippy, but goes as fast as everything else at 80ish. 36-45mpg in mixed urban and long distance traffic. Handling is OK, if you want a sports estate look for an Audi or whatever not a van derived car.
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The difference between the mpg you're getting and what I'm getting is quite big and I'm curious as to why. I suppose some of it could be explained by different uses (ours is almost exclusively used on A-roads and motorways and almost never goes out for less than 5 miles). One difference between it and the Berlingo I remember when we bought the thing was that the Partner had 15 inch wheels as standard, compared with the Berlingo's standard 14 inchers (15 inch wheels were a cost option at the time). That might also make a difference to mpg "on a run"--is yours on standard wheels? I guess these details are things to look out for when buying second hand.
Incidentally we originally went looking for a Berlingo, but found that the Partner was better specified as standard (hence the higher price) and once we'd equalized the spec the 0% deal offered by Peugeot was worth over £1000 to us since the cash stayed where it was. That has made it fractionally (and I really mean a few quid) cheaper over three years than what the Cit dealer wanted at the time for the equivalent Berlingo. They know what they are doing with these offers don't they?
Of course none of this may apply now.
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Ours is still fairly new, delivered March 05, and mpg is still improving. It's in desire trim, which bought us the extra roof storage space, skylights etc but runs the smaller wheels, bigger ones went with the HDi engine IIRC.
Mileage is still improving, lower figures apply to short urban commutes get within striking distance of 50mpg now on long runs. Consumption varies with speed much more than my Xantia HDi, probably a function of aerodynamics, cruise at 68/3000rpm is comfortable quiet and economical.
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