Newbury Business Today

Vivaro might be an automatic choice for some

10th April 2008

Email: businessreporter@newburybusinesstoday.co.uk

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Commercial vehicles of the month, by Maurice Hardy

WHEN you are a van driver faced with spending much of your time around town, the thought of constantly flexing your left leg to work the clutch must seem a bit daunting.
So the option of driving a van fitted with an automatic gearbox definitely has its attractions and for more than just its labour-saving opportunities.
For one thing, a clutch that’s worked heavily in traffic is likely to wear out and bring repair bills, which would soon add up to more than the £800 cost of taking the optional automatic transmission on a model like the Vauxhall Vivaro.
However, when you factor in the ease of driving, too, does this mean the self changing set-up becomes an unmissable attraction?
After trying the Vivaro with the six-speed Tecshift auto I was beginning to have my doubts. I found it quite difficult to drive smoothly as the take up on the throttle was very sharp. Pulling away without a jerk seemed beyond me, and as for creeping about in confined spaces, such as a loading bay, I came to the conclusion it was virtually impossible.
However, Vauxhall wouldn’t go to the expense of making a van like this if no-one was going to buy it so I called for a second opinion and handed the keys to my daughter’s partner, who worked as a van driver for some time.
He managed the Tecshift system well after an initial adjustment I didn’t seem able to make and while he also noted that some gear changes could be jerky – not comfortable if you are in the van all day – he managed the throttle problem and developed a smooth technique for pulling away.
Tecshift allows fully automatic operation or you can use a manual sequential action instead, pushing the stubby lever backwards and forwards to effect the changes.
Snicking it sideways to the right selects neutral and from there reverse is a straight pull back. It all sounds so simple and you even get the traditional kickdown of an auto box when you need a spurt of speed.
On the test van, a standard short wheelbase Vivaro, the Tecshift system was mated to the higher output 2.0 turbodiesel engine giving 113 bhp, enough to get a van this size moving quite smartly.
Being smart, of course, is what the Vivaro is all about. Even a good number of years after its introduction it still stands out for all the right reasons against more modern offerings.
Vauxhall refreshed the Vivaro, which is made here in the UK at the company’s Luton base alongside the Renault Trafic, for 2007, and it sports new lamp units front and rear and revised bumpers which have a narrower gap between them and the rest of the panels. It all looks that vital bit more integrated than it did before and the van’s detailing is vastly improved.
Vauxhall has concentrated a great deal on lowering running costs so there are now 18,000 mile service intervals. The addition of a stainless steel exhaust in place of a mild steel item also helps reduce repair downtime and as a further boost the 2.0 engines use a chain to drive the camshaft rather than a toothed rubber belt so replacement at regular intervals ceases to be an issue. All Vivaros come with a 100,000 mile three year warranty. Even with the Tecshift, 35 mpg was possible with ease.
The front wheel drive lay-out, and consequent lowered rear floor, mean the van has plenty of interior height without presenting too much of a bluff profile as it ploughs through the air.
But the Renault origins mean the left door opens first, a pain on UK streets as it gets in the way of accessing the pavement.

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