Sprinter comes as a 4x4. Prepare to open your wallet though.Originally Posted by Bill Nesbitt
Sprinter comes as a 4x4. Prepare to open your wallet though.
Totally forgot about it! What about it? Are they any good? The look cool. They seem less space efficient than the GM, but surely have the horsepower and the interiors look great. I have had great experiences with Japanese cars.
The Chevy is a good looking van in a good paint color with the chrome package.
The Nissan is the opposite of styling. Almost like they were trying to make sure nobody got the idea that life might be good while driving one.
More seriously, I would spend time reading on Nissan truck forums.
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Not another dime.
It's been 12 years since I worked on cars for a living but from what I saw in the early 2000's the Japanese put out solid vehicles. Nissan was probably behind Toyota and Honda but still pretty durable vehicles.
We have Chevy vans here at work to get out to our various posts. They get less than 20 miles a day but they're driven by people who don't have to cover maintenance and repairs and who are trying to get back to turn their gear in and go home after a 12 hour shift. The only thing that really stands out is the HVAC knobs on one of them broke off. A lot of these guys are former infantry but still... Also, they're kinda gutless.
Yeah, it's weird looking.
The 6.0L is not gutless. I reckon your employer doesn't want to pay for that.
Rule to live by:
Always get the biggest engine.
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Not another dime.
Is the Toyota Proace available in the USA?
Having driven and dealt with a decent variety of 12 and 15 pax vans for Uncle Sam, I'll say unequivocally that the GM's are my preference by a fair margin. The newest Fords have this weird split-seat thing going on with the 15pax and with grown adults in military uniforms the armrests and seatbelts are a pain to get around, especially for taller folks. I suppose it'd be fine for kids.
The Nissan is hideous but it's the quietest of the bunch and the base model sound system is better than the GM or Ford's. But it felt a little looser and too fuzzy at highway speeds. All of my exposure to Nissan vans has been via rental and not GSA owned vehicles, so abuse/lack of maintenance on rental fleet is a possible contributing factor.
Beyond that I prefer the GM because of the engine/trans combo (because V8!) the seats are easier to remove if you need cargo van status, and everywhere that has a lift and can work on GSA vehicles can get whatever part you need *today*. Ecoboost, weird diesels, etc - not so much.
It's also been my experience doing high performance stuff that the Ecoboost V6 doesn't really net the gas mileage improvement people claim it does. It does okay with light load but if you put a trailer behind one, it guzzles gas. With catless downpipes and a tune you can get another 1-2mpg improvement if you keep your foot out of it and see 22mpg sometimes 23mpg depending on the truck and driving tactics, but you can do pretty well with the modern direct injected Gen V GM V8's too, particularly the 5.3L.
A 2015 5.3L Silverado that we twin turbocharged (640hp at the wheels) had no problem getting 20mpg on the highway cruising at 80mph between Albuquerque and Vegas for SEMA. Using hypermile tactics and going at 75mph netted 22mpg. 4wd hi burnouts are fun too, the new 8L90 8 speed auto transmissions are STRONG.
So yes, GM van gets my vote.
I have no idea what engine is in them but you're probably right. They're 2500's though, I don't know what the base engine is for those.
Our rental GM is a LWB 15 Passenger with I assume the 6.0l. Our old SWB had the 5.3l.
What I have noticed:
I am surprised at how much harder the 15 passenger is to deal with in parking.
I swear this thing handles better in fast corners by a lot. Can't explain it. Other than weight distribution and much better and newer shocks.
This van also rides much better than a 12 passenger HD SWB tented in Chicago this past year. I guess they have the same suspension but the LWB has more weight in an extra bench and length which makes it better matched to the springs. The SWB was super harsh.
Engine and trans much better than our 2004. No comparison. Just dragged us up to 5000' no issue from sea level.
Passing Power is way better on two lanes. Downshifts and holds gear on downhills for engine braking without my input which is pretty cool! It is selling itself.
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