How to choose a Nuevo?

by Leish Mon Sep 26, 2016 2:55 pm

Perhaps, this is not something many people would ask or maybe it has already been explained here in detail, but I'll still ask it at the risk of sounding silly. frustrating

How does one choose a Nuevo? What should I turn my attention to?

by Gromit Mon Sep 26, 2016 3:12 pm

Habitation layout!

If that doesn't work for you it will be the wrong choice. Nothing else matters very much.

by Leish Mon Sep 26, 2016 3:22 pm

Hm... That doesn't sound complicated.

by Gromit Mon Sep 26, 2016 3:43 pm

You might be surprised how many people buy in haste, and without really thinking it through - then their van is on sale a year (or less) later 'cos they couldn't live in it comfortably.

Apart from the habitation, one Nuevo is much like another - so unless you need something special like automatic gears, there's not much else to ponder over.

Our preference (if it helps) is for the LP EK model. Low profile, end kitchen. We can use the beds either as singles or a huge double, and with the duvets stored in the overcab locker it takes less than one minute (literally) to make the beds. (A minute and a half in the morning as it takes longer to roll up the duvets than to chuck them onto the bed! )

Perhaps even more importantly, we have the side benches to lounge on with a book or a cuppa, rather than having to sit at a dining table! If you really are 25 this will not be such a concern, but to we wrinklies a morning of activity sometimes takes its toll, and half an hour lounging on the side bench is very necessary.

Imagine your way through a day and a night, and make notes on your three-column jotter. "Must haves" - "Don't care either way" - Not at any price!"

by Paramedic Mon Sep 26, 2016 4:18 pm

Gromit is right on the button, it's all about how the inside space works for you. We previously enjoyed the Nuevo EK and both being about 5ft 7ins in height, could accommodate the sleeping arrangement as two singles (incorporating cab swivel seats) or made up as the transverse double. With the latter, I slept nearest to the bathroom because of my erm...... old man's nocturnal requirement. Your age suggests you need not demand the proximity of the bathroom? We found the end kitchen arrangement isolated the cooking schedule, a convenient and safe distance from the general seating area. Overall a nice compact van that can go almost anywhere with adequate storage for all your stuff.

by alt Mon Sep 26, 2016 6:58 pm

As Grommit said originally - think about the layout, how you will make it work for you.

We initially looked at vans with electric beds in the ceiling but realised that our Nuevo ES had less compromises than the other vans we looked at. Loved the full kitchen, have cooked roast dinners in there and was very handy when away for a longer time as the dogs have homemade food.

The main one for us though was having a van which was short enough for turning onto our drive but didn't compromise on room inside (3 dogs with us).
The fact that we could take the dining table down and just use the occasional table gave a whole load of room. The compromise there is having to make the bed up each night as one of us sleeps upstairs and then the other sleeps with the dogs !!

by Leish Tue Sep 27, 2016 6:49 am

All right, all right, I think I understand that. If the layout doesn't work for me even a little, I shouldn't dismiss that drawback and look for something better. And that's the most important thing.

So as long as I pay attention to that, everything should be good, right?

by dbroada Tue Sep 27, 2016 7:50 am

Why did we buy a Nuevo?

My MUST haves were 3500kg max and length = 6m max. After that we were pretty free.

After that some nice to haves were an auto box, more storage than our Transit and a feeling of "space".

I did a lot of Internet research before coming up with a short list of 6 vans and we headed for the NEC. At the end of day 1 having looked at everything we could find that met our must list we had a different list of 6, only the Nuevo and a Swift remaining from my first list.

The next day we went back to try to shorten the list but it was difficult. Nothing was perfect but several were close enough. Finally the decider. Heather "made" a meal in each one and only the Nuevo had a microwave at a sensible height. This is not important for many but was for us. While the general layout MUST be right, it can still come down to little things.

When you look at a van, act out a day to see that everything YOU need works.

by Leish Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:17 am

Thank you for the advice. I will do that.

by crisp Wed Sep 28, 2016 2:56 pm

Also you might consider how many of you are going to be in it, do you need 4 travelling seats, 4 beds etc.
What extras do you consider essential do you want air con etc.

by voranke Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:37 am

Following on from previous posts one of the most important designs of the Nuevo was the fact it has a rear window which gives a more all around rear view whilst been driven ,this for me was just as important as the layout

Cheers Vo

by yammy Sun Oct 09, 2016 11:00 pm

After that some nice to haves were an auto box, more storage than our Transit and a feeling of "space"

Hi dbroada

I noticed that you are a very rare breed of having a Nuevo with a fiat auto box, is that the comfortmatic by any chance and if so can you let me know what you think as I want an auto box, the merc is too expensive but I like the idea of the fiat comfortmatic but cant find one to test drive. A lot of pros and cons, being slow on the uptake in 1st and not always selecting the correct gear. Some people have lickened it to driving a Smart auto which would be fine as I have a smart and tow it behind my mh. Your thoughtswould be appreciated, thanks Rob.

by dbroada Mon Oct 10, 2016 9:08 am

Hi yammy,

yes it's the comformatic box like on a Smart. I love it but miss the hill start assist (sticky brakes) that my 451 Smart has.

I'm currently on a poor wifi link but will be home in the middle of next week. If you can wait pm me to remind me to check this thread I'll give you a fuller answer then.

by yammy Mon Oct 10, 2016 1:16 pm

dbroada wrote:Hi yammy,

yes it's the comformatic box like on a Smart. I love it but miss the hill start assist (sticky brakes) that my 451 Smart has.

I'm currently on a poor wifi link but will be home in the middle of next week. If you can wait pm me to remind me to check this thread I'll give you a fuller answer then.

Hi Dave

That would be brill thanx.
I am going up to the NEC tonight for 3 days but will keep checking this thread , cheers
Rob.

by dbroada Tue Oct 11, 2016 4:02 pm

Wifi appears better here so a bit more.

I find the Fiat comformatic very similar to a Smart sharing the same bad points. The up gear change itself is nicer than my 451 and a LOT nicer than my 450. Reverse is a pain as you have to drive backwards rather than let tick over do it but again far nicer than my Smarts.

I do not like hill starts. The hand brake is too far away to be of great use and my feet don't always find the pedal as quickly as I would like. I am getting better but would love the brakes to stay on for a moment like they do in my Smart. It looks like this is an option for the Fiat and I will be visiting a dealer soon to see if is just a software update or not. If you are buying new see if it can be specified.

Yes, it is slow off the line but that is how I drive. I believe the gearbox "learns" the driver in the first 500 miles.

The display is suggesting that I am getting about 34mpg, mostly motorways at about 60 mph so I don't think it is adding greatly to the engine's thirst.

We too considered a Merc but a combination of cost, my ability to pick up punctures and the salesman saying how softly sprung they were kept us with the Fiat.

by yammy Sun Oct 16, 2016 4:30 pm

dbroada wrote:Wifi appears better here so a bit more.

I find the Fiat comformatic very similar to a Smart sharing the same bad points. The up gear change itself is nicer than my 451 and a LOT nicer than my 450. Reverse is a pain as you have to drive backwards rather than let tick over do it but again far nicer than my Smarts.

I do not like hill starts. The hand brake is too far away to be of great use and my feet don't always find the pedal as quickly as I would like. I am getting better but would love the brakes to stay on for a moment like they do in my Smart. It looks like this is an option for the Fiat and I will be visiting a dealer soon to see if is just a software update or not. If you are buying new see if it can be specified.

Yes, it is slow off the line but that is how I drive. I believe the gearbox "learns" the driver in the first 500 miles.

The display is suggesting that I am getting about 34mpg, mostly motorways at about 60 mph so I don't think it is adding greatly to the engine's thirst.

We too considered a Merc but a combination of cost, my ability to pick up punctures and the salesman saying how softly sprung they were kept us with the Fiat.

Hi Dave

thank you for the info really appreciate it, I am very used to my Smart and most of the time i am in no hurry in the van so comfortmatic wouldnt pose a problem for me and of course the saving over the merc would be huge. cheers
Rob

by Eribiste Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:56 pm

Thinking of FIAT auto 'boxes, we have a 500c with the dualogic auto. This is actually a manual gearbox operated by electro-hydraulics, so the efficiency of a direct drive system is retained with the convenience of automatic gear selection. There is an option to change speeds manually if desired. It works pretty well, the only caveat being a noticeable pause in progress on gear changes. Assuming the system on the Ducato is similar, I'd go for it myself.

by dbroada Wed Oct 19, 2016 8:19 pm

Yes, I consider the box on this (and the Smart) to be a clutchless manual. On my first Smart the changes were so brutal that I chose to shift manually. My current one is acceptable but I still prefer manual up changes. I haven't INTENTIONALLY used manual on the Nuevo.

We have just completed our maiden holiday of just over 2600 miles and are very happy with it.

by yammy Thu Oct 20, 2016 10:28 am

dbroada wrote:Yes, I consider the box on this (and the Smart) to be a clutchless manual. On my first Smart the changes were so brutal that I chose to shift manually. My current one is acceptable but I still prefer manual up changes. I haven't INTENTIONALLY used manual on the Nuevo.

We have just completed our maiden holiday of just over 2600 miles and are very happy with it.

it does take a little getting used to a smart car and i can drive as smoothly as any other car with the gear change up or down, just has to be done gently and know when its about to change. I have a diesel smart and i use it in manual 98% of the time as I get more mpg than being in auto mode. I assume it would be the same with the comfortmatic . It would be interesting to see what sort of economy you would get on the Nuevo in auto and manual mode, I am guessing around 30 in manual and maybe slightly less in auto mode.

by dbroada Thu Oct 20, 2016 10:49 am

yammy wrote: It would be interesting to see what sort of economy you would get on the Nuevo in auto and manual mode, I am guessing around 30 in manual and maybe slightly less in auto mode.

Check my sig - that's real data from when I bought the van up to yesterday's fill. Less than 30mpg on the first trip and about 30mpg for a motorway dash on Tuesday (didn't know the tunnel would be closed when we got there). The dash was mostly at 100kph but the rest of the time I restricted myself to 90kph with a best tank of 34mpg. That's totally auto, mostly motorways but also a bit of driving around towns and campsites.

by yammy Thu Oct 20, 2016 11:23 am

dbroada wrote:
yammy wrote: It would be interesting to see what sort of economy you would get on the Nuevo in auto and manual mode, I am guessing around 30 in manual and maybe slightly less in auto mode.

Check my sig - that's real data from when I bought the van up to yesterday's fill. Less than 30mpg on the first trip and about 30mpg for a motorway dash on Tuesday (didn't know the tunnel would be closed when we got there). The dash was mostly at 100kph but the rest of the time I restricted myself to 90kph with a best tank of 34mpg. That's totally auto, mostly motorways but also a bit of driving around towns and campsites.

That is pretty dam good, very impressed with that, I would assume it could get better once the engine is run in and has done a few more thousand miles.

by inspiredron Thu Oct 20, 2016 11:47 pm

yammy wrote:
dbroada wrote:
yammy wrote: It would be interesting to see what sort of economy you would get on the Nuevo in auto and manual mode, I am guessing around 30 in manual and maybe slightly less in auto mode.

Check my sig - that's real data from when I bought the van up to yesterday's fill. Less than 30mpg on the first trip and about 30mpg for a motorway dash on Tuesday (didn't know the tunnel would be closed when we got there). The dash was mostly at 100kph but the rest of the time I restricted myself to 90kph with a best tank of 34mpg. That's totally auto, mostly motorways but also a bit of driving around towns and campsites.
That is pretty dam good, very impressed with that, I would assume it could get better once the engine is run in and has done a few more thousand miles.

Don't you find it difficult to drive with a helium balloon on your right ankle? Or do you only drive in Essex?
Seriously - I reckon I am pretty light footed and my average is more like 26mpg. I, too, generally cruise at 90kph but have been known to go up to 100kph on motorways. We do a fair bit of driving in and around the Alps and up and down to Alp d'Huez it did go down to 21mpg but I have been consistently amazed at your 31.6 and now 32mpg. The best I have ever seen on the trip counter is 31.4 but that dropped rapidly when we left a level motorway and went into some gentle hills in Slovenia. And ours is a Euro V engine.
The figures that I have quoted are calculated over a long term, brimming the tank on most fills.
I am amazed, but not surprised that the Fiat auto is less thirsty than a Borg Warner type with a torque converter

by dbroada Thu Oct 20, 2016 11:59 pm

Essex? I'm only a little way from you!

Certainly not Alp d'Huez. I think the biggest hill encountered this year was the Caterham by pass. Our run was down to Hungary and back but mostly on the flat bits. I expect the consumption to worsen when we start on the hilly bits.

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