Can T6.1 do short journeys / low miles and be happy ?

[SP01]

I am ready to buy a new T6.1 van but im concerned that my usage might not work well with a modern diesel engine.

DPF / adblue / regens are new to me.



I mostly only make very short local runs, rarely any motorway miles.

Weekly i usually only make half a dozen short (5 minute) journeys, maybe a couple of half hour runs every other week, once a month a couple of hour long journeys.

Total 4-5 hours driving per month, mostly 30-45mph

Annual mileage is around 5-6K.

I have always brimmed the fuel tank and refilled when the warning light came on.



I have been told that a T6.1 will be fine as long as i don't let the fuel tank fall below quarter full.

Don't over fill the adblue.

Once a month take it a good run .....???



Im reading a lot about DPF, ERG, adblue problems and starting to think that a T6.1 might not be the right vehicle for me.

Can they do short journeys / low miles and be happy or is a T6.1 the wrong van for me ?

 

[Crazymind]

Diesel not your best friend with this driving pattern.
You will also return 18/20mpg.
Make yourself happy and buy a V8 petrol engine.

 

[roadtripper]

At that low a usage have you considered an EV?

It's not a T6.1 specific concern, any modern diesel car or van will have the same risks.

Your 5 minute trips are not going to get the engine up to temperature, neither is driving at town speeds going to regen very well. You are also likely to have issues with battery charging with such a small number of short runs.

 

[roadtripper]

Depending on why you need a van Vs a car the hybrid version of the Multivan (Caravelle replacement) might be a much better fit engine wise for short infrequent trips at town driving speeds.

 

[whodat]

This is the difference between "I wants" and "I needs".

I also mostly use mine for short journeys. Spend a bit of time hooking up Carista every so often to see when a regen is due and taking it up the nearest motorway for 20 min each way, and also topping up the battery with a charger every so often.
Also tend to walk and pick up stuff that is carryable if within a mile or so instead of trying to save 15minutes by driving.
However, most comfy drive I've ever had.

 

[Dave A]

I am ready to buy a new T6.1 van but im concerned that my usage might not work well with a modern diesel engine.

DPF / adblue / regens are new to me.



I mostly only make very short local runs, rarely any motorway miles.

Weekly i usually only make half a dozen short (5 minute) journeys, maybe a couple of half hour runs every other week, once a month a couple of hour long journeys.

Total 4-5 hours driving per month, mostly 30-45mph

Annual mileage is around 5-6K.

I have always brimmed the fuel tank and refilled when the warning light came on.



I have been told that a T6.1 will be fine as long as i don't let the fuel tank fall below quarter full.

Don't over fill the adblue.

Once a month take it a good run .....???



Im reading a lot about DPF, ERG, adblue problems and starting to think that a T6.1 might not be the right vehicle for me.

Can they do short journeys / low miles and be happy or is a T6.1 the wrong van for me ?

With the funeral vehicles (diesel Merc generally driven at low speed around town), we give them a good run weekly or when the passenger has been dropped off (read between the lines!).

 

[Bav]

With the funeral vehicles (diesel Merc generally driven at low speed around town), we give them a good run weekly or when the passenger has been dropped off (read between the lines!).

A hearse having an Italian tune-up isn't a sight you see every day Dave.

 

[SP01]

I have been driving Transporters for 30 years, (for work and play) I started with an early air cooled T3, then several diesel T4, a T5 (briefly) then back to T4.
I have always had multiple vehicles but now i want a single vehicle and it needs to a panel van.
My last T4 (when i stopped doing big miles for work) needed a trickle charger occasionally to keep the battery good, still returned 43mpg and was very reliable and economical.
I have considered EV's and im not convinced by them or that they would work for me.
I do make longer journeys from time to time but my regular routine is mostly low and slow miles.
I need a van, i want a VW but i don't want to buy into a lot of hassle.
I also like to buy new and keep them a long time.
Is an hour each way of motorway miles once a moth enough to keep it happy ?
I can make time for that but i want a vehicle that works for me rather than me having to work for it.

 

[Dellmassive]

I am ready to buy a new T6.1 van but im concerned that my usage might not work well with a modern diesel engine.

DPF / adblue / regens are new to me.



I mostly only make very short local runs, rarely any motorway miles.

Weekly i usually only make half a dozen short (5 minute) journeys, maybe a couple of half hour runs every other week, once a month a couple of hour long journeys.

Total 4-5 hours driving per month, mostly 30-45mph

Annual mileage is around 5-6K.

I have always brimmed the fuel tank and refilled when the warning light came on.



I have been told that a T6.1 will be fine as long as i don't let the fuel tank fall below quarter full.

Don't over fill the adblue.

Once a month take it a good run .....???



Im reading a lot about DPF, ERG, adblue problems and starting to think that a T6.1 might not be the right vehicle for me.

Can they do short journeys / low miles and be happy or is a T6.1 the wrong van for me ?

that doesn't sound like a good plan for a diesel.

unless you are prepared to take it for a good drive weekly or monthly,

and let it complete its static regens after a drive - ie leave it ticking over on the driveway until its regen completes,

but either way you will be burning cash in the form of diesel.

id look at the Petrol version,


or as others have mentioned look at EV.

+++

a colleague at work has had 3 different diesels now for the wife to potter around town with - they have all failed with DPF problems. ( similar low mileage and use to you)

id always suggested moving to Petrol or EV or Hybrid.

his latest motor is a Jaguar XF diesel - which went into adblue fault.

his garage told him that it was because he had used NON-JAG` Adblue? - and that only JAG` Adblue was to be used?

so he paid for a flush & new AB injector, 3months later - same problem.

long story short, he took it to a different garage that said "give us £600 and well make the problem go away" but dont ask questions.


lets just say that his ADBlue range now always shows full and he dont need to top up.

plus his DPF is a bit lighter in weight.

whether this will get picked up in future MOTs, or what happens when he sells the car on, or what's going to happen to the environment - i dont know.


but long and short - Petrol or EV/Hybrid would be best for him.

 

[z1ts]

I also like to buy new and keep them a long time.

You do know the order book for T6.1 closed back in Mar 2023?

So unless you can find a dealer stock vehicle or a cancelled order then it won't be new I'm afraid...

If you really do want a fresh new from the factory built for you van then wait for the Ford Transhitporter Frankenstein that's coming... (along with a pile of sh1te wet-belt engine!)

 

[TallPaul_S]

Is an hour each way of motorway miles once a moth enough to keep it happy ?

No.

6k miles a year is 500 miles a month, an hour of motorway is 60/70 miles - so that's 430 miles every month where the engine isn't getting up to temperature, dpf regens aren't able to complete, etc etc.

You're very likely to get problems with clogged dpf, at the very least - and probably worse.

Buy a petrol, or a hybrid, or an EV.

The ABT E-Transporter only has a range of 80 miles but damn they're cheap...

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Otherwise - ID Buzz cargo?

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Find your next van with Auto Trader UK, the official #1 site to buy and sell new and used vans. Over 30,000 vans online. Simple, easy, quick!

www.autotrader.co.uk

 

[z1ts]

damn they're cheap...

This might be why:-

 

[T6Gary]

I've just sold a diesel Mazda6 that I had for 5 years driving much the same as you with zero engine issues. Just did an Italian tune up anytime I had a 20 minute drive, I would stay in a lower gear/higher revs for the journey. Short trips isn't ideal for a diesel but then again neither is it for a petrol engine. Internal combustion engines break even with perfect use and maintenance, don't even get me started on EV reliability they suck. If you want a transporter then buy one and enjoy the benefits of a comfy cool looking practical vehicle that costs a little more to keep going than your average car.

 

[roadtripper]

I do make longer journeys from time to time but my regular routine is mostly low and slow miles.

This is the problem, this is the worst case profile for a modern Euro6 diesel.

You have no control over when a regen happens, it's not like the engine will notice you are doing a long trip and think "oh well I'll get a regen in now".

Instead what is going to happen is that when the regen is needed it will try to do it. With your likely driving pattern it's going to very often be trying to do that in the short journeys and repeatedly failing. That is going to increase the chances of your DPF filling up to the point of needing a forced regen. On a VW engine this also means that the excess fuel injected for regen is going to drain into the oil due to failed regen.

I also think with your likely speeds you are not going to load the engine much to get it's operating temperature up, so you are likely to have heavier soot generation.

If you are truly set on going down this path then you are going to need to get a decent OBDII dongle and one of the DPF monitoring apps and watch it like a hawk. When it needs a regen you're going to have to go for a good 20 minute drive until it's done to stop issues with your DPF and oil contamination.

 

[roadtripper]

This might be why:-

To be fair the ABT-E is a good example of why it's a bad idea to retrofit EV running gear into a platform not designed for it. The Buzz is a much better example.

 

[gilesjuk]

It's a shame the e-transporter has such a poor range. I guess that's why they are so cheap used. The other option is to track down a used petrol engine T6. They're pretty rare it seems.

 

[z1ts]

They're pretty rare it seems.

Rare but good fun!!

It's a shame the e-transporter has such a poor range.

Also only available in LWB as far as I can tell - which might be fine for some but not for others.

 

[SP01]

There are still new vans available and i can get a spec that works for me, im just fairly sure the diesel engine is more likely to be a problem for me than not.



I looked at the ABT-E, two of them actually, they looked too good to be true, (3 year old, 12K miles and £12K), the sales guy reckoned the 80 mile range was never accurate, real world was more in the 40-50 mile range.

Im not convinced by EV's or hybrids, certainly not at this point in time.



Petrol would be the obvious solution but i have been looking for six months now and haven't seen a single petrol transporter for sale.

I like the look of the T6 front end much more than the T6.1 and initially i was looking for a T6 but the condition and price of second hand vans is what made me consider a new one.



I suppose i was hoping that i could manually trigger the regen and stay in a lower gear for a few miles but its probably not a great long term solution.

 

[DXX]

Can they do short journeys / low miles and be happy or is a T6.1 the wrong van for me ?

IMO yes, it will be expensive, you can’t expect the EGR and DPF to deal with that.
I have cheap Euro 4 diesel run about for short journeys, one of the reasons is not to trash my Euro 5 van.

 

[gilesjuk]

I looked at the ABT-E, two of them actually, they looked too good to be true, (3 year old, 12K miles and £12K), the sales guy reckoned the 80 mile range was never accurate, real world was more in the 40-50 mile range.

Im not convinced by EV's or hybrids, certainly not at this point in time.

50 miles was what I was told. Weather depending as batteries don't work as well in the cold, especially with all the lights and heater on.

Search for "VW Transporter TSI" on ebay, you'll find a few petrol ones.