Better Passenger Van? Nissan Urvan Or Toyota Hi-ace Commuter or others?

**mondragon** · February 15th, 2012 09:27 PM

to glen manikis: first of all kung sa dlawang medium duty people hauler na ito, i think hi-ace ges my vote.. kc sa urvan di kaya ng aircon ung 18pax... prang blower nlng sa likod.. i dont know cgro sa location ng aircon nla.. sa hi ace khit 18 pax sobra lamig padin.. sa speed/power halos pantay lang.. nwei their maxpayload is 1600kg only...

pero ung ISUZU I-VAN, heavy duty hauler yan..remember isuzu nhr truck yan with a centro van body.. (with 2200++ kg payload), longer and taller than urvan and hi ace.. khit mglagay ka ng 23 people jan kaya.. or 20 people plus sacks of rice or cements kaya.. mas flexible xa up to the extreme.. cgro i-van needs to tell centro na gawin ms mataas ung ground clearance ng body.. the number1 diesel engine producer/truck maker ISUZU tops it all...

**mondragon** · February 15th, 2012 09:37 PM

to otep: ung nissan ba at toyota my industrial/marine engines?vehicle engines lng ata eh... dun pa lang lamang na isuzu... kya nga cla number 1 in diesel engine making.. kc may marine/industrial/commercial diesel engine ang isuzu... #1 truck maker pa.. mgtingin tingin ka sa daan.. ilan makita mo na toyota truck/nissan diesel truck? khit ung 2nd placer na mitsubishi di nila kayang pantayan lalo na higitan ang sales ng truck ng ISUZU kc iba na ung tiwala ng tao sa mga trucks ng isuzu.... khit sa mga jeepney, most of them are isuzu engines.. most oftenly pa na naaabuso ang mga isuzu eh..compare sa ibang brand.. pero alive and kicking pa din... most people kc considers more comfort,speed, torque kaya karamihan mitsu/toyota/nissan.. but ung mga tao na mostly considers engine supreme reliability & durability with less mentainance over others, more fuel efficient they go for isuzu.. kya most people neglect isuzu kc pinakamaingay,tagtag,mbagal... e kung praktikal k nman at gus2 mo spend less, heavy use u will go 4 isuzu..

**mondragon** · February 15th, 2012 09:48 PM

about sa foton, oo isuzu engine "daw" tlg un.. sana lam nmn natin ang china mahilig mgclone.. sa nokia palang my china phones... kung tunay na isuzu yan, it will outrun nissan/toyota diesel engine... sa body naman since china made bka mas matibay pa mga japanese brands dun.. sa price kc khit panu mgttaka ka sobrang mura..

dun sa ngsasabi jan na pang tao lng ang pwde ihakot ng i-van isuzu... nwei aayusin lng ang configuration dun sa seats.. kung ggawing mala urvan ang configuration at mlamang 23 people ang minimum na pwde salpak sa ivan since it is 2200+ kg in payload (urvan & hi ace has 1600kg only) at longer/taller sa hi ace at urban... so khit 18-20 passengers nkasakay at lagyan mo ng mga sacks ng rice/cements pwde yan.. kc mataas ung payload.. remember ISUZU=means TRUCK=means diesel in shot ISUZU IVAN is an NHR truck with van body... hi ace and urvan are not trucks..they are purely van only.. good for medium duty hauling only people.. but isuzu i-van, just do some seat configuratons, it is for heavy duty dual purpose hauling...

**OTEP** · February 15th, 2012 10:39 PM

As I've posted before, not all of us need heavy duty this, heavy duty that. We just need something that starts, turns, AND stops satisfactorily within the vehicle's life span (usually 10 years for most consumers). My back will thank me, too. Mas makakatipid ako sa medical bills. hehehe.

We just want something that will accelerate confidently AND stop confidently also within the first ten years of operation. Anything after that is a bonus already or its time to get a new car. And something wherein the rest of the vehicle is built as stoutly as the powertrain. Why is the passenger side door flapping at every pot hole I take? Pwede bang "Isuzu yan, ganda ng makina at heavy duty" ang isagot sa consumer? Or why the f*ck does it take so long for it to completely stop in a panic situation? Pwede bang, "Isuzu ito, heavy duty, huwag ka na masyadong magtanong." hehehe.

And why is this i-Van just dumping its coolant on the floor (because the Isuzu engineering people did not re-engineer the coolant overflow system)? "Ah kasi Isuzu yan, kahit mga jeepney yan ang makina..." doesn't seem like an appropriate answer. hehe.

We have a 1997 Mercedes Benz MB100 here. Often brushed off as simply low quality or too fragile. Not heavy duty ika nga. But it has been with us since day 1 and aside from the usual minor problems that come with age (thermostat got stuck, I wore the clutch out, etc.). The thing is coding exempt (it doesn't stop running) and up until recently it was our long haul hauler for people and whatever. But hey, it has huge dual piston vented discs up front, it can stop confidently and its 105 bhp Mercedes engine can haul the thing not too far from how fast a Nissan Patrol Safari can haul (both top out around 140kph also).

Even our 'medium duty' Nissan Urvan ambulance has been relatively trouble free despite always being driven like a maniac and being loaded up with rescue and emergency equipment (it is a FIRE-EMS unit).

Point is, Isuzu is trying to market the thing as a passenger van without making it passenger van enough and simply relying on their "we are heavy duty" mantra to try and sell. Most people won't care if Isuzu started making space shuttle engines kung masakit naman ang likod nila at every long trip they take or they can't get out of the car at the parking slot because the swing door is as long as a 2 door sports cars'. It also doesn't mean that just because something is not heavy duty, it will just break down in normal operation. Just use something within its intended parameters and it will serve you well enough.

P.S. my friend's tenant is a Jeepney operator and though most of their engines are 'alive' none of them are exactly 'alive and kicking'. Ang air filter is a palengke steel brush, and ang radiator ay may halong engine oil. Pero basta nakakapasada ok lang.

P.P.S. I don't work for any auto brand or shop.

**OTEP** · February 15th, 2012 10:52 PM

Kalaban ng I-Van. Don't mind the dual rear tires. You get the concept.

**GTi** · February 15th, 2012 11:46 PM

Is that a Hiace rear end grafted into a Toyota Dyna front? Dapat kasi ang Isuzu matuto sa mga ganon...

Sayang talaga that Isuzu did not introduce a proper van here. But then if you really want that 4JB1-TC in the NHR-PV/i-Van, there's always the Foton View. You get the 4JB1-TC, a better brake system, better constructed interior (kahit sabihin mong China, mas OK parin

), and a better ride courtesy of the late model Hiace body and underpinnings. If you want sturdier parts, I suppose you can always go to Banawe and replace the China parts with Toyota and Isuzu parts. I've seen the View starting to be used as a GT-Express service vehicle. IMHO sulit na sulit talaga to.

**OTEP** · February 16th, 2012 12:16 AM

I think it is. And it looks kinda funny. :D

Problem with the View is I'm kinda doubting the metallurgy. Don't want to have a blow by engine in no time. Suspension problems and other issues I can deal with naman. That's what keeping me from recommending it to be part of the ambulance fleet.

**GTi** · February 16th, 2012 12:22 AM

Well, I suppose we'll have to see what happens to the PCSO units. But I have noticed that the headlights seem to be of very poor quality since most PCSO View ambulances I see have fogging up and yellowing headlights and foglamps even though these are relatively new, being just around a year or so old.

**OTEP** · February 16th, 2012 01:54 AM

Jemson and the Banawe guys have the solution for yellowing headlamps and even hazy taillamps. Even the low quality siren and emergency lamps are easy enough (but a bit $$$) to fix.

Reviews from users of PCSO units have been fair at best. But most of them also don't give due maintenance to the units. Just fuel in the tank and air in the tires. Tsikoteer Niky has a brand new unit for their hospital. I'm just watching out how it will hold up.

**OTEP** · February 16th, 2012 02:10 AM

Oh yeah, there is almost no luggage room behind the last row of the I-van. And the rear seats don't fold up. Maybe the Isuzu people have been sniffing too much glue or something. 2000kgs of payload and no place to put it. hehe.

On most vans, the rear seats actually fold or tumble to create luggage space. On the Isuzu, bring out your wrench and better have some place to leave your seats.

No impulse buys at the antique store for this one.

Maybe Isuzu should consider another body contractor soon.