Thinking about jumping in...

[ealanm]

I'm not a Delica owner yet, but I'm starting to get pretty serious about one. It seems to fit my needs more closely than anything else that's available.

What I want is a vehicle that's not too big, for everyday driving, and gets good fuel mileage, but that also has enough power to pull a small trailer (1500 lb GVW) once in a while, and enough space to carry some gear at the same time. The Delica with a turbo diesel looks like a vehicle that could do that. I don't plan to do any off-road or even much in the way of back-road driving, so AWD probably isn't critical. But I have a car with AWD (Subaru) and I like it, so that would also be my preference for the Delica.

I also prefer a manual transmission, but the small bit of looking I've done suggests that automatics are a lot more common. Does anyone have thoughts on which is better for towing? What about reliability -- do either the automatics or manuals have maintenance issues I should know about?

[mrdueck]

My requirements are almost identical to yours with the addition that I needed a vehicle that could run on veggie oil. I prefer manuals as well but I have it from reliable sources (this forum included) that the auto's in these are very tough. Apparantly it is the same one they use in their 1 ton vehicles! What tipped the scales for me was I think I've heard of maybe about 1/2 dozen l400's with manual in Canada since I started looking hard in Dec 2009. MANY buy these to offroad so if they can handle that, our <2000 lb trailers should be a snap. I recently met a member with an l300 here in Winnipeg who was pulling a trailer loaded to the n@ts from BC to the East coast who the hills were a little slow not to mention the praire winds. This trailer was a huge shed on wheels so there was nothing airdynamic about it. He said he got to the East no issues, just not enough veggie stops on the way.

[ABdelica]

"The Delica with a turbo diesel looks like a vehicle that could do that."

Based on your stated requirements, .... I think you should look at the L400 (Spacegear), with a short wheel base (SWB).

I have a L300 & find it lacks sufficient highway horsepower (i.e. 86 HP). The manual vs Auto issue is not really important to your needs. Decide whether you want the L300 (Delica) or the L400 (SpaceGear). I would recommend the L400 for you.

[ealanm]

Based on your stated requirements, .... I think you should look at the L400 (Spacegear), with a short wheel base (SWB).

Thanks, that sounds like good advice. While I don't need to do a lot of highway towing, I do need to do some, so I wouldn't want to have inadequate power.

Why the SWB? Other than wheelbase, what's different about the SWB models?

[fexlboi]

Why the SWB? Other than wheelbase, what's different about the SWB models?

Manual transmission is only available as SWB