Following on from yesterday’s blog, if you don’t need a 14 or 17 seat minibus, the choice of 8,9/10 seater minibuses is wide and normally I would recommend that you base your decision on the franchises of local dealers for convenience of looking after your new minibus
Yesterday I covered minibus choices from Ford, Renault, Vauxhall and VW
In addition to these manufacturers, there are other manufacturers with great products for you to choose your new school minibus from.
This year, Nissan released a new NV400 van, including 6 and 9 seat minibus versions. The new model NV400 was a joint venture with Renault (Master) and Vauxhall (Movano) but Nissan has released the NV400 with its in-house designed front. The NV400 is a great van and makes a great minibus as well
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes have many options for carrying multiple people. Their best seller is the Vito Traveliner. Available in 6 to 9 seats options, there is probably not a better base vehicle and better organised manufacturer group than Mercedes-Benz. The seats are set on rails, so can be tipped and slid out of the way to generate storage space, changing the vehicle into virtually any configuration that suits
Citroen and Fiat
Developed the Ducato/ Relay van. The Ducato Combi 9 seater like the Mercedes and Ford 9 seat minibuses, has a variable seating arrangement from 5 to 9 seats which allows you to set up the Ducato as a van if that’s needed. The drive quality of the Relay and Ducato is superb and accounts for it being so dominant in the motor home market. The engine range is great and dealer representation across the UK is strong