I wouldnt even call a Connect a normal van in Europe, there are MUCH larger vans there than those, they are the mini-vans of Europe. They are the baby brother to the big Transit, the Sprinters, those Opel things… If I would have known this was a city van challenge I wouldnt have made a big Transit/old Merc looking thing.
EDIT: Dont take this personally OP, it is just that the rules werent as clear to us as you may have seen them to be.
Definitely cant blame the OP, part of it is the difference in perceptions we see delivery van and think of the Fed ex and UPS vans running around carrying 2-3 tons of packages.
But also it is an artifact of the way we (not just the OP) have been setting up the competitions where cost is such a huge driving factor. I noticed it big time with my last competition, cars that performed half as good as others were winning because they were so cheap.
With a fixed cost, or even a cost range it will still favor a smaller less overall capable vehicle because they will have more money to invest in other parts bringing up their overall score.
I’m a bit confused. Are people concerned because they made a van that was designed to carry more than they thought the competition required, or less?
Because I made a 2-3 ton van (with 16-17MPG) and it’s in the reviews.
[quote=“strop”]I’m a bit confused. Are people concerned because they made a van that was designed to carry more than they thought the competition required, or less?
Because I made a 2-3 ton van (with 16-17MPG) and it’s in the reviews.[/quote]
It’s one thing to build a chassis that can support 2 to 3 tons. It’s another thing to build a motor capable of moving a fully loaded chassis effectively. My reasoning is that my van gets less mileage and is less driveable due to being so large. If you loaded down a van with a small motor, both its performance and economy would suffer much more than a van like mine where it was designed with the load in mind. Automation and the challenge doesn’t account for the loaded utility, just the utility potential. Therefore we had different ideas about what aspects of the build to emphasize in our designs that may have had more real world practicality based on our experience. I’m not faulting OP at all. Just discussing why I built the way I did and what I expected going in. Those are my own presumptions.
[quote=“strop”]I’m a bit confused. Are people concerned because they made a van that was designed to carry more than they thought the competition required, or less?
Because I made a 2-3 ton van (with 16-17MPG) and it’s in the reviews.[/quote]
I have no issue with the result. I built a “1-Ton” van, but if I knew he had ‘Ford Transit’ on the mind, I would of aimed for a ‘1/2-ton’ 
I am Proud of my 7th place!
[size=65](Basicly, I would of use the SX4, instead of the SX8)[/size]
where can i see in-game how much my van can load? All I know is it’s got 6159L of cargo volume, but I don’t know how much weight it can move.
You cant, there is no stat for load capacity, it is just lumped into Utility.
[quote=“KLinardo”]
[quote=“strop”]I’m a bit confused. Are people concerned because they made a van that was designed to carry more than they thought the competition required, or less?
Because I made a 2-3 ton van (with 16-17MPG) and it’s in the reviews.[/quote]
It’s one thing to build a chassis that can support 2 to 3 tons. It’s another thing to build a motor capable of moving a fully loaded chassis effectively. My reasoning is that my van gets less mileage and is less driveable due to being so large. If you loaded down a van with a small motor, both its performance and economy would suffer much more than a van like mine where it was designed with the load in mind. Automation and the challenge doesn’t account for the loaded utility, just the utility potential. Therefore we had different ideas about what aspects of the build to emphasize in our designs that may have had more real world practicality based on our experience. I’m not faulting OP at all. Just discussing why I built the way I did and what I expected going in. Those are my own presumptions.[/quote]
I see. So in a way, I’m guessing that I was actually at an advantage because I have no experience with utility vehicles in real life, and was therefore purely building based on the calculations Automation provides.
…or was I? Once the results are out I’ll submit all of my stats and you guys can interpret just what kind of van I actually did put together.
I was wondering that too, If Automation calculates weight as well as capacity, but I made this challenge without knowing that. I didn’t have a “Low Duty” or “High Duty” Model in mind. But, If it’s clarification of what exactly to make, perhaps we should discuss that before people send in cars 
soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
when’s the 1-5 reviews are coming out?
As a man still writing reviews for something, trust me when I say I am SURE DoctorNarfy has a good reason why they are not up.
Mine are currently unfinished due to a lack of muse. I open up Word and flounder away at making the unintelligible, intelligible. Give him the time he needs for quality, and I am sure you will not be disappointed.
^
perfection can’t be rushed?
[quote=“Lordred”]As a man still writing reviews for something, trust me when I say I am SURE DoctorNarfy has a good reason why they are not up.
Mine are currently unfinished due to a lack of muse. I open up Word and flounder away at making the unintelligible, intelligible. Give him the time he needs for quality, and I am sure you will not be disappointed.[/quote]
I wish I could confirm this. My Only excuse is that I’ve not done reviews yet, and I’m having slight difficulty as to how to express my thoughts into my words. I’ve made at least 3 different drafts, but I scrapped them all because I thought they turned out poorly.
Any news? It’s been a long time since we’ve heard from you…
(Hey Guys, Sorry It took so long. I won’t make excuses. Just that I was having a hard time translating my thoughts into words.)
You are a person who does work. You might be a contractor, a delivery person, or somebody else working Nine to five.
you need a veichle that will meet you halfway and be willing to work just as hard as you are. I’m looking
through the best of the best to find a van to help you. This first choice is called the Rennen Spatium.
Doing Nothing- Why are you talking about not using it for cargo? that’s what these vans are made for! I hear you saying.
yes, they are made for heavy lifting, but more often than not, these are company viechles. The people they transport
are more important than the items it transports. The Interior, It’s Cheap. It’s pretty much all plastic, I get it, mister
billion dollar cars and private jets is complaining about the interior of a cheap car.
but it looks one of the most exciting from the outside, and that just doesn’t carry into the interior.
Other than slight dissapointment, the interior does what is needed and nothing more. The suspension options where
also built on the cheap side, which makes the ride a bit uncomftorable, but it means that the van won’t go into
low rider mode when you fill it up with your junk.
Loading Up Cargo. The Rennen Spatium as a great chassis base. It’s a ladder chassis made of AHS steel, and it works
great for carrying all of your crap, and an all aluminum body keeps it lighter, meaning It won’t at least drink like a
raging alchohaulic. While the economy’s not amazing, the automatic transmission doesn’t let it wonder all over the place.
You’ll see slighty more than 20MPG whether your right food is made out of lead or not. Has a lot of room too. Like, a lot of room. I could live if one of
these vans was my office, which for most people, they are.
Strength? The Rennen Spatium will carry heavy cargo, but not without protest. It’s 260 Horsepower is adequate, but it’s performance
does falter when you load it up to the brim. But given that most of the engine’s torque is avalible before 2500RPM, you won’t
ever noitce unless you put a stone statue in the back. It’s good for carrying a lot of stuff, It’s good for carrying heavy stuff,
but when you want it to carry a lot of heavy stuff, It will fight you the entire way.
But how’d it fair with ownership costs? Odd enough, you have to register the Rennen Spatium as a muscle car, which makes the insurance… Less than Optimal.
But It’s got high safety and crash protection. An IHS representative has gone as far to tell me this van is “Pretty Safe” So insurance, coupled with the fuel consumption makes it cheaper to own than a regular Muscle car and even most regular cars for that matter.
The last word. It’s great as a mobile office. Plumbers, electritians,
and exterminators will love it. But It’s a bit too middle ground. Like a Toyota Tacoma, It doesn’t want to be to soft for
for a first time bussiness owner, but It doesn’t want to be strong enough for heavy duty construction or delivery jobs.
Thanks for the review! I really appreciate it. I’m honored to be a finalist at the least, but I think Rennen is more suited to sportier cars.
When can we expect the next review? Any ETA?
Late Monday, Early Tuesday. I can start posting them quicker after that.
For those who think he is taking way too long, he didn’t specify which Monday/Tuesday.
Any news, Narfy?
In all honesty the reviews are mostly written. I’ve just been swamped with stuff. If I don’t update by this time next week, you officially have my permission to shoot me.
