Hello

[richyb66]

Hi Rich here,

Located in the Midlands in the week and North West Wales mose weekends.

I'm considering buying a Largo so I'm just doing a bit of background work to discover any pitfalls. Looking for something as a daily driver that'll cope with 25k+ miles a year, I don't need all the seats, me and the missus do some kayaking and I want the space insides for all the clobber and getting changed in and the boats will go on the roof.

At the moment I run a V8 Audi Avant and I'm used to big fuel bills so it doesn't really matter whether it's petrol or diesel. I was also considering getting another VW T4 or a Nissan Elgrand but I don't really want anything that big again as a daily driver. Current thinking is to get something Largo sized and run it for 6 months to see how I get on with it.

Thanks.

[richyb66]

Ok, I've done my intro and started to have a read through a few threads and there's some great information here. However I've got a few questions.

I'm assuming the 2WD is RWD and the 4WD is permanent - i.e. it not switchable? And both petrol and diesel are available as both? As it would be a daily driver, I'm wary of a RWD auto if the weather gets bad. My Audi is a quattro so no problem any weather and my previous VW T4 was FWD but still pretty good in the snow. I can see that a 4WD Largo might be a good idea for the 4 weeks a year we have really bad weather and for getting across the odd wet field when we go kayaking but I'm not so sure about the other 48 weeks when it's just a load of extra transmission drag and poor gas mileage.

In terms of fuel consumption, I take it there's not that much difference between petrol and diesel? As I do a lot of miles, I'm wondering whether I'd be better sticking with petrol (which obviously has better performance) and maybe consider an lpg kit. I've got lpg on my Audi, which is still pants on fuel (around 17mpg) but at least the fuel is cheap. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who's got lpg, the quality of systems seem to vary a lot and some are better than others but a decent high end system would be £1200 - £1500 and I'd prefer the tank to be underfloor rather than loosing space inside.

The cost isn't necessarily an issue, it's just nice to know the likely expense beforehand but I do want reliability. I do all my own servicing and big jobs don't frighten me (did the cambelt on the Audi, 40v V8, 2 idlers and 2 tensioners on it and barely broke into a sweat) but are there any jobs or common problems that really do strike fear in people when they're mentioned?

[tommy]

I never got stuck in the rwd I had in snow or on fields it worked quite well unexpectedly. Drove through 6 inches of fresh snow on a housing estate.
Lpg and petrol would be my choice and easy to fit on largo! Both single point and sequential will work! You could even have single point and a blos Carb. I have a blos on my Vito with 0 power loss from gas to petrol.
Lots of space at back for a round tank underneath.
Petrol are more reliable in my opinion as I have owned both and the diesel went the scrap yard. The van was mint however the engine blew twice.
If you can do a belt on a quad cam why not self fit the gas and get it certified after. Cost about £350 to buy a single point closed loop gas system and very simple to fit. I have a zavoli sequential system here that requires 1 wire connecting to the coil and also you can now buy injector adaptors so you don't have to drill the manifold just bolt the adaptors between the fuel rail and manifold. Simples. They also self tune.
To get certified costs about £100. Most insurance company's don't ask for it anyway and is not a requirement by law.

[richyb66]

I did think about a self fit lpg and I've seen the kits at Tinley Tech where I've bought bits for the Audi. I could easily fit a kit, it's the setup that bothers me, good potential for messing things up and getting niggly problems if you get it wrong but it could still be an option as I like a challenge.

I'm very picky about what I'll be seen driving around in ( and I don't want to do 600+ miles a week in a tatty shed) but I've spotted a couple of possible candidates.Ones a diesel for 3k in Gloucester and the other is a petrol for £5k in York - I won't post direct links to the ads as I think it might be bad form, but they can be found on auction websites or PH.

The petrol looks top dollar and I'd need to be certain I was going to keep it a while if I put lpg on it as I'd never get the cost back. Alternatively I could just go diesel for 6 months and then upgrade to a petrol later if I get on with it. I'm kind of reluctant to shell out £££'s getting a top spec Largo together, only to find I need something bigger (which tbh is unlikely, but you never know!)

[gixxerboy]

You can get good ones cheaper than that, so i take it there from dealers. If you go for the 4x4 you can always disconnect the front drive shaft and turn it into rwd. The petrol's are better for performance and they run cam chains instead of cam belts in the diesels. I would go for a highway star all day long.

[richyb66]

Yes, both dealers. Been scanning the net for suitable vehicles but nothing for sale privately has taken my fancy yet. Cam chain is ok until they wear out or the tensioner goes, in some ways I'd rather have a belt and swap it every 40K (which is what I did on my T4 - did 4 cambelts on that while I owned it).

Highway Star looks like the best choice for spec and I still have a nagging doubt about the performance of a diesel and injector pump issues. The Audi is 350 brake so most other things feel slow but my T4 was 1.9td, 68bhp and you really had to work it to get it to go. I'm happy to sacrifice some economy to get something that is capable of actually overtaking on an uphill gradient. I drive a lot of miles so I ilke to have a smile on my face when I do!

[gixxerboy]

Then i would go for the petrol mate. The diesels do struggle sometimes and i only get about 26mpg out of my diesel. The wider your tires the lower your mpg aswell, i went from a 205 to a 225 and dropped about 2 mpg.

[tommy]

I did think about a self fit lpg and I've seen the kits at Tinley Tech where I've bought bits for the Audi. I could easily fit a kit, it's the setup that bothers me, good potential for messing things up and getting niggly problems if you get it wrong but it could still be an option as I like a challenge.

I'm very picky about what I'll be seen driving around in ( and I don't want to do 600+ miles a week in a tatty shed) but I've spotted a couple of possible candidates.Ones a diesel for 3k in Gloucester and the other is a petrol for £5k in York - I won't post direct links to the ads as I think it might be bad form, but they can be found on auction websites or PH.

The petrol looks top dollar and I'd need to be certain I was going to keep it a while if I put lpg on it as I'd never get the cost back. Alternatively I could just go diesel for 6 months and then upgrade to a petrol later if I get on with it. I'm kind of reluctant to shell out £££'s getting a top spec Largo together, only to find I need something bigger (which tbh is unlikely, but you never know!)

They set themselves up to be honest even the single point. You make very basic settings then it uses the lambda to set itself up.
Single point also runs closed loop and with a blos Carb removes the problem of backfires and removes the restriction in the air pipe and also idle is rock solid.

With a blos on the merc I can start in the morning direct from gas with no petrol used (ain't put any in for three months)

I have got all my stuff from http://www.autogas-lpg.co.uk/ they are by far the cheapest I've found. Did an ml320 for a mate total cost with tank was around £350.

And gixxer is correct petrol is better performance by far. Having owned both petrol wins hands down life just wasn't a struggle.

Handling wise the 4x4 was far superior. You could round about surf without slowing down. I must admit aswell before I mislead you that my 2wd was a gt with LSD and 4ws which helped in the snow.

[Cueball]

Hey. Welcome to the club. You will love driving around in the Largo. It's the only auto I've ever liked driving.

Hope you get a nice one and enjoy its ride.

Cueball from Pembrokeshire.

[Subsoil]

Hi And welcome.

I think as you say if your gona consider putting lpg on you need to consider if on a long term basis.
On my petrol RWD i put a Romano MPE on with a 62lt doughnut tank under at the back, Being mine is low miles i did the sums and thought
it was worth it.
I get 240 -250 miles summer, from my LPG if that helps. It was under 40 pound to fill at the weekend 64.9 ltr.
My only worry is the weight of the tank over the back wheels as i use mine for work and have tools in so she sits a bit low.
I figure its not a big job in the future to change the shocks ect.
I would not worry on rwd only i have a set of socks for the snow and have not needed them yet .

Phil. Scotland.