As a fairly average family based in the UK, we owned 2 cars due to my need for a works vehicle. It was 2004 at the time. My wife’s car was a Mk 1 Renault Scenic (dreadfully unreliable, check out the persistent coil pack problems on Parkers forum if you have the time). I owned a Fiat Marea Weekend 1.8SX for work, which was a super car for the money, and certainly the best looking used estate car I found. I bought mine for £1550.00 in 2003 and was able to drive around in a low mileage fairly new (X reg) which in silver looked presentable enough to take clients in.
As the Scenic deteriorated, I got cold feet about it, and decided that rather than running two very similar sized cars, I’d do some research into other estate cars and MPVs (multi purpose vehicles) as well as small hatchbacks, to enable us to own two very different vehicles. The Fiat and the Renault were very similar indeed – it was like owning two estate cars.
Time to pour over the car reports
So myself and another car enthusiast friend sat down and spent several enjoyable evenings simply working out what we needed from our cars, how much we had to spend, and what are choices were. We ruled out anything unreliable (as per the Reliability Index results, where ALL Renaults are listed as poor). To be honest, this is one of my favourite parts of finding a new car. It’s a bit like a chase. I decided I prefered the multi-purpose nature and ‘intelligent design’ of the clever MPVs over a straight estate car. Many of the estates featured overly large bonnets and rear overhangs, and the more I looked at the design of the MPVs – with the body built on a flat floor with everything else tucked away underneath, often giving you a straight walk-through floor, ideal for families, or for when I would carry a large amount of work equipment with tripods stands ladders etc. I was sold on an MPV.
However, I had some misgivings about the offerings in my price bracket (by this stage we’d firmed up our budget: around £4000 for the ‘big car’ option, and around £2000 for the small hatch), so I was now harbouring some firmer thoughts…
- Mitsubishi Space Wagon – I loved the Battlestar Gallactica looks of the Mitsubishi Space Wagon, but had to rule it out on the basis that the average repair bill was £661.00 based on the Reliability Index’s findings.
- Vauxhall Zafira – I disliked the blandness and ‘follow my leader’ popularity of the Vauxhall Zafira. OK, the fold down seats are clever, but I’d owned an Astra TDi and found it truly forgettable to own, and drive.
- Ford Galaxy / Seat Alhambra / VW Sharan – Again, the curvy old school ‘Ford Mondeo’ looks of the Mk1 shape looked a bit, well, a bit old hat. The earliest ones now looked very tired indeed, and anyone seen driving one seemed to have an air of desparation around them, like they were borrowing it, but would never admit to owning one. Not even the VW badge could sway me.
- Toyota Estima / Lucida – I ruled these out quickly after driving one. They have a very lethargic ‘old school van’ feel. Really, they’re an antiquated design now circa 1980′s, and the thirsty Japanese diesel mated to an automatic gearbox means not only that progress can be a little jerky, but that you’ll be lucky to get 25/30mpg in normal use. OK, they have their uses, but they’re far from refined, or efficient, two things high on my list of requirements.
- Mazda Bongo / Ford Friendee – I was sooo close to choosing this. So I tried one. I loved the idea of owning a car which you could free camp in whenever you wanted; it’s pop top was ingenious: as a design feature it was absolutely brilliant. I loved it! But my dream was dropped from a great height when I drove it. It was fully automatic – a lumpy noisy wheezy thing at low or high speed, and that old tech Jap diesel was torquey but boy was it thirsty! I reckon it was doing 25-30mpg. Yikes. I had a figure in my head I wanted from my MPV, and it was at least 40mpg. The thing was narrow too, built for Jap roads, and the cabin which design-wise should have all swiveled to make it into a camper, didn’t, so the front was all dead space, and the mid and rear seats wouldn’t go down flat, so it made a very unsatisfactory sleeping area. The front seats are fixed forwards with the noisy engine underneath. Much too uncivilised to drive up to London at the drop of a hat, or Bristol even. I couldn’t imagine myself really using for work, it was like a van, and what finally killed the idea was that most of them are 4×4, which would be truly pointless for me. One of my pet hates is wasted energy, and we all know the wasted energy 4x4s are guilty of, pootling round shiney clean town car parks pointlessly. Finally I spoke to several owners who were selling because of running costs, so that was out.
- Citroen Synergie / Peugeot 806 / Fiat Ulysse – So then we looked at the boxy shaped Ulysse, as it’s registered on the Reliability Index as a good score for an MPV (interestingly, the MPV style of car fairs pretty badly in terms of ownership problems, many suffering interior trim niggles). I must admit to always harbouring a liking for the design of this range of 3 (I say 3 as I have never ever seen the Lancia version on a UK road – have you?). The later versions were quite smart with body coloured lower sills, bumpers, trim and a host of electric extras. We Brits dislike the Fiat badge. It’s synonymous for flimsy build quality and cheap and cheerful cars, so the Ulysse seemed a good buy: it’s always £500+ less than the equivalent 806 Peugeot simply because of badge snobbery, as we know all three cars are built the same.
Finding a good one
I decided to ‘bite the bullet’ and drive a Synergie. I ruled out the 806 at this stage, because frankly if they are all the same car, I’m not prepared to pay extra for the words PEUGEOT on the front. So that week I searched and searched online for Synergie’s and Ulysse’s in my area, and dredged up some real junk I can tell you. This is where it’s a case of buyer beware: many of this model have done their time as a taxi, as you’ll no doubt be aware having seen them in service around your town after dark, filled with nightclubbers enjoying the cars quiet ride and composed road manners no doubt. Well, I was really fussy with my questions on the phone, and it saved me a heck of a lot of time going to physically see the cars. I asked ‘are there any holes on drilled on the dashboard’. If the seller said yes, I didn’t go any further – it’s a sure sign of either company car use (high miles, or hidden high mileage ie: clocked), or it’s been a taxi. Avoid! It will have been driven hard, and the interior will be worn out.
But that weekend in 2005 I extended my search, and found a silver Synergie for £4490.00 with 91k miles with FSH (full service history) out near Stonehenge, which is roughly one hour forty five minutes from Exeter. My budget wouldn’t stretch to less miles, but I was prepared to buy a higher mileage car based on condition; if it had been loved rather than abused, I’d buy it.
The dealer was a small trader, but up front about his business (usually a good sign) and described the car as ‘near mint’, which I took to mean good all round. Taking my Father as backup driver along with a fistful of dollars, I got a good feeling about the car from the off, but played it cool. I’d carefully picked a later model after finding the earlier cars (pre-facelift) were looking very tired now, and I had read a whole bunch of good stuff about the HDi common rail diesel unit fitted in this newer model. OK, I was pushing the budget, but if was going to keep it, and use it for clients, it needed to be right. And this one was.
And buying it
I noticed a little one pence coin size dent on each wing quite high up, a tiny spot of rust on the nearside sliding -door, but otherwise it was faultless. It ran sweetly, no smoke, revved well, climate control all worked, no funny warning lights, all dash lights worked (I’ve known dealers disconnect warning lights to hide problems like faulty ABS) and it drove well. Not like an Impreza, but good for the size of the car. It had all seven seats, the drivers’ was more worn than the the rest but that’s to be expected. We haggled, I challenged him on some service history points (I’ve also seen dealers make up entire service histories – always ring the garages phone number on the service stamps and have a chat), he said call the original garage, so I did, they sounded real and could vouch for the cars authenticity, he got a bit cross with me not trusting him, I wanted the car, I decided to trust him, we shook hands, we all smiled, job done.
And then I thought, this car’s so good, it deserves a blog….
Like you I fell for the 806/Synergie/Ulysse (oohlease)/Zeta as a much more attractive alternative to the Renault Espace. Having owned a so-so Espace for a couple of years my first alternative was a 2 litre turbo petrol Synergie, fully loaded with twin sunroofs, seven seats, Admirals’ front seats and so forth. It was a damned good car too – cost me around two grand and was worth every penny. We lived in France at the time so when the time came to shift back to blighty I offered the left-hand driven Citroen as an exchange for a right-hand drive anything on an anglo-french website. As a result we did a straight swap for an 806 diesel, the older 1.9 litre version, which proved comparatively gutless but much more frugal. My business partner was so impressed he bought one too, a 2.0 petrol Synergie. When he retired in March 2009 I ended up with both cars so I sat down and figured out what I really wanted from ny next MPV. I still loved the Synergie’s style and handling, but air con would be nice, as would an auto box, a sunroof and a colour to match our other company car. And then there it was on ebay, a car that matched all my ‘wanted’ list, so late one evening as the auction was about to end I started bidding and ended up getting a 71,000 miler, two owner Synergie for 950 quid (so prices have dropped a lot since 2008….). I then flogged my diesel 806 for more than I’d paid for the Synergie and shifted my ex-partner’s car for not a lot less than £750, not bad for a 1996 petrol.
Yes, no doubt that there’s a snobbery thing about the Peugeot version, which is why I’m back with a Synergie – same car, less spondulix can’t be bad. Oh, and the Zeta never came to the UK as it was LHD only. I sell spares for classic Lancias so if you ever see a Zeta for sale here in the UK let me know!
Anyway, they’re practical, comfortable, flexible (with anything from two seats to eight), reliable and good looking, so they get my vote too.
Rodders
7 SEPTEMBER 2009 10:16
Miles, do you want to give us a bit more detail? And do you have any photos? I’m always on the look for any particularly low mileage or ‘cared for’ Synergies and 806s. Someone reading this may fancy a look at your Lancia.
Hi Rodders, I’ve just got around to putting my Zeta up for sale so if anyone is intrested, please shout quickly as I’m about to advertise it in France -
LHD 1998 2.1d model on French plates
Standard Zeta top spec – Cruise, climate, alloys etc. etc
150KM approx
7 seats
CD changer
Navy Blue
Control Technique (MOT) until December
Always been serviced by a local Peugoet dealer so mechanicly very sound but rear tailgate has a crack and a bit of rust half way down one of the doors.
I’m looking for around £2,000
The car is in Morzine (French Alps) but I can send pictures to anyone who is intrested. Best regards, Miles
Good luck Miles, a Zeta would be a rare and welcome sight on our roads! Any takers?
Needed to replace my Series 3 Land Rover and realised I didn’t need off road capability just its versatility. I wanted something just as versatile and had driven a hire Citroen Dispatch and was pleased. Looking at MPVs wanted one which could have the seats removed for carrying things, also the Synergie has more compact external dimensions than most. (SWMBO liked the 7 seat midi mpv’s such as Grand Scenics 7 Picasso’s but they are just as big but cramped inside). Nearly bought a Fiat Ulysses but the Synergie I’ve now got felt better on the test drive. Also I dislike the Fiat front end, & I think the rear light cluster on the Citroen looks smartest, probably ’cause it somewhat resembles the older Range Rovers!
Lester, thanks for your comments, glad you made the right MPV decision! It’s funny how many people presume the Citroen Synergie MPV must be ‘big’, but it isn’t. It’s like a tardis really. On the subject of Land Rovers, we considered 4×4′s early on as they have the size and the seats, but there’s so much complication in terms of drivetrains, and if you can live without it, you save an awful lot of money and running costs. Also they don’t strip down inside with a flat floor like the Synergie/806/Ulysees do. Must admit though, Land Rovers are more iconic! Maybe if we can keep our Synergie’s on the road long enough, they’ll gain a sort of classic status as the first (and last?) simple multi-purpose vehicle? Do drop us a line if you get any good shots of yours in action…
I forgot to mention that my one disapointment is with the fibreboard (?) floor of the Synergie which is a bit soft in a few places from heavy feet and spilt dog’s water bowls etc. and a couple of the plastic trims around the fixing points have broken or gone missing. But its nowhere near bad enough to be worth the effort of stripping out the floor and re-doing it.
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Lester, on your two points, we share your dissapointment.
As you’ll have seen from our custom floor, I was concerned about keepng it clean, and making a rubber floor was my cheap fix. I sometimes have to do building site visits, and the muck would have trashed the standard flooring of the Synergie, or any car come to think of it. Thankfully now I can let the mud dry, and simply sweep it out.
We’ve suffered the same seat belt mounting point covers popping off, as well as the little rubber covers for the seat folding mechanisms jumping off. I’ve tried glueing the seat belt mounting covers, but to no avail.
But I can honestly say compared to a friends 2001 Ford Galaxy, which has an interior (and exterior) which is literally worn to the bone over a similiar mileage to our MPV, that the Citroen is far better made. And the powerplant/transmission is superior to the Ford.
BTW – Does your car have the swivel captain front seats? And any idea what mpg you’re getting?
Yes it does have the swivel front seats, I presumed all had them, unless anyone has tried fitting the bench seat from a dispatch (which with a rear bench would open up the possibility of a 9 seater – construction & use regs permitting!). The swivel seats make for cosy family picnics so we do use that facility, though we could perhaps do with one of your tables as the kiddies complain they lose their aircraft type trays when mum & dad turn round! Also turning the front passenger seat round, reclining it if necessary allows things like ladders to be carried inside safely below the winscreen level.
Mine is a 16v 1.9 petrol so mpg is usually in the low to mid 30s, but can be quite appalling if used in city traffic. As my annual mileage is quite low the extra cost of a diesel would never be recovered.
im looking to buy a synergie and my budget is 800 pounds not alot but its all i got..i have seen a n reg 1.9 diesel turbo synergie up for sale at 850 doesnt say anything about mileage…what would be the norm? and what would be a good price?…
hooray!..what a car i love driving it!..i bought a synergie n reg for 750 and 120 k on clock..the interior is very good and such light steering and easy to park.the only minus bits are the colour is that pasty blue and there is a rust spot near the back bumper but they have told me i could get alloys and tcut..im more interested in trying to get the seats out and rearranging..i want to take it away on weekends so plan to stay the night in it..
thanku
can i just say i got the synergie on the back of this website.i came across it by accident as i was interested in getting a toyota estima but from chatting to owners i discovered they gave 22 mpg! well that put me off..so i did a bit more hunting and came across this website and since then my mind was made up..now i got my syn im really happy
Anita, so glad we could help steer you in the right direction! Let us know how you get on, we’d love to post up some photos if you get them of your Synergie. Don’t worry about the rust – these MPVs are really well galvanised – they resist rust an awful lot better than Fords, which seem to suffer, as do Mazda Bongos and other imports. Well done, and welcome to the club!
ohhhh.i had taken my syn to the car wash and ever since my abs light has come on consistently.brakes work but havnt done the emergency stop to see if abs works..hope it aint the system:(…
Hmmm Anita, that’s odd. One solution is to take it into a friendly garage, get them to plug it in to their system, and it will read the error code, which will tell you why it’s come on. The ABS light can mean a number of things, some very simple to sort. Mine came on when an ABS sensor failed on my front nearside wheel, which wasn’t costly to fix. ABS still worked on all 3 other wheels I believe. Keep us posted, and good luck. If anyone else knows about the ABS light possibilities, maybe drop a us a line.
Oh, and don’t panic! Used cars tend to often either do 2 things: 1: Run for ages without needing any attention. Then need a lot. Or 2: Need some minor things sorted early on, then run and run.
I have a LHD Lancia Zeta 2.1d top spec on French plates in Morzine France that I’m just about to sell, so let me know if your intrested.
I collect mine Friday. 1998 Diesel. Exterior is good, mechanics and electrics are good and Engine is gorgeous but the inside is filthy. been used by an agency to take people to and from work every day.
It’s going to end up a mobile studio / office for a sports journalist.
Might post a before and after picture of the clean up job.
Martin, well done on getting what sounds like a good deal. I love ours as a weekday mobile office and weekend kids van, and there’s nothing else on the market like it. Many come close (imports, Shalaxy etc) but nothing’s as economical, or as flexible. I’d love to see how you get on with your journovan (sorry ’bout that), and do do do send some photos. Try emailing them to (and I’m going to write this to try and stop spam!) info ‘at symbol’ campercar.co.uk.
The Journovan lives, and it is becoming an obsession. Perfect place for post match interviews when the bloody stadium PA wont stop playing.
Inverter to power laptop, mobile broadband to upload the final photo’s, audio, reports at games / races.
Passenged seat dashboard is perfect for a laptop desk, table modification in back means two of you can work at the same time.
Rattled it down with rain when we had to photograph a training session, snapped out of sliding doors with a monopod.
Opened Sunroof, filmed a race from it. Magic.
Now I want curtains fitted, so I can get my head down in peace on the way home at the services and enjoy a nice 12v filter coffee.
Best thing I ever did.
hello…well my syn has been fantastic!..been away loads but havnt slept in it as yet..its so versatile i love it..taken the back seats out and the middle one so my son has ample room to move around..nappy changing and feeding times are easy now as he has room to move and so do i..we sit in the car in car parks and have picnics in side,the captain seats are handy for those moments..only thing bugging me is the fuel consumption..ifi put ten pound of diesel in its a 1.9 td it gives me 45 miles!..on a longer run its a bit better at giving me 60 miles for a tenner!…my renault scenic petrol gave better!..is there anything that can be done to get it better a service prehaps?
Thanks for your comments Anita, yes – the Synergie is a great family vehicle, fitting easily into normal car park spaces but big enough inside to have a picnic or nappy change duties (ugh).
Sorry to hear about your mpg woes. You may have read I’m running a later HDi engined model, which always gives a low of 44mpg and a high of 51 (for me). I always fill her right up to the brim (£90 or thereabouts). Have you checked the obvious things like condition of air filter, correct tire pressures, brakes not binding? Lots of things come in to play in achieving a good mpg, like your driving style etc. But really, your truck should be capable of a very respectable mpg – probably almost as good as the HDi. Worth investigating. Let us know what you uncover.
Just stumbled on this site while roaming around the web, lovely to see others sharing my enjoyment of these superb MPVs, we’ve owned our 1.9 SVDT Pug since ’06 and it has been a brilliant car, that has taken us to the south of France for 3 holidays and carried out all family chores faultlessly. My only comment is it can be an absolute sow to work on, plus it is wise to consider a new radiator as they get older (They silt up) which can save the headgasket in extreme cases. But overall I’m doing all I can to preserve our Pug, as there isn’t anything out there that can touch it price for price
Garry, thanks for your comment. Well done keeping your SVDT going – you’re dead right that there’s nothing else out there like these MPV cars, they’re cracking all rounders. I’ve made a mental note on your radiator comment – I’ve just bought an ’02 plate 806 HDI which I’ll check the rad on asap.
If you get a chance, send me a photo of your SVDT for the gallery. What mileage are you up to?
Nice site, really enjoyed reading your MPV adventures.
I’ve just got a Mk 2 Galaxy and going to turn it into a mini camper for mountain bike Alps trip(once I get a few mechanic bills sorted out!).
Plans:
All seats out
Down 2/3 of boot build a raised floor:
– single mattress on top
– storage boxes underneath for luggage/gas stoves etc
– cool box for sandwich fillings and marg!
Down other 1/3 space for 2 bikes (Downhill and Road)
Was going to get a van but a Ghia Galaxy is much nicer to drive about in day to day!
The pics of your Synergie and others on the site have helped get me excited about this project
I’ll post pics when I start to fit her out
Munzy, great to hear from you. Sorry for slow reply, I’ve been hunting and buying one of the last Peugeot 806s sold in the UK with the plan to run her for to at least 2017, if diesel is still being sold then!
Anyhow, your Galaxy idea is great. Would love to see some pics when you get a moment. I’m a bit of a bike nut, with road and off-roaders regularly being slapped inside my MPV. My Trek road bike slots in to the Synergie without any adjustments at all which is ideal.
Look forward to hearing from you. Keep on MPVing!
Slower than hoped but coming along nicely:
http://www.fgoc.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,18005.0/all.html
pics near the bottom
Good man! I read through your conversion so far, love the idea of sleeping next to your bike
Your Galaxy looks a good one, have you fixed the bed/storage frame permanently or made it removable?
Cheers MPVcar
Not fixed them down – really just two simple “tables”, easy to take out and in. Lucky the boxes underneath support my weight otherwise I would have had to make them a lot heavier with more supports.
Have bought a couple of camping stoves (liked the ones in your Stealth camper post) and just need the mattress now – can’t wait to have my first trip.
Thanks for all the inspiration with your Synergie posts and ideas
what a great website/blog this is, im enjoying every minute of it, we have just bought a 806 quicksilver hdi, 2002, and i am amazed at it, its a brilliant car, only 2 days in mind, the table idea is excellent as we have loads of days at the coast with the kids and makes lunch easier, we could do with a night heater though instead of using the engine heater that isnt that good.
we’ve just bought a 806 what a fantastic car,
Hi,
) but also needed something to tow large trailer and wanted to change from a van and car (current economic climate) the 806 seemed good choice.
just read your amazing blog loads of interesting ideas and comments.
having just bought an 806 quicksilver, needed largish car for kids when visit (as part time dad
just returned from an airport trip to bristol and loved it, bit wallowy into odd corners but nice to drive. but have issue as cant get cruise control to work, have you any idea what might be the issue as would be great to sort.
any advice would be appreciated.
dom
Hi Dom, glad you’ve joined the club and bought an 806. Regarding the cruise control, sadly I’m no expert, but I do know that when I bought mine it didn’t work, and all it needed was a new switch which the dealer sent me, which wasn’t very much money at all. It’s the button down on the right hand side of where the driver sits. A light should come on when it’s clicked in/on. Hope this helps…
ive just converted a ulysse into a camper planning on doing another one soon ebay number 110851757910 ive allways had 806 and ulysses just thought id share incase any one would like any tips how to do this was actually inspired by the synergie on this site so thanks for finding it cheers tony
Hi all,
I just came across this blog and all you lovers of 806 and Synergies..=*^)
My wife and I bought an 806 December of 2009. It had 90K miles on it and in the deal we got a new cam belt installed. It’s been running flawlessly, always started. Had a few problems (electrical which I understand is pretty much par for these MPG’s)…
What has been driving me nuts lately (at 98K) is that the sliding doors have started to rattle *and* squeak – a very high pitched squeak that increases in duration and volume the faster I drive – at 70 it’s pretty much a continuos squeak, squeak, squeak – seemingly coming from right behind and below my right shoulder – and similarly from behind Jess’ left shoulder.
Anyone experienced this? I am willing to pay for a lovely lunch to anyone who solves this for me (and comes to Cambridge)..=*^)
Hi Christopher, have you tried adjusting or greasing the little black retainer on the doors, which slide into a slot to keep the door in line? They can drop out of alignment. They are adjusted simply using the two bolts. Let me know if you can see them with the door open.
Sorry for the delay in answering..
Yes, I know which ones you are talking about. They look like they have never beeb moved at all – you know, usually you can se if something like these have moved lately.
I’ve been thinking about them the last week – if the rain ever stops I think I will experiment with adjusting them and see what happens..=*^)
Thanks so much for the comeback!