2.4L or 3.0L engine for mostly motorway driving

[Countryman]

Hi everyone, I’m currently looking at some alphards and test driven a 3.0l one yesterday and is goin to test drive a 2.4l tomorrow but isn’t sure which one to get, I would be doin alot of motorway driving and might consider to do an lpg conversion later, so with this in mind should I go for the 2.4 or 3.0 model? thank in advance for you input 

[nov]

I decided to go for 2.4 mainly due to the less maintenance costs and my needs.

 

2.4

- chain belt

- 4 spark plugs

 

3.0

- timing belt - when replacing water pump need to be replaced as well

- 6 spark plugs

 

From my point of view the only advantage of 3.0 is more power. You will probably find a lot of people stating 2.4 is underpowered but then at the end how much power do you need? 2.4 is perfect for motorway cruising at 70mph with 2 adults in, full camper conversion and bags, gear etc.

 

If you are planning to drive faster or potentially have bigger load in the van, 6 people in most of the time then maybe 3.0 will be better option.

 

 

[Countryman]

Hi, thank you for your reply, that’s what I was thinking but I don’t know if that’s enough justification hence me asking here, and do you know of anyone that did an lpg conversion on the 2.4l ? 

[nov]

Here are some old posts regarding lpg conversion, I would suggest to chase up or try researching online for more info. 

 

 

3.0

 

I think it is a good idea in general, was thinking about it myself...at the beggining. Both engines 2.4 & 3.0 are suitable for LPG, again most likelly you will pay more for 3.0 conversion however in your case and motorway miles it may pay off much quicker. 

[Countryman]

Thanks again, I test drove a 2.4l today and made a deposit, I’m officially a part of the club now. 😀

will drive it a few months as is and then do the conversion 

[Rojie]

I have a 2006 3 litre V6 with the 5 speed. Wonderful on motorways. I usually travel at 60mph.

Many earlier vehicles Pre 2005) have 4 speed and later than 2008 have 6 speed.

 

What year are you considering ?

 

I doubt that there is much difference in gas mileage.

 

Cambelts do need changing at 100k, or every 10 years, according to my local Toyota Dealer.

Water pump at the same time. £522 plus VAT at my local dealer.

 

The cost of two extra plugs is not, IMHO, a reason not to buy a V6

 

The V6 fitted to pre 2008 is a non interference engine, so should the cambelt fail the valves will not hit the pistons and wreck the engine.

If the engine drops a valve that is a different matter!

 

Hope this helps.

[pipsyp]

If it helps anyone I've just recently gotten a 2.4 with rear kitchen and pop top conversion.

 

I'm a petrolhead and inherently like driving effortless vehicles, and TBH in that regard the V6 would have appealed, but I can say I feel short changed with the 2.4 at all.  It need some revs occasionally, but it's smooth enough and provides all the performance you need in a vehicle like this and will sit on the motorway at a decent lick if you need it to.  Overtakes are also OK with some level of planning and ensuring you're in a low enough gear (the gearbox is a bit dim witted where kickdown is concerned but popping it in 2 or 3 tends to do the job).  I've found that they don't handle that brilliantly (they are a dayvan after all) and the brakes whilst more than adequate don't feel that powerful under heavy braking.....basically it's easy to find yourself carrying too much speed into corners even in a 2.4, so a V6 would be worse (on the basis I expect the chassis and braking set up is much the same).

 

I've also been surprised that it's not actually that thirsty (I currently also run an old Forester 2.0XT and that has mad thirst by comparison), runs great on E10 and is chain driven.  I think the 2.4 gets a bit downtrodden, but really there isn't much to dislike about them.

 

Note I recently had a facelift W204 C350 CDi estate, so I know what a fast V6 is like 😂

 

 

[Rojie]

2 hours ago, pipsyp said:

If it helps anyone I've just recently gotten a 2.4 with rear kitchen and pop top conversion.

 

I'm a petrolhead and inherently like driving effortless vehicles, and TBH in that regard the V6 would have appealed, but I can say I feel short changed with the 2.4 at all.  It need some revs occasionally, but it's smooth enough and provides all the performance you need in a vehicle like this and will sit on the motorway at a decent lick if you need it to.  Overtakes are also OK with some level of planning and ensuring you're in a low enough gear (the gearbox is a bit dim witted where kickdown is concerned but popping it in 2 or 3 tends to do the job).  I've found that they don't handle that brilliantly (they are a dayvan after all) and the brakes whilst more than adequate don't feel that powerful under heavy braking.....basically it's easy to find yourself carrying too much speed into corners even in a 2.4, so a V6 would be worse (on the basis I expect the chassis and braking set up is much the same).

 

I've also been surprised that it's not actually that thirsty (I currently also run an old Forester 2.0XT and that has mad thirst by comparison), runs great on E10 and is chain driven.  I think the 2.4 gets a bit downtrodden, but really there isn't much to dislike about them.

 

Note I recently had a facelift W204 C350 CDi estate, so I know what a fast V6 is like 😂

 

 

 

Subaru is known to be thirsty !