acceleration

[ScubaBongo]

I also think my Bongo is slow, and dare I say it, underpowered.... really not sure if it's meant to be like that or not....

[mikeonb4c]

it was very cold yesterday, and the test drive was not particularly long so am interested in that comment about the engine needing some time to warm up. still going to see some more although this one is on the shortlist at the moment.

In that case the box probably didn't even lock up.
On Saturday I set off straight out onto a dual carriageway and it was between 2 and 3 miles before the box warmed up enough to allow lock up.

At least 10-15 miles and 30 mins needed to be properly sure how it drives.

These guys beat me to it. I would say that almost certainly, that was the problem. The Bongo cannot be assessed for performance until the autobox is warm. When very cold, it seems like it is stuck in 2nd gear (2500rpm to do 40mph when it would be doing 70mph at that rpm once warm and locked out in top gear), until it warms up. go back and drive it again, but with a warmed up engine.

[teenmal]

Hi Tom,you seem to be struggling a wee bit,try and get someone local to you that knows these vehicles, to have a look with you.

Cheers Malc..

[splitpin]

I also think my Bongo is slow, and dare I say it, underpowered.... really not sure if it's meant to be like that or not....

I have same feeling about mine too Scubabongo, my Astra 1.7 diesel feels like a sports car after driving bongo.

[lizard]

I've often read comments on here about how powerful the engine is & what good acceleration it has. I think last time I measured it, 0 - 60 took about 16 secs which I wouldn't call especially fast. I think the only way to tell for sure is to drive another one, or maybe a few of us could find a quiet bit of road & check out some timings.

Slightly off topic - a friend of mine has an old VW Beetle with a 2.2 litre race engine in. That does 0 - 60 in 4.5 seconds & I can say that is very fast & very scary

Wow, Bongo racing.

[moonshine]

I also think my Bongo is slow, and dare I say it, underpowered.... really not sure if it's meant to be like that or not....

I have same feeling about mine too Scubabongo, my Astra 1.7 diesel feels like a sports car after driving bongo.

My Bongo feels like a sports car compared with the old (petrol) Toyota Spaceruiser it replaced. Much quicker off the mark, higher comfortable cruising speed, and better MPG.

Bongo feels faster off the mark than my works Renault Kangoo van (diesel, 1.9 litre I think) too.

I'm more than happy with the performance of mine. For a two ton brick I think it is very lively.

[dandywarhol]

0 - 60 might not set the heather on fire but 0 - 40 does and thats when the fun is to be had. Torque convertors do as they're named - convert and multiply torque, so up to lock up speed the ol' bus can shame a lot of "hot" stuff.

[mikeonb4c]

0 - 60 might not set the heather on fire but 0 - 40 does and thats when the fun is to be had. Torque convertors do as they're named - convert and multiply torque, so up to lock up speed the ol' bus can shame a lot of "hot" stuff.

Spot on

...and then it locks out and you get to enjoy that lubbly jubbly grunt that seems to pull the Bongo along with almost complete indifference to the load it is carrying. As moonshine says, for a 2 ton brick it is a remarkable vehicle really.

[bigdaddycain]

Good point dandy, i can only compare to my other diesel car, that being a 115 bhp TDCI focus. The bongo feels about the same acceleration as the car up to about the 40mph mark, then the car pulls better than the bongo. The figures for the car are a tad over ten seconds 0-60, i'm guessing (till i get out and time it) the bongo to be around the 15 second mark.

[teenmal]

0 - 60 might not set the heather on fire but 0 - 40 does and thats when the fun is to be had. Torque convertors do as they're named - convert and multiply torque, so up to lock up speed the ol' bus can shame a lot of "hot" stuff.

Its a wee bit embarrassing When Chris Hoy goes whizzing past ye on his bike

[loftustowncrier]

Mine feels pretty quick. I haven't timed it but I did pull away sharp at a big roundabout recently (no choice otherwise I'd have been stuck for an hour) with four of us (plus a dog) in the Bongo. It shoved us all back in our seats! lol (I got into a lot of trouble...)

Although I am interested to note that some of you say it does 70mph at 2500rpm - mine seems to rev higher than that (even when fully warm). 50mph is about 2200 revs. How does that compare with others?

[mikeonb4c]

Mine feels pretty quick. I haven't timed it but I did pull away sharp at a big roundabout recently (no choice otherwise I'd have been stuck for an hour) with four of us (plus a dog) in the Bongo. It shoved us all back in our seats! lol (I got into a lot of trouble...)

Although I am interested to note that some of you say it does 70mph at 2500rpm - mine seems to rev higher than that (even when fully warm). 50mph is about 2200 revs. How does that compare with others?

That's not right I think. Minor variations may be caused by wheel size but you should be above 60mph at that RPM for sure (more like 65 I think). But having said that, is it possible the instruments are out? If the car clearly locks out around 40mph (you can't miss it really as it drops its RPM quite noticeably and the engine starts to chug rather than whizz ) then everything is as it should be I think, whatever the instruments say.

[dandywarhol]

2200 rpm is around 55 mph - lockup at 37 mph@1500

[francophile1947]

Mine's nowhere near 70 at 2500rpm, in fact it it's slightly below 65, but I'm doing more than 50 at 2200rpm.
It would be interesting to see what RPM others are doing at 70mph, in their diesel Bongos (I suspect the petrols will rev higher), because there does seem to be quite a variation. I'm wondering if the 4WD and 2WD have different final ratios.

[missfixit70]

And tyre sizes of course Can't remember exactly but I thought it was about 70 at 2500rpm.