Symbol purchase?

Hi,
After owning a Stanton we are considering a Symbol, are they good to drive ?

I have a friend who went from a Stanton to a Symbol on loss of his wife, I wont go into details but returning to manual after automatic had expensive consequences!

Please elucidate!

Sorry, I cant its very personal information.

I find driving the Symbol no problem at all.  It's a nice size to drive around towns and for parking.

The only thing I would say is I find the driving position of the Boxers to be a little like you're standing over the pedals with such a high seat position, instead of sitting nicely behind them.  Might just be me, but I'm just a tad under 6 foot and with the seat on it's lowest setting I still have to duck occasionally to see up a hill properly.  I prefer the old transit position that's almost like driving a normal car.

It is what it is though being built on the Boxer.

If you're specifically after the auto to manual experience though can't really comment.

Thanks, what about the performance of the 160 Bhp Peugeot?

Depends on age of Symbol, engines changed from the 150hp Ford derived chain cam to the 160hp belt cam Peugeot unit around 2017 and now have changed again. Having just changed Van's,  the Ford was noisier , more gruff and agricultural but had more low down guts than the Peugeot . The pug 160  is noticably more refined and smooth, cant be heard at cruising motorway speeds but back to back lacks a little power and torque in real terms ie on the road in my back to back test. Dont get me wrong it will cruise all day at the legal limit and is perfectly adequate as a motorhome and will keep up with traffic easily . If you are looking for cornering on  2 wheel thrills buy a bike! Compared to a coachbuilt should be a lot less ponderous on the road.

I recently moved from a 150 bhp Nuevo to a 160 bhp Symbol 2018. 
The van before that was a 130 bhp Symbol 2011. 
I find the new Symbol really smooth and quiet compared with the previous 2 and it has the best economy, achieving 35 mpg. 
Performance wise I would agree that it doesn’t feel as powerful at low revs but  being relatively small and light it’s hardly noticeable and once you get used to the different engine it flys along.
Both Symbols have rear air bags and ride really well. Much nicer than the Nuevo that swayed about a bit and never felt stable at 70.

Greyhound wrote:I find driving the Symbol no problem at all.  It's a nice size to drive around towns and for parking.

The only thing I would say is I find the driving position of the Boxers to be a little like you're standing over the pedals with such a high seat position, instead of sitting nicely behind them.  Might just be me, but I'm just a tad under 6 foot and with the seat on it's lowest setting I still have to duck occasionally to see up a hill properly.  I prefer the old transit position that's almost like driving a normal car.

It is what it is though being built on the Boxer.

If you're specifically after the auto to manual experience though can't really comment.

Greyhound I agree about driving position- I used to have a Merc Stanton & was great to drive. Now having a Fiat Ducato with the same driving position as a Boxer my feet are over / on top of pedals & not the most comfortable. I’m lookiing at changing to a 5.4m van & it’s a toss up between a Symbol & an AT V-line 540 rear lounge. The V-line drivers seat won’t go back very far as it hits the wardrobe so the Symbol would be better for my longer legs to get a more comfortable driving position. Just nervous about the two single beds being long enough & the one by sliding door is made up of a lot of separate cushions.

Thanks again for your comments.
I've also considered Autotrail but am unsure about build quality and after sales warranty back up. Engines are less powerful also.
We've previously owned a couple of Vw California's and a Stanton.
California has fantastic build quality and is great to drive, just too small for long holidays!
Stanton build was ok, not great but back up was good from Choose Leisure and A/S. Comfortable on site and not bad to drive.
Looking for something in between!

Has anyone driven the new 9 speed Fiat auto?

When having some warranty work done on my current van back in March I chatted to salesman who I had known for some years at dealership about the new auto box. He was complementary & said it gave the van a new smoother driving experience quite different from the previous robotised comfort matic box (which I personally wasn’t that keen on having owned a Hymer with one on for a year). I was keen to try one but haven’t had the chance with current situation.

Shouldn't this thread be in the "Van conversions" section of the forum?