When the Master was introduced in 1998 it was in a world full of great vans. The era of the LT35, Sprinter 311 and at a time when you could call a transit a good van.
In 1998 you could have a Master with the choice of a few different engines. Most common was the 120bhp 2.5L G9U turbo diesel. But you could have this with the 2.2L Renault G9U, the 2.5L non turbo Sofim engine or finally the 2.8L Sofim engine. All of them excellent in their own right. We’re major fans of the Sofim here. about the Fantastic fuel economy, galvanised throughout so finding corrosion on them isn’t easy.
The same model ran from 1998 all the way that up to 2010 where it was replaced by a completely different vehicle. New chassis, new engine, a different transmission and a totally different body – the lot!
These vehicles are rugged. They’re galvanised throughout so finding corrosion on them isn’t easy at all. This is a huge bonus for those of us who are looking for longevity in a vehicle. To this day our yard remains populated with these older gems from the 1998-2004 period.
The vehicle can be driven on a category B driving license. No grandfathers rights or HGV licenses are necessary. In some cases these vehicle will have been converted to and used as mini-buses. 30% of the time I’ve found that these buses will have a tachograph and have a gross weight of around 3900kg. The solution being to remove the seats and downrate the vehicle weight to accommodate your driving license.
Something changed in 2004
A huge mistake was made by Renault in 2004, when they introduced the 6 speed manual transmission. This gearbox is widely known on forums and publications a like as the “chocolate box”. Furthermore they dropped the 2.8L Sofim engine, the 2.5L non turbo Sofim engine and the 2.2L G9U were also dropped. Thankfully, the previous gearbox which can be found in some of the post 2004 G9U engines and if possible thats what you want to be looking for if you go for a van newer than 2004. The 3.0L engine came in after 2004, replacing the 2.8L Sofim.
Adoption by the ambulance service
The Ambulance Service, in particular the St Johns Ambulance Service, adopted a huge fleet of the pioneer vans between the period of 1998-2010. Jump forward to 2006 and the NHS began following suit. Having bought and sold hundreds, maybe thousands, of these vehicles I can assure you they’re the best all round van in a market where nothing is perfect. Essentially, a great base van.
Final take on the Master
A truly great name I must say. It really does master the qualities people want when buying a base vehicle. Most issues are simple to resolve and economical to repair. Many modern vans which are heavily relied upon by CANBUS systems and Add Blue, and thus of course subject to £120+VAT per hour main dealer fees to fix.
If you have the budget buy a low mileage, 5 speed and say goodbye to the long hours spent and never recovered pondering your purchase.