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Don’t Fear the Cargo Van

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A new driver’s experience taking the Nissan NV200 out on the road.

My name is RobYn, and I’m a new driver. You may know me as the Member Services Coordinator for Peg City Car Co-op. (Hello!) I grew up without a family car, got my beginner’s license at sixteen, and just never pursued the real deal. When I started working at Peg City, I had to learn how to drive, so … I did! Getting behind the wheel of different vehicles has been an exciting challenge for me, and I wanted to share my experience with driving our Nissan NV200 cargo van.

The cargo van is a spacious two-seater, with lots of room in the back for moving boxes, loading up bikes to take out of town, bringing plants and soil home from the garden centre; our members use the cargo van for all sorts of trips.

Here’s a scenario I encounter every so often: a member books the van, not realizing exactly what kind of vehicle it is. I can absolutely switch a member over to a smaller vehicle – BUT – after driving this van myself, with only one year of driving under my belt, I want to say, “Don’t fear the cargo van.”

The cargo van FEELS like you’re driving a regular car. It doesn’t feel that much wider, or longer, and it handles very smoothly. The biggest difference is not having a rear-view mirror, or side/back windows – instead, you have the larger mirrors on the sides, and a backup camera on the dash to give you a line of sight behind the van. With those giant mirrors, I found that I could see the entire lanes beside me while driving, which made changing lanes easy. It doesn’t rev or rumble the way you think a utility vehicle might. (No? Just me?)

I’m not embarrassed to say I was initially intimated by the cargo van, but now, I don’t fear it. Need the space, but fear the drive? My advice would be to do the classic first-time-driver’s move: book it out for an hour, find a nice, quiet street or parking lot, and try it. Once you get behind the wheel, you’ll see what I mean.

These photos are from an event we attended out at IKEA, meeting with folks to talk about different ways to live a more sustainable life, alongside recycling champions Mother Earth Recyling, our friends at Green Action Centre, the Manitoba Electric Vehicle Association, Fort Whyte Alive, and more. It was a lovely afternoon!

We connected with some great people at IKEA, and they have added a pair of VIP parking spots for Peg City Car Co-op drivers, right by the main entrance. Now, if only you had a vehicle with enough space in the back for all that flat-packed furniture … ; )

This is not a paid advertisement – just my own story of learning a new skill, and wanting to share it with others. Thanks for reading!

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