Time's are a changing. Vito Day One

I decided recently to take the plunge & buy a new cab, What with VAT at 15% my road tax needing renewal, & overhaul imminent,
As i had a tx11 with a 120,000 on the clock the timing chain would have to be done soon, there was also an oil leak coming from the rear end main oil seal which would have meant the gearbox coming out, Untold electrical problems,
I decided to trade it in while it still held some value a 2004 tx11
Until recently i would have had the choice of one taxi to choose from,
that was until the new Vito by Merecedes came onto the Market,
When i looked at the tx4 with recent fire problems, Radiators bursting at £500 pound a go, and not really much different from the cab i was already driving,
I started to make enquiries from drivers already with the Vito, I have heard plenty Pro & con, Pro mostly from the driver's who already have them & con from those that don't,

So i have decided to give my Experiences of driving & working the new Mercedes Vito,
I will try to stick to the facts, & share with you the comments i get from the punter also,
so here Goes.

Vito Day One

Picked up my new Vito from Kpm in Hackney,
I have to tell as i was being shown around it i was shocked to find out that for one thing, it doesn't carry a spare tyre, it has one of those Tyre seal canister's that inflates the tyre,
My first impression was how big it was, Secondly the amount of different switches to get used to in the drivers compartment, the salesman was doing his best to explain those to me & their function,
I work nights & by this time i was totally Knackered & taking nothing in.

I had promised Carlos i would pop into his place on the way home
Driving away from the showroom i was beginning to wonder had i done the right thing,
it felt very strange and i feared it wouldn't be practical to work the streets on a nightly basis year in year out, Because that was what it was going to be,
anyway on Arrival at Carl's place, Carlos and his son Michael gave it the once over,
I decided i was going to Christen it and do a job before going home, so to turn around i would demonstrate the rear wheel steering,
Which to operate you have to be Going 5mph or less & then press a button on the dash, A buzzer goes off and a light illuminates to let you know its operating, It felt very strange turning around, Anyway i waved fond farewell to Carl & Michael, & Zoomed up the road, it wasn't long before i realised all was not well,
Especially when a dustcart behind me was flashing his lights and waving frantically at me, looking in the mirror i could see that the offside wheel hadn't gone back into place,
so i pulled over and rang kpm Who assured me i was the first person this had happened to Hmm,
& said they would come out to rectify the problem immediately,
Then i rang Carl who came out to give some moral support to a fading pal losing the will to live.
Ever the hero he turned up & supplied the Coffee's from Starbucks.
I managed to limp around onto the taxi rank in Elgin ave,
It wasn't long before Kpm turned up in a 4x4 Porsche, Managing director with a mechanic in tow,
He took out a big battery from the rear of the Porsche And disconnected a couple of wires from the offending wheel,
& placed them on the battery & hey Presto the wheel went back into line,
He then disconnected the rear steer system and assured me it would be okay to drive
until i returned it to Kpm the following day to have it rectified.

From tommorow i will try to give a blow by blow account of working this cab, I will have no influences either way, So "Watch this Space."