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Volkswagen’s light-commercial range, received a major upgrade for the 2010 season. There are some minor body changes, but the big news is the range of bigger-torque new engines.
Externally, the latest iteration of the popular Volkswagen Transporter has clear, horizontal lines that are simple in the manner of a commercial vehicle, rather than a car. However, the front now uses a design shape that ties in with the passenger car look due to the reworking of the grille area and the shape of the bumper and headlights. The bumpers of the Transporter and Caravelle are in dark plastic while the upmarket Multivan people mover is done in body colour.
The interiors have been given a significant makeover, with higher quality instruments and a better steering wheel. There's a new generation navigation system, an invaluable aid to those who do a lot of travelling in their vans and want to minimise time between jobs.
Safety features heavily in the upgrade with the entire Volkswagen light-commercial and people mover range receiving ESP (Electronic Stability Program). Interestingly, the ESP system includes hill start assist, thus making driving easier for those who buy a Transporter with a manual gearshift.
There have been no structural changes behind the B-pillar of the latest VW T5 Transporter. This will be appreciated by the trades people who already have a Transporter and now want to update to the new model because they can simply remove and refit the interior modular setup they have tailored over the years.
We found the driver comfort levels to be excellent thanks to good ergonomics and an improved design of the bucket seats in our variant. There's also the choice of a three-seat arrangement but we haven’t had the opportunity to drive one of those at this stage.
The interior has plenty of storage spaces by courtesy of two large pockets in each of the doors. When we say large, we mean large, as befits a working vehicle there's space of a laptop and a street directory as well as fair sized clipboards.
The T5 range has been given an entirely new family of 2.0 litre turbo-diesel engines which come with outputs of 75 kW, 103kW and 132 kW. This 132 kW high-output engine uses a biturbo system of a high-pressure turbo and a low pressure turbo to produce smooth delivery of up to 400 Nm of torque.
The new engines have reduced fuel consumption by as much as 20 per cent compared to the superseded powerplants and emissions are down by nearly 10 per cent. With a manual gearbox the least powerful Transporter engines has been measured at 7.5 litres/100 km; the mid-range engine rates at 7.7 litres/100 km while the 132 kW will use 8.4 litres/100 km.
Our road test van had the 132 kW engine and we found that it and the DSG automatic transmission complement one another nicely. This powertrain is responsive for getting away at the lights and also for passing at the critical 80 km/h to 110 km/h range. It’s no sports car, but it's no slouch either and can show the typical hatchback a thing or two in the way it climbs hills in high gears.
We like where the gear lever is positioned, just to the left of the steering wheel, but weren’t impressed by the fact that Australian drivers get the European markings on the gearshift housing, markings that are hidden by the lever itself. As befits the greater engine power, the 132 kW versions of the Transporter van have larger brakes than the rest of the van range. We found these stopped the vehicle straight and true even when running without any load in the back.
Our test VW van used the standard 3000 millimetre wheelbase - there's also a 3400 LWB option. As well as the ability to buy the van with a 2176 mm mid-height roof or a 2476 mm high roof in place of the 1900 mm standard one. The standard roof has been designed to fit into the typical car park that has a 2100 mm clearance. Obviously the others won't and this may have to be taken into consideration before purchasing.
Maximum length of the load area is a handy 2753 millimetres in the single-cab variant we tested. Width is 1692 mm maximum, and 1244 mm between the wheel arches. The latter width meaning it can comfortably cope with the typical pallet, plywood sheet and so on. The side and rear doors both open easily and give plenty of working room around them. Load volume ranges from 5.8 to 9.3 cubic metres depending on body configuration. Not all variants are on offer with the engines, transmissions and bodies mentioned here. May we suggest you contact your Volkswagen dealer for full information on the plethora of choices. Because many drivers don’t adjust their door mirrors correctly VW offers an optional side-assist system that uses an orange light on the external rear-view mirrors. Volkswagen vans are again a familiar sight on Australian roads and having just spent a week in the comfort and safety of the one of the German marque’s latest Transporters we can understand why.
Prices of the new Transporter van range start at $36,490 for a 75 kW short wheelbase model with five-speed manual up to $50,490 for a 132 kW LWB DSG with 4MOTION. Normal on-road costs have to be added to all prices. |
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