Volkswagen Transporter 2018 Review

In 1947 Volkswagen's Netherlands dealer Ben Pon sketched a bread loaf-shaped commercial van and asked if the Germans could build it. Three years later, in March 1950, the Volkswagen Transporter was born.

Now in its sixth generation (heavily based on the previous fifth-gen model), Volkswagen's longest-serving model name has evolved into a versatile platform offering multiple layouts to best serve its customers. Is it enough to stay it relevant in a fast changing commercial van market?

Choosing a commercial van is not a simple matter these days, with eight brands offering such a model with a bewildering number of options.

The brand that has been doing it longest and provides the most choice is Volkswagen. With its 2018 Volkswagen Transporter (first introduced in 2015), Volkswagen offers a choice of four engines, two transmissions, two drivelines (front- or all-wheel drive) two wheelbases, three body heights and four occupant configurations (two- three-, five- or six-seats). Beyond that there are two ute options (single- and dual-cab).

The Volkswagen Transporter range starts out with the TDI 250 five-speed manual (currently on offer at $34,990 drive away) and tops out with the TDI 400 LWB 4-Motion ($50,490, plus on-road costs).

Then there are the options: 43 of them ex-factory – and that’s before you get to exterior colour options, let alone local dealer-fit accessories such as towbar or cargo barrier.

The Volkswagen Transporter we tested was the range-toping TDI 400 LWB 4Motion, which comes equipped with the seven-speed DSG as standard. From there though, this $50,490 van soon became $60,850 with options, and that’s before on-road costs were added.

The options included were: power sliding doors ($2440), medium roof ($1220), right-hand side sliding door ($1220), composition media – which means four speakers, 6.33-inch touch screen and USB ($850), park assist control ($610) and a grab-bag of ‘Comfort items’ ($510).

The Comfort items comprised two-tone horns, sun visors with mirrors, grab handle on A-pillars, foldable grab handles and storage compartments on cab seats, reading light, glasses compartment, additional sound deadening measures in cabin, 12 volt socket in tray area of the dashboard and a waste bin in the door receptacle ($510). Other extra-cost features were: ‘Light and sight’ ( dusk sensing headlights with coming home function, rain sensing wipers and auto-dimming rear view mirror) ($510), rubber rear floor ($510), app connect ($420), seat armrests ($410), power latching tailgate ($310), voice control ($310), fixed windows, centre left and right ($820), lumber support driver and passenger seats ($110) and driver’s seat height adjustment ($110).

While the test vehicle was painted in typical utilitarian white, there’s a range of four other no-cost solid colours. Choose one of the eight metallic colours or one pearlescent colour (Deep Black) and it’s an additional $1230.

One option that should be standard is a cargo barrier – it’s $620 on the Volkswagen’s option list. The LWB Transporter does have eight tie-downs in the load area but those would be woefully inadequate for securing heavy loads.

Speaking of heavy loads, the T6 we tested has a kerb weight of 1876kg (which includes 10 litres of fuel but no occupants) and a GVM of 3000kg, leaving a pretty good payload of 1014kg.

That payload is chipped away by fuel, occupants and the optional extras fitted to this van. With a full 80-litre tank of fuel and say a 75kg driver, you’ve got an extra 145kg, without including the extra weight of options fitted here such as powered doors and the rubber floor mat on the cargo floor. The actual useable load in this van is more like 800kg.

Rather than spend the week with the Transporter unladen we added 400kg of river sand to the back.

The Transporter can tow an impressive 2500kg, but as with many Euro vehicles, this is not what it seems in the Aussie context. That’s because the maximum towball download is just 100kg – fine in Europe, but a problem for most Aussie trailers that typically run a towball download weight of 10-15 percent of total trailer weight.

The long-wheelbase van is 5290mm long (up from 4890mm for the SWB van) with an enormous 3400mm wheelbase. The mid-roof van is 2177mm tall (up from 1990mm for the standard-roof model).

The load area is 2975mm long, 1635mm high and 1700mm wide (1244mm between the rear wheel arches).

As for door openings into the cargo area, the sliding door openings are 1017mm wide and 1264mm high while the rear opening is 1473mm wide and 1290mm high.

If you’re looking to fit a pallet in the back with a forklift, a pair of vertical split wing doors (both with demister function) are available for an extra $520.

Warranty is three years/unlimited kilometres, with free roadside assist for the period of the warranty. Corrosion cover is for 12 years.

Volkswagen offers capped-price servicing, which will cost you $3446 over five years (intervals are 12 months/15,000km). The cheapest services in that period are the 15,000km/one year and 75,000km/five year intervals ($485 each) and the most expensive at 60,000km/four years ($1210).

The T6 Transporter has not been crash-tested. Its predecessor the T5 – with which the T6 shares its architecture – achieved a five-star ANCAP crash-safety rating, but that was way back in 2004.

There is a climb involved to get into the driver’s seat, but with a solid grab handle and a deep, wide step set into the floor this was relatively easy to do. The seat itself was supportive and comfortable for hours of sitting in city traffic and suburban shuffling.

Vision to the front and sides was excellent, and the big side mirrors and large rear window were ably assisted by the optional rear camera to make rear vision a cinch.

There are numerous pockets for smaller items in the cabin and for larger gear there are two shelves – a smaller upper level, and a deeper, lower section, including a bottle holder in the front doors. With the mid-roof model there’s also a deep shelf above the cabin, accessed from the rear.

The power sliding doors made accessing the cargo area much easier, although the large and heavy lift-up tailgate requires plenty of room behind the Volkswagen to open it. The upside is you have a large sheltered space behind the van should you need it.

The engine suffers the briefest of pauses off idle before it lunges into the strong mid-range from about 1500rpm. While redline starts at 5000rpm upshifts occur at about 4500rpm at full throttle. It’s a smooth, free-spinning engine that is relatively quiet too.

As expected with 400kg added to its payload, the T6 felt a bit blunted compared to its unladen state, but not excessively so. It still felt responsive when lunging for a gap in traffic, for example.

A bare van will be noisy no matter what – and in that way the T6 is no different from every bare Transporter van we’ve driven since the T4. It’s an echo chamber with plenty of squeaks and rattles from the doors and road noise is quite obvious too.

The T6’s DSG transmission is much better than earlier versions, but there are still chinks in its armour. Reversing up a steep driveway, for example, is not a smooth process, the clutch(es) grabbing as you apply throttle and releasing as you back off.

Once rolling the gearshifts are lightning-quick and just about indistinguishable.

The bi-turbo diesel four achieved an average of 8.7L/100km over a week of mostly suburban running.

The T6’s dimensions become a problem if you’re doing deliveries in loading docks within inner-city carparks or if you need to thread through narrow laneways. The 2.17m tall body will preclude the T6 from visiting the (albeit rare) 2.0-metre height restricted car parks. The 3.5-metre long wheelbase also makes tight corners appear even more so and the 13.2m turning circle makes tight inner-city U-turns difficult. At 2.3m wide, the T6 doesn’t exactly feel narrow driving along tight city streets, either.

The T6 has a stiff ride when unladen but that smooths out with a load on board. Even though you don’t buy a van to go racing, the T6 has responsive, well-weighted steering and its Bridgestone Turanza ER300s grip fairly well. Within the context of delivery vans, it’s fair to say that the Transporter is on the sporty end of dynamics.

It feels big, it’s expensive when you add options and the DSG is an acquired taste but the Transporter is a more rewarding drive than a work van has the right to be, and with the various options and accessories Volkswagen has a T6 to suit just about everyone.

2018 Volkswagen Transporter TDI 400 LWB 4Motion
Price: $50,490 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder bi-turbo-diesel
Output: 132kW/400Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 8.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: n/a
Safety Rating: Not tested

Also consider:
>> Ford Transit (from $40,990 plus ORCs)
>> Hyundai iLoad (from $38,790 plus ORCs)
>> Toyota HiAce (from $34,470 plus ORCs)

What we liked:
• Comfortable seats
• Plenty of storage in cabin
• Responsive powertrain and chassis

Not so much:
• DSG can be temperamental
• Wide turning circle
• Cargo barrier not standard