The What Van? Road Test: Volkswagen Transporter (2020)

Date: Tuesday, August 4, 2020   |   Author: Steve Banner

 Rear 3.4

Operating

The Transporter comes with a three-year/100,000-mile warranty plus a separate three-year paint warranty and an anti-perforation corrosion warranty that lasts for 12 years. A three-year roadside assistance package is included in the overall deal.

Customers can opt for flexible service intervals, which rely on long-life oil. Sensors tell them when it needs changing – more regularly if the van works in dirty, dusty conditions, for example; less regularly if it does not.

The alternative is to stick with fixed intervals, with a minor service at 12 months/10,000 miles and a major service at 24 months/20,000 miles.

No side rubbing strips are fitted, which left our demonstrator’s expensive (and attractive) Copper Bronze metallic paint finish vulnerable to minor scrapes and dings.

VW Transporter T6.1 T28 SWB Highline 2.0 TDI 110hp 5sp manual

Price (ex VAT) £26,125

Price range (ex VAT) £21,635-£38,600

Gross payload 886kg

Load length 2,572mm

Load width (min/max) 1,244mm/1,700mm

Load bay height1,410mm

Load volume 5.8m3

Loading height 568mm

Rear door aperture 1,473mm x 1,299mm

Side door aperture1,017mm x 1,282mm

Gross vehicle weight 2,800kg

Braked trailer towing weight 2,200kg

Residual value 30.1%

Cost per mile 46.6p

Engine size/power 1,968cc, 110hp @ 3,200-4,250pm

Torque 250Nm @ 1,250-3,100rpm

Gearbox 5-spd

Fuel economy 37.7mpg

Fuel tank 70 litres

CO2 185g/km

Warranty 3yrs/100,000mls

Service intervals 2yrs/20,000mls

Insurance grouptbc

Price as tested £30,305

Options fitted

High beam assist £130

Tyre pressure monitoring system £130

Load area ply lining £215

Traffic sign recognition £230

Metallic paint £625

Active lane assist with side assist £1,000

Discover Media DAB+ with We Connect Plus £1,100

Trailer assist with park assist £750

Rivals

Ford Transit Custom

Price (ex VAT) £23,040-£43,600

Load volume 6.0-8.33

Gross payload 685-1,459kg

Engines 105hp, 130hp, 170hp, 185hp 2.0 diesel, 92.9kW PHEV

Verdict: The Transit Custom’s phenomenal success in the UK is a just reward for its many positive attributes. Its ride, handling and overall performance are all to an extraordinarily high standard. The Custom is impressive enough as a straightforward diesel van, but the PHEV plug-in hybrid and the mHEV mild hybrid are both worth checking out. They helped Ford win the What Van? 2020 Green Manufacturer of the Year award.

Peugeot Expert

Price (ex VAT) £22,375-£36,280

Load volume 4.6-6.13

Gross payload 960-1,469kg

Engines 100hp 1.5 diesel, 120hp, 148hp, 174hp 2.0 diesel 

Verdict: The Expert is without doubt a safe choice thanks to its acceptable fuel economy respectable warranty, sensible service intervals and well-judged equipment levels. Do not forget that it is also marketed through Citroen dealers as the Dispatch, through Vauxhall dealers under the Vivaro banner, and by Toyota dealers as the Proace. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t play one brand off against another in order to get the best deal.

Renault Trafic

Price (ex VAT) £22,950-£33,900

Load volume 5.2-8.63

Gross payload 1,036-1,255kg

Engines 120hp, 145hp, 170hp diesel

Verdict: The Trafic has recently been rejuvenated, with new engines and the praiseworthy Efficient Dual Clutch gearbox made available for the first time. While not short of sensible ideas, the Trafic lacks some of the more sophisticated safety devices seen on some of its rivals. The same model is sold by Fiat Professional as the Talento and by Nissan as the NV300. Never forget that it can pay to shop around.

The Final Verdict

Design 9/10 – Continued stress on safety is to be applauded. 

Cabin 8/10 – Comfortable, quality environment with lots of useful features.

Ride 8/10 – Copes well with Britain’s bashed and battered road surfaces. 

Refinement 9/10 – Staggeringly good standard of build. In-cab noise is well-suppressed. 

Load area 7/10 – Easy to access with a sturdy bulkhead and lots of cargo tie-down points.

Handling/performance 7/10 – Former is top-notch, but a bit more power wouldn’t go amiss when fully laden.

Engine/transmission 7/10 – Well-matched and the gear change is slick, but a sixth would be welcome.

Standard equipment 9/10 – Highline spec gives you most of what you are likely to require and a bit more.

Operating costs 6/10 – Sensible warranty and healthy RVs are good, but we’d like better mpg.

What Van? subjective rating 8/10 – Well put-together package gets top marks for driver/road user protection.

Overall Rating = 78/100 

 

 



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