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
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.
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