There’s a yawning gap in the Volkswagen Crafter line-up that cannot be ignored. There’s no electric model, and there won’t be one until 2027/28 – an astonishing omission given that Ford, Stellantis, Renault and umpteen other manufacturers (including Chinese brands such as new-to-the-UK Farizon) already have big, battery-powered, panel vans in their portfolios.
VW has not been entirely idle, however. Last year saw the diesel-only Crafter get an upgrade, with a new infotainment system with a 10.3in touchscreen – a 12.9in screen is offered as an option – new digital instruments and a host of driver assistance systems made standard.
They include an autonomous emergency braking system under the Front Assist banner, with cyclist and pedestrian detection, lane assist, dynamic road sign display, a speed limiter and acoustic rear parking sensors. An electronic parking brake is standard, too.
Otherwise, it’s the mixture pretty much as before.
Customers can pick from three versions of the 2.0-litre TDI diesel at 140hp, 163hp or 177hp – lack of demand has resulted in the 102hp version being dropped – and from either a six-speed manual or an eight-speed automatic transmission. The Crafter is produced in front, rear and four-wheel-drive guise and the van is up for grabs with three overall lengths and three roof heights, with load cubes going up to 17.5m3.
You can order your Crafter as a chassis cab or a chassis double-cab too. Gross weights run from three to five tonnes and there are two trim levels – Commerce and Commerce Plus.
The latter gets you air-conditioning and an alarm with interior monitoring and towaway protection among other extras.
We tackled a manual, medium-wheelbase, high roof, front-wheel-drive 3.5-tonner in Commerce Plus trim with 177hp on tap. Access to the 10.7m3 cargo area is by means of twin rear doors and a sliding nearside door, and for your money you get ten load lashing points plus a full-height steel bulkhead.
The Crafter was made to work hard in our care. Among other duties, it shuttled scenery, including 10ft x 4ft timber stage flats, plus items such as a replica Aga and a replica Hammond organ (both of which were mercifully lighter than the real thing) from a lock-up just outside Monmouth in south Wales to the town’s Savoy Theatre.
They were destined for use in a stage adaption of the old BBC TV comedy The Good Life.
Big door apertures made cramming all these items onboard easier than we expected it to be. So did the low loading height, although we were nevertheless grateful for the grab handles on the rear door pillars.
The van proved to be highly-manoeuvrable at low speeds (just as well given the gaps we had to squeeze into) with a camera, parking sensors and big, adjustable, heated rear-view mirrors with a lower wide-angle section making it easy to reverse. A bird’s-eye view from the camera helped ensure we didn’t clout any obstacles.
Bear in mind, however, that the rear-view camera is a £275 option (all prices quoted here exclude VAT) and having mirrors that fold inwards automatically, as our van did, will set you back an extra £310. Other options installed included alloy wheels (£1,420), four LED lights for the load area (£240) and Discover Media satellite navigation as part of an £885 package that embraces four speakers and USB Type C data and charging points.
The load area was fully timbered out which costs an additional £760 – worth doing for protection against damage even though it adds to the vehicle’s unladen weight.
That said, we can’t help but think that some of these options are over-priced, and in some cases should form part of the standard Commerce Plus specification.
The Crafter rode well – the multi-adjustable Comfort driver’s seat gets top marks – and, with almost 180 horses on tap and 410Nm of torque, pulled strongly, with cab interior noise levels well under control. A slick gearchange allowed us to get the best out of the engine and the handling was sharp and satisfying given the vehicle’s size.
Try to push the van too hard through bends, however, and the electromechanical steering begins to get twitchy, which should bring you back to your senses.
Pushing a vehicle hard does your fuel economy no favours and we felt the Crafter was on the thirsty side when compared to the competition. Nor is payload capacity particularly generous.
Few of its rivals can match it for build quality, however, and it looks and feels durable. As a consequence, VW can feel confident in supplying the Crafter with a three-year unlimited-mileage warranty with UK and European roadside assistance for the duration, a three-year paint warranty and a 12-year anti-corrosion warranty for the body.
Keyless ignition is standard, the three-seater cab boasts ample storage space, with wireless charging for your smartphone and we like the configurable digital instrument display which delivers all the data you are likely to need. That’s everything from your average fuel consumption figure to how quickly you need to lift your foot off the accelerator pedal when you are entering a road with a lower speed limit, although we’re not wholly convinced that the compass is necessary.
However, we’re rather less keen on the fiddly sliding switches that control the DAB radio’s volume and the heating and ventilation system – get rid of them please, VW. Nobody we’ve encountered has a good word to say about them and that is likely to be a common gripe.
MAN markets the same model as the TGE. It’s virtually identical aside from the badges, although the truck maker is marketing a tuned version of the TDI diesel said to be good for 202hp.
We’re hoping to sample it.
| Model | Volkswagen Crafter CR35 Commerce Plus, MWB, High Roof |
| Price (ex VAT) | £45,425 |
| Price range (ex VAT) | £37,315-£56,438 |
| Warranty | 3yrs/unlimited mileage |
| Service intervals | 2yrs/30,000 miles |
| Load length | 3,450mm |
| Load width (min/max) | 1,380mm/1,832mm |
| Load bay height | 1,961mm |
| Gross payload | 1,162kg |
| Load volume | 10.7m3 |
| Engine size/power | 1,968cc/177hp |
| Combined fuel economy | 30.4mpg |
| CO2 | 243g/km |
| On sale | 2024 |
| Key rival | Ford Transit |
| Verdict | Still a handy workhorse and the latest enhancements are clearly beneficial – but watch out for the option costs. |
| Score | 8/10 |
