Improving the VW Transporter has always been difficult: not only does it have a legion of fans, it’s an iconic design revered the world over, and happens to be one of the best mid-sized vans in the segment.
A previous winner of the International Van of the Year award in 2016, the Transporter T6 combines comfort and economy in a sophisticated and ergonomic package – so why has it been changed so soon?
The need to meet the Euro6d emissions regulations has prompted VW to give the Transporter a gentle update, not only meeting the new standard but adding some important new technology. It’s why the unofficial T6 name has changed too, with this new van being labelled T6.1, which considering the technological update is an appropriate moniker, with the new van growing in abilities as if it were an update to smartphone.
There is much more to the T6.1, though, than a software update. The grille is the most noticeable change from the outside – it’s a lot bigger to help with the increased airflow needed to meet the Euro6d-Temp regulations. No less obvious are the new crossbars that spread out across the front to merge into the newly designed headlight clusters.
In fact, everything below the bonnet has been changed, including the wings and the bumper, which on the top-spec models gets a chrome strip to set it apart. They’re not ground-breaking changes, but they are changes nonetheless, which, along with six new colours, will help separate the T6.1 from the T6.
It’s a very different story on the inside. The familiar utilitarian interior with very clear segmented sections is still there in parts, but it has been given a new lease of life and made sexy. Depending on specification there’s also an 8.0in touchscreen in the dash (the highest-trim models get a 9.2in screen) and then there’s the instrument cluster – dials are out, a 10.0in ‘digital cockpit’ is in.
Visually, it’s a massive leap forward for the Transporter, although it will only feature on the very highest versions of the Caravelle people-mover or as a no doubt pricey option on the panel vans when they eventually start hitting the roads in the UK, most likely during Q1 next year.
There are also several changes you won’t see with the naked eye, the most important of which is the switch to electromechanical steering and a new electrical system. These have allowed a number of important safety assistance systems to be incorporated. Like VW’s Crafter, which also has electromechanical steering, the T6.1 gets adaptive cruise control with lane-keeping assist, park assist, cross-wind assist and trailer assist. There’s a total of 20 new innovations in safety and driver comfort systems, which all add considerably to the appeal of the new van.
Finally, there are a few tricks in the loadspace, and while the overall dimensions remain unchanged, a new load-through hatch in the bulkhead under the passenger seat does enable an additional 400mm of extra length to be moved.
(Continued from page 1) New emissions regulations have, for many manufacturers, meant new engines, but VW has been able to merely adapt the exhaust system of the T6 in order to meet the regulations with the new van. That means power still comes from a 2.0-litre turbodiesel producing 90hp, 110hp or 150hp, while a twin-turbo model churns out a gutsy 199hp. Hence, driving performance is unchanged from the current model, but the characteristics are a little different thanks to that new electromagnetic steering.
The overly light and often floaty steering found in VW LCVs is still a feature of the T6.1; however, the precision of the new steering and its feedback is very impressive. Like the larger Crafter, the Transporter manages to disguise its size brilliantly, making it a dynamic thing to drive.
Coupled with the added safety systems like adaptive cruise control, which when combined with the optional automatic seven-speed DSG gearbox will bring you to a complete standstill, the new steering is a tremendous upgrade and one that is boosted by the smart and subtle lane-keeping assist.
Just like the Crafter, the T6.1 will now help you maintain lane discipline and even go as far as to correct your steering inputs twice should you not make any efforts to help. Far from autonomous driving, it’s just a safe and valuable system to keep you in the right lane of the correct side of the road.
Except for the redesigned front suspension in the executive Multivan version of the T6.1, nothing has changed with the bare bones of the vehicle, yet it still feels like a very new van, and that is not only due to the considerable changes to the interior but also the efforts VW has made in reducing cabin noise.
Already a particularly quiet van, the firm has enhanced the acoustic performance of the Transporter further still to try to close the gap between passenger cars and commercial vehicles. All versions of the Transporter benefit though, so the panel van is just as quiet as the Multivan or Caravelle.
One thing it’s not as quiet as is the battery-electric version, announced in Hannover last year and made by ABT on behalf of VW, that will also get the latest design and interior updates.
Of course, as impressive as the steering and new safety systems are in the Transporter, the real crowd-pleaser is the interior. There’s a new set of fabrics for the seats and all internal lighting is now LED, which is far brighter than before. Piano-black plastics featured heavily as a surround to many of the vents and dials in our test vehicles, which adds a degree of sophistication, and the layout of the door panels has changed, improving storage.
Storage as a whole doesn’t appear to have increase noticeably, but the angled passenger-side open glovebox is useful, as is the narrow shelf below it, which has a rubber surface ideal for keys or phones. Inductive charging also features as an option in the large storage tray while the two cupholders at the A-pillars have been redesigned too.
The central touchscreen now supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto over Bluetooth and has navigation, phone and infotainment built in. It’s ideally positioned and angled in such a way that you can adequately see it even in bright sunlight.
While the touchscreen might look to be the centrepiece of the cabin, the real star is that new digital cockpit, which is amazingly customisable. Drivers can have traditional dials displayed or substitute in any number of other information screens, from trip computers to full-colour navigation or vehicle status reports and audio or phone settings.
VW was clearly pleased with the T6, so much so that when presenting the new version it posed the question of “how do you make a circle even rounder?”, implying that the Transporter is both perfect and well-rounded already. While the changes are largely either cosmetic or restricted to the top-spec vans, it’s hard to not feel as if VW has gone the extra mile where other manufacturers would probably have done far less, and if these iOS-like updates are to become commonplace for Volkswagen we can’t wait for T6.2.
Volkswagen Transporter T6.1 Highline SWB
Price (inc. VAT) tbc
Load length 2,572mm
Load width (min/max) 1,244/1,700mm
Load volume 5.8m3
Gross payload 1,178kg (est.)
Engine size/power 2.0-litre/199hp
Combined fuel economy 46.3mpg (est.)
CO2 159g/km (est.)
Comment: Future of passenger carriers
Plans for the VW and Ford collaboration on commercial vehicles are still yet to be made official, but when speaking with a senior VW exec I asked what would happen with the next generation of the Transporter.
The answer, it seemed, was pretty clear. The conversation arose after learning that the T6.1 is already differentiating itself as a passenger vehicle above and beyond commercial vehicle trim levels. Would, then, the next-generation T7 passenger version be developed differently to the vans? The response was conclusive (without, I hasten to add, being confirmative): “It sounds like that, doesn’t it?” he said with a wide smile.
Giving the example of the Mercedes V-Class, which takes parts from C- and E-Class cars, the next Transporter, it seems, will follow suit. The exec explained that as the Sharan MPV is finishing, Volkswagen expects customers to look towards LCVs as an alternative, but will not expect the slightly lesser commercial vehicle levels of comfort.
If the partnership goes as expected, the T6.1 may well be the most ‘car-like’ of vans we’ll see from VW, but only the tip of the iceberg for their future development. How Ford will engineer the van variants is, for now, anyone’s guess.
George Barrow is the UK judge for the International Van of the Year, the prestigious prize awarded by leading European LCV journalists.
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