VW Caravelle 01 M
VW Caravelle 02 M
VW Transporter 10 M eakx
VW Multivan 09 M oagp
VW Multivan 08 M 05wm
James Whitbourn18 Dec 2015
REVIEW

Volkswagen Transporter 2016 Review

Sixth-generation VW Transporter, Multivan and Caravelle steps up

Volkswagen T6
Australian Launch Review
Sydney, NSW

Volkswagen’s T6 Transporter, Multivan and Caravelle can trace their origins right back to the 1950s Type 2 Kombi. The sixth-generation version continues to offer a cavernous cabin that offers enviable versatility and practicality, but for 2016 it boasts the latest safety, driver assistance and infotainment systems, and refined and efficient updated and new turbo-diesel engines, including a 450Nm bi-turbo powerhouse.

A broad T-Series range brings a variant for most buyers, from commercial single- and dual-cab Transporter utes and vans to people-carriers and kitted out family wagons.

Safety and driver assistance highs include a standard Multi-Collision Braking system, which applies the brakes to reduce the likelihood of a secondary collision. A Driver Alert fatigue detection system, also standard, monitors the driver’s inputs and can prompt him to take a break.

A Front Assist system on Multivans helps maintain a safe distance to cars ahead and a City Emergency Braking sub-system assists to reduce stopping distances. A reversing camera is standard on the Multivan and Caravelle and as an option on Van and Crewvan versions. A front and rear park distance control system is standard in the Multivan.

A three-tiered infotainment range opens with a Composition Colour audio unit with a 5-inch screen and Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, which is standard in the workhorse.

The brand’s 6.3-inch Composition Media unit with Google CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and proximity sensor for inputs provides a nice upgrade. Above it, satellite-navigation is part of the upgrade to the top-level Discover Media unit.

Side steps built into the T6’s front door apertures ease entry and egress up front. Access to the rear compartment is equally simple, especially in up-spec versions with powered sliding side doors.

In a feature central to the model’s appeal, the rear seats can be flipped, folded, slid on floor-tracks and rotated to ease access or free masses of luggage space. It’s possible to have anywhere up to nine seats over five rows in total in long-wheelbase versions.

It’s surprising how car-like the Transporter driving experience is, other than a truck-like late turn-in technique that ensures the rear tyres don’t clip the kerb. The servo-assisted rack and pinion steering’s level of precision is approximate compared with the average SUV, but the weighting of the comfortable leather multifunction wheel is light and consistent. Even the turning circle is reasonably tight, at 11.8 metres in front-wheel-drive versions.

The T6’s brakes are powerful but feel a fraction over-servoed, which can make smooth stops a challenge. The raised seating position might also have a bearing, because it places the driver to press the pedal more firmly than he would in a normal car. A manual handbrake with a floor-lever will please old-schoolers.

Refinement and NVH suppression is admirable in the fully trimmed people movers. You notice plenty of road and suspension noise in the Transporter because it is essentially an empty box with limited sound-deadening material.

Ride comfort on front struts and rear semi-trailing arms is acceptably comfortable, though there is clearly some concession in setting spring rates to cope with axle load limits of 1550 to 1600kg and payloads up to 1236kg.

We didn’t sample the six-speed manual, which will be a relatively rare creature (the DIY gearbox is only fitted to the TDI430 and 400 Transporters), however the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox that will do duty in all people-mover versions and most vans and utes is a smart, decisive unit that teams well with each turbo-diesel engine.

There are three, each displacing 1968cc, and not one of them leaves the driver short for low-rev pulling power. Despite more modest peak outputs of 103 and 132kW respectively, the entry-level single-turbo 2.0-litre produces 340Nm from 1750rpm and the mid-range mill musters 400Nm from 1500rpm.

Not too far short of the sequential bi-turbo version’s 450Nm, though without the ultimate 150kW unit’s broad band of power and linearity. The twin-turbo is a potent, seamless mill that delivers thrusty, surprising performance.

The 4Motion all-wheel-drive versions eliminate the slight wheel spin that’s possible on a dry road in the front-wheel-drive, and would be even more pronounced in the wet (though, of course, reined in by the electronic stability control).

The new high-output EA288 2.0 is also the most frugal engine available, using between 6.5 and 6.8L/100km on the official combined cycle. Next-best are TDI 340 versions, using from 7.2 to 7.7L/100km. The TDI 400 uses 7.3 to 8.3L/100km on the same official test. All three engines are commendably smooth and refined, the new twin turbo perhaps even more so than the lesser pair.

Efficient, then … as well as effortless and eminently practical.

That’s the Volkswagen T-Series in a nutshell. In new, sixth-gen form, Volkswagen’s modern-day Kombi also avails itself of new tech that brings convenience, entertainment, driver information and increased safety in a big, compelling package.

2016 Volkswagen T6 pricing and specifications:
Price: Transporter from $36,990; Multivan from $49,990; Caravelle $49,990
Engine: 2.0-litre turbo- and twin-turbo-diesel four-cylinders
Outputs: 103kW/340Nm; 132kW/400Nm; 150kW/450Nm
Transmission: Six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel: 7.2-7.7L/100km; 7.3-8.3L/100km; 6.5-6.8L/100km
CO2: N/A
Safety rating: N/A

Also consider:
Ford Transit (from $37,490)
Hyundai iLoad and iMax (from $30,990)
Toyota Hiace (from $32,990)

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Written byJames Whitbourn
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