BOLD RIDE
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American van fans are fairly lucky. The last few years have brought the Ford Transit Connect to these continental shores, as well as the Nissan NV200, and the RAM Promaster City. But one workhorse has gone and has yet to return – the legendary Volkswagen Transporter.
Since the original Transporter’s launch in 1950, Volkswagen has gone on to shift 12 million vans, and of the last two decades become Germany’s most popular light vehicle. Understandably, the T6′s styling has been “carefully updated” to retain that heritage, now sporting sharper lines and a noticeably sleeker grille and hood. Underneath that bonnet lies one of six different engine variants, ranging from 83 to 201-horsepower diesels and a pair of 148 and 201-horsepower gas engines.
All Transporters now come fitted with stop/start systems as standard, and feature three selectable driving modes – comfort, normal, and sport. ‘Sport’ may sound a bit odd for what would normally be used as a plumber’s mobile office, but Volkswagen also offers the series in family-friendly Caravelle trim, as well as the multi-purpose Kombi and Shuttle variants.
There’s also quite a bit of tech packed in as well. Sixth-gen Transporters will continue to make available Volkswagen’s 4Motion all-wheel-drive, and now feature adaptive cruise control, radar assisted stopping, and the ‘City Emergency Braking’ function, which can bring the van to a complete stop, unassisted, under 19 mph.
Most likely, you won’t be able to have one in the US – ‘most likely’ because rumors suggest Volkswagen could bring a truck or commercial van to the US soon – but customers abroad will be able to order one shortly, starting at around 23,000 euros.
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