2024
Automatic
Tax: n/a
Mileage: 6
Diesel
Manual
Mileage: 9
Mileage: 10
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Think of a Volkswagen van and it's quite probable that you'll be picturing this one, the Transporter. It is, after all, the brand's best selling commercial vehicle, with a production run that stretches back to 1950. Here, we've the seventh generation T7 version, a van significantly improved in many of the areas that really matter. The Transporter story dates right back to Germany's bleak post-war era and 1949 when a Dutch vehicle importer called Ben Pon spotted workers at Volkswagen's Wolfsburg factory using a stripped-down Beetle to move parts around. Inspired, he sketched out a platform for a versatile commercial vehicle that would go on to set a template for the kind of spacious modern van we're familiar with today. That T1 Transporter sold for 17 years before a more spacious T2 model was introduced in 1967, followed by a more angular T3 version in 1979. More familiar on modern roads are the T4 design of 1990, its replacement T5 successor of 2003 and this modern Transporter's direct predecessor, the T6, which sold between 2015 and 2024. All of these Transporter models were aimed at the same medium-sized van segment that this one targets - right in the heart of the commercial vehicle sector. Business people shopping here need something more spacious than a compact LCV like Volkswagen's own Caddy, but they don't want to stretch to the higher running costs of a really large van. It's an ultra-competitive segment thoroughly dominated in our market by the model this seventh generation Transporter now shares all its engineering with, Ford's Transit Custom. Thanks to the 'Project Cyclone' agreement between the two companies, every modern era Ford and VW LCV is now a shared design and Ford led the development of this one, as they did with the Ranger/Amarok pick-up. Volkswagen's worked hard though, to give this Transporter its own identity and has slotted it into its 'Bulli' commercial vehicle range alongside the ID.Buzz Cargo EV and the Multivan MPV, which now forms a basis for the brand's successful California camper. Previous Transporter models have usually been seen as a 'quality' choice in this segment; can this Ford-engineered MK7 version follow suit? What impact will the new PHEV and EV derivatives have? And just how 'Volkswagen' is it?
As every business knows, the cheapest option isn't always the most cost-effective one. In the medium-sized Mercedes Vito and Vivaro-class van sector, this Transporter is a perfect example of that. There are certainly cheaper alternatives, but few of them can match this Volkswagen's build quality or its residual values. Volkswagen strategy with this model has always been to provide 'the right van for every customer' and nothing's changed with this Generation 7 version. The Transporter series is the most enduring model line the commercial vehicle industry has ever seen and a vehicle with a greater history of development than any other in its segment. More efficient powertrains and extra technology have built upon that legacy, cementing this T7 model's proposition in its sector and underlining this product's importance for potential business customers. It all means that, like the vehicle itself, this Volkswagen's market proposition remains as solid as ever.
