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Saturday, March 27th, 2010

Volkswagen Transporter 60 Years Old And Never Better

Motoring Tips Guide To The New Volkswagen Transporter

Around 46 years ago I bought my first Volkswagen Kombi van and although it was already ten years old I added another 200,000 klm to the clock in three years before trading it in on another Kombi. My love affair with kombi’s lasted for 16 years and six different models before I settled down and bought my first brand new salon car. I used the Kombi vans for carrying around the band equipment for my rock n roll band and a few of them served a dual purpose having some basic camping equipment and a bed for my many weekends away during my twenties.

The humble Kombi has come a long way since being developed by the workers involved in building the beetle and has recently had its 60th birthday. These days it has an upmarket name to match the many changes that have now positioned this high-tech and high specification multi purpose vehicle at the heights of the van market. It is now known as a Transporter and sometimes a Caravelle or Multivan depending on the configuration you choose. For the serious weekend warriors there is even a four wheel drive version and a long wheelbase nine-seater people mover.

All the new models are now powered by the new generation four-cylinder 2 litre turbo diesel engine with common rail direct injection. The 132kW top of the range motor uses a twin turbo boosting system that delivers 400Nm of torque while the lower powered versions use the single variable geometry turbo. All configurations are capable of towing a caravan or boat but anything above 700kg should be fitted with its own braking system. Top of the range models have dual piston front brake calipers for optimal braking.

The transmission of power to the wheels is through a six speed manual gearbox that has very close ratios and a very smooth change action. All the guess work about when to change gears, to optimise the engine efficiency, has been removed by providing a gear change indicator. I particularly liked the seven speed direct shift gearbox on the Multivan that I drove for the weekend. Safety is all important to Volkswagen and so stability control and multiple airbags are features of all models.

My old Kombi’s were great with the fuel and I could drive around on the smell of an oily rag but the cost of old rags has gone up so much recently that this is no longer a viable option. The new fuel efficient diesel turbo motors will all come in under 10 litres per 100km but the 75kw motor uses an astounding 7.5 litres for 100km.

Sporting a very sophisticated nose the Transporters look elegant for a van that can carry a 1.3 tonne payload or up to 9.3 cubic metres. The rear access can either be a tailgate or the barn door arrangement.

In short, driving the new Volkswagen is a delight, the tight turning circle and smooth gear changes make handling an absolute pleasure. There is minimal noise in the cabin and the creature comforts are all there including many refinements from passenger vehicles. The looks of the vehicle are appealing and it sits and hangs on to the road like a car and I was left with the impression that it was truly unbreakable.

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This entry was posted on Saturday, March 27th, 2010 at 5:05 am and is filed under expert motoring advice, motoring advice. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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