VW Transporter road test | Business Pack pays for itself

With a brace of accolades under its belt – including a Commercial Fleet Award for Best Medium Panel Van – it is hard to imagine VW could improve the current Transporter further.

But it has. As announced at the CV Show, Transporter models – along with Crafter and Caddy – can now be ordered with a Business Pack, adding extra equipment that is key for fleet operators.

These packs add items of specification that business customers most frequently specify, at a much cheaper price.

Available on entry-level Startline models, the pack costs £835 (saving £470 if you were to add these options individually). It includes an alarm, rear parking sensors, air conditioning and a fixed bulkhead.

Through collaboration with price guide influencers, a residual value uplift of up to £450 is applied on models where Business Packs have been chosen.

Prices for the Transporter Startline start from £20,010 (basic RRP ex VAT) with the 82PS 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine.

The model is also available with 102PS or 150PS versions of the same diesel engine plus a 150PS 2.0-litre TSI petrol unit.

Two wheelbases and three roof sizes provide a load compartment volume from 5.8-to-9.3cu m with space for up to three Euro-pallets on the largest versions.

A low load bed, combined with a rear opening width of 1,473mm and maximum load height of 1,940mm for high roof models, makes load access on the Transporter easy and convenient.

Businesses can further enhance the Transporter through an extensive list of options, providing rear barn doors or a tailgate, sliding side doors, roof rails and additional batteries.

Technology more commonly found in road cars is also available such as automatic LED headlights and adaptive cruise control.

All Transporter models feature Front Assist with autonomous emergency brake as standard, providing greater levels of active safety than rival vans.

With the more potent 150PS engine in our test vehicle we found the Transporter to be particularly flexible. With 340Nm of torque it has no trouble with heavier loads and tows with ease.

You also get a six-speed gearbox with the more potent unit, instead of a five-speed, which helps improve efficiency.

Combined fuel economy of 46.3mpg is less than 1mpg below the figure for the less powerful models, yet, during our testing, we were able to achieve 48mpg with a light load.

Driveability is among the best in the market with light controls and great visibility, topped off with a layer of easy-to-use and durable switchgear.