Here’s the solution, now what was the problem?
Mere days after collecting the glorious Audi TT RS from our suddenly forlorn-seeming office, VAG press-fleet manager Athol van Heerden was back again with another of the company’s latest products for us to try!
It is the absolute antithesis of the pint-sized demon of course, as you’ve already seen from the picture. But you have to go with the flow in this game, so I climbed up into the VW Transporter TDI D-Cab trying desperately to banish the longing for the soulful five-cylinder wail to the nether regions of my mind.
Although not exactly dovetailing with the enthusiast focus of our parent title Drive Magazine, the Transporter is actually rather an interesting proposition. But it’s also one of those vehicles which doesn’t quite seem to fit with any conventional, defined niche. Which is strange, because these days every single car seems to come with its very own niche. This one seems to defy them all.
You immediately think of it as a perfect builder’s truck – sort of the Hyundai H-100 for those who still like their spines, and are conscious enough of their workforce to want them safely in the cabin with them when heading out to site. This is mostly due to the stark aluminium of that wide, drop-side loadbed. But it isn’t really – all the builders I know are perfectly happy with their men hanging off the side of a beat-up old Isuzu, and the one I specifically asked about our Transporter didn’t like it because he was afraid his style of haphazardly “piling” bricks would put too much pressure on the sides of the ally loadbed and pop them out.
Garden-service operators perhaps? Well, yes but no. Again, these guys tend to prefer their workers on the loadbed after sweating it out for hours on end all day, and haul the tools of their trade out behind on a rusting, clattering trailer. OK, how about a leisure-bakkie alternative? No again, the Transporter wouldn’t please this buyer either aesthetically or in terms of comfort, that rear bench seat feels literally like a bench!
Hmmmm…. We guess it’s actually ideal for what the nameplate says – transporting. Magazines and newspapers perhaps, fresh produce, anything stackable. There’s a lot of loadbed to full so you could haul significant loads. But still, the double-cab doesn’t make sense – there’ll ordinarily be people at your pickup and delivery point to help shift the goods so….
Anyway let’s forget about pigeonholing it for now shall we, and look at the facts. This is a 2.0-litre turbodiesel truck basically – or at least a “baby” truck. It’s a 1-tonner in essence, and this range-topper features a punchy 132kW and 400Nms from the motor, 6-speed manual ‘box, and full 4Motion AWD. It isn’t cheap, coming in at R292 193, and on our test car VW had added 17” alloys (R6 500), the Communications Package (R8 500), and the Comfort Package (R6 500) to this base cost.
To quickly explain, the Communications Package confusingly enough adds the leather-bound multifunction wheel, leather for both gear and handbrake levers, and uprated audio system complete with Bluetooth preparation, while the Comfort Package inserts Cruise Control and integrated front fogs. The 17-inchers, we think, are pretty self-explanatory.
This high-performance (relatively) version of the diesel powerplant blesses this hefty vehicle with decent shove. Obviously it’s not sporting, it’s a truck for heaven’s sake, but nor does it move like a snail crawling through honey. And this is no old-school diesel engine either, revving happily to a 5000rpm redline, although the torque all comes in lower than that and you’ll find yourself naturally shifting way before this point.
The upside of this fact, and the astonishingly tall top ratio, is that this Transporter can put in staggering consumption. Considering that it features full-time AWD and the aerodynamics of a wartime blockhouse, as well as that useful but very wide dropside loadbox out the rear, the fact that you could easily get 1000km from a full (only 80-litre!) tank is really commendable, provided some of those kilometres are spent cruising on the freeway.
Speaking of the loadbox, it’s very well-built and finished, in fact the neatly-riveted edges had us thinking at first that perhaps the sides didn’t drop at all in fact. Crank the simple but effective plastic levers up though, and you’ve got unbridled access to that spascious, rubberised loadbed, complete with built-in hooks in the floor for strapping down anything that might need it. It’s a good thing the ‘bed features these sides as well, because the Transporter is pretty high, and hefting loads over them would’ve been a tricky operation.
Inside, in spite of the optional extras, the Transporter isn’t exactly a paradigm of luxury. That rear seat for instance is hard and very upright, although the individual driver’s pew is pretty nice. Those door cards are pure workhorse however, and you might expect more for your R300K, and the cubby-hole is as flimsy as an Oriental geisha’s flowing silken nightgown.
But the steering wheel and instrument cluster are pure VW, complete with aluminium-look gilting, and make you feel just like you’re driving just about any other vehicle in the VW range. Operating the major controls is a breeze too – gone are the days when a hard-working machine like this would require the forearms and biceps of a full-time bricklayer to turn and the thighs of a professional cyclist operating clutch and brake. It’s a doddle.
The brakes deserve specific mention. They feel strong and dependable, even if you load the ‘bed to its maximum, and hopping out and peeking behind those chunky 17-inchers reveals why. There are expansive discs in the front especially, which just look more than capable of managing any weight. And so they prove. Naturally there’s ABS and EBD circuitry as well, so pulling the Transporter up is just as straightforward as driving it.
So, a vehicle without a niche it may be, but it’s nevertheless a very good one, although we’d have to say the BiTDI without 4Motion might be a better option for most unless you’re often making deliveries to places with permanently muddied, rutted access roads. It’s well over R30K cheaper, and could return even more astonishing fuel consumption, and can carry more on its loadbed as well (933kg versus 812kg), but is otherwise identical to this full-house Transporter.
Russell liked: Exceptional consumption, dropside convenience, comfortable driver’s seat
Russell disliked: Cheap door cards, hard rear bench
- Russell Bennett
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