New Volkswagen Transporter detailed ahead of local market debut

Unveiled in August last year at the IAA in Munich, Volkswagen has officially confirmed select details of the all-new Transporter ahead of its South African market debut in the third quarter of the year.

Blue Oval influence

The second model after the Amarok to be sold on local soil as part of Wolfsburg’s joint venture with Ford, the Transporter uses the same platform as the Transit Custom/Toureno Custom, in addition to the same powerplant options consisting entirely of diesel engines.

ALSO READ: No more hiding as Volkswagen sheds new Transporter’s disguise

No longer built in Germany but at the Blue Oval’s Otosan Plant in Turkey, the local market Transporter will replace the long serving T6.1 entirely as the unrelated T7 Multivan won’t be coming to South Africa at any stage.

Bodystyles

Its arrival confirmed at Volkswagen’s product Indaba held at its factory in Kariega in the Eastern Cape this week, the local Transporter range will initially consist of four bodystyles; panel van, combination Crew Bus, Kombi and the more luxurious Kombi Style.

Set to arrive in 2026 is the dropside double cab, while no mention was made of the flagship Caravelle.

Excluding the former, the short wheelbase Transporter measures 5 050 mm long and 2 032 mm wide, with its wheelbase stretching 3 100 mm.

Standard on the panel van and optional on the Crew Bus is a long wheelbase version measuring 5 450 mm long and with a wheelbase of 3 500 mm.

Able to tow between 2 000 kg and 2 800 kg depending on the variant, cargo volume in the panel van maxes-out at 5.8 m³, with the maximum item loading length being 3 002 mm in the long wheelbase.

The claimed payload, again depending on the variant, ranges from 1 000 kg to 1 300 kg.

Known spec

While specification varies from model to model, noted items include alloy wheel sizes from 16 to 19-inches, LED head-and-taillights, keyless entry, rain sense wipers, a multi-function steering wheel, Lane Keep Assist, Automatic Emergency Braking, Auto Hold and Traffic Sign Recognition.

Regardless of the model though, all Transporters will be fitted from the start with a 12-inch digital instrument cluster, plus a 13-inch infotainment system with Volkswagen’s own software rather than Ford’s SYNC4.

Blue Oval poke

Up front, all variants will be powered by the single turbo version of the Blue Oval’s 2.0-litre Panther oil-burner in three states of tune; 81 kW, 110 kW and 125 kW.

Model-wise, the former will be standard on the double cab, panel van and Crew Bus with a six-speed manual being the only transmission option.

Optional across all three, the 110 kW variant will mated to a Ford-sourced eight-speed automatic from the onset.

Omitted from the panel van but not the Crew Bus and double cab is the added option of the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system.

Finally, the 125 kW engine comes optional on the Crew Bus and standard on the Kombi and Kombi Style, with the eight-speed automatic again being the only choice.

Unlike the panel van and Crew Bus, the Kombi and Kombi Style will only be offered in short wheelbase configuration.

For the Style, the 4Motion system will be included from the start whereas the normal Kombi will remain the front-wheel-drive layout only.

Officially ruled-out for South Africa is the all-electric eTransporter as well as the eHybrid that combines Ford’s normally aspirated 2.5-litre petrol engine with a 11.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack for a total system output of 171 kW.

Prices later

At present, pricing remains to be confirmed, though expect considerable increases of the T6.1 priced from R524 600 to R1 146 900, the latter price tag excluding the Caravelle’s R1 564 100.

NOW READ: New Ford Tourneo rises to the task of work and play