VW T32 Transporter - good or bad?

[2b1ask1]

Thought I'd ask opinion on here about VW Transporters (modern ones), particularly 4motion and semi-auto boxes. Having bought the Volvo half-cocked with information and got burned with a crumbling gearbox on an otherwise bomb-proof vehicle I am anxious to hear what peoples opinions and experiences are for these.

It is a fairly big commitment for me but I think I can get into a 2017, with all the whistles & bells I want.

Discuss....

 

[zagatoes30]

They look cool if they have the right attitude bits and they can swallow a load of kit. mate has one with a set of rear seats and we can still load 5 adults and bikes and all other cycling **** in with ease and ti seems to go well, qucik enough and hangs on in the twisty bits better than you would imagine. No idea of reliability, I will ask him, but this is his 3rd.

 

[GeoffCapes]

I moved house with one years ago. Was surprised how small they are internally. However, if you get everything in the Volvo, you should be fine.

 

[philw696]

I had a 98 T4 with the 2.5 5 pot diesel many years ago and loved it.

 

[Nibby]

Ford Transit far better.

 

[TimR]

I have T5.1 (2011) T30, 6 speed manual, 2.0 TDi - 140 ps LWB
Its a daily and has been great over the 5 years Ive owned it. EGR went bad @ 55K . Expect that but not a big deal really...
DPF are **** and expensive to replace
DSG- wouldnt touch it but thats just me
4-Motion...wish I had one !


edit Must admit, the couple Transit Customs Ive driven Ive really liked...Mine pretty basic so not difficult to impress me !

 

[Nibby]

Must admit, the couple Transit Customs Ive driven Ive really liked...Mine pretty basic so not difficult to impress me !

In recent years they're back in pole position, just great all round vans.

 

[rockits]

I looked at them recently as was looking at getting a medium sized can for work. Christ they seem expensive though.

Ideally I wanted a petrol auto van....don't laugh....but obviously not many around. Would have comprised on petrol bit but a T5 I was looking at was 40k second hand 2 years old!

You can get a new Caddy Maxi DSG petrol auto for less than half that. It might be what I will look at. Don't need anything massive but don't want manual or diesel ideally. Thought about a 2 seater commercial Disco or similar but I think they will be smaller loadspace than Caddy Maxi.

VW must be making tons of margin on the T5's especially higher end ones.

 

[TimR]

Expensive, like all VW, but this is true of resale too...

 

[Zep]

The transporters are cracking vans, but expensive. I have heard a lot of horror stories about DSG boxes and a former Audi tech I know wouldn’t buy one with someone else’s money.

The new transits are great vans, nice cabin, fair number of toys. My old firm ran 20 of them and they are good value and held their value. We had one that was a total lemon, cut out randomly, but it was sold and the replacement was good as gold.

 

[mjheathcote]

Uncle has a '17 Caravelle.
Shared the driving down to the alps, and back.
Was very impressed with it, but fell over at the cost of it something like £50k+!

 

[Gazcw]

You will be wanting one of these.

https://www.parkers.co.uk/vans-pickups/news/2017/ford-transit-custom-ms-rt-r-spec/

 

[2b1ask1]

I won't be getting a Ford, never have since my MkIII Cortina rust box, won't even be on the radar; have driven Transits and Transit Connects and have lost hearing in both from the droning on motorways.

Zep, I've read about early DSG's having issues but they seem to have worked them out by about 2015, I'm looking at a 2017 motor at the moment, cannot seem to find anything negative about these. They are a bit cheaper as it is in the middle of emissionsgate! Gets a Euro 6 though which is a lot better than some of the junk I've been looking at. I've had 5 years of bangernomics for work whilst promising myself I'd get the Frankenvan done. It hasn't happened so I think it is time to part it out and treat myself to something more suited to my present work.

Appreciate all the info lads, keep it coming.

 

[rockits]

I hired a Transit Custom for a week when the 4200 went to Voicey last year. Found it nice enough but a terrible bouncy ride unladen that I have not experienced on any van I have driven previously.

I couldn't buy one for that reason alone. Don't like the new shape Vito, the old is a bit old. None of the Euro shared stuff are petrol autos.

Why don't they do hardly any petrol auto now as I would have thought there would be much more demand now than a few years back.

If the Transporter was cheaper I would have gone that way but I couldn't justify the cost. They seem too expensive to me.

 

[Oneball]

There’s a reason why you see so many of them, they drive well and are reliable if a little small.

Have one with steel wheels that resembles a van otherwise you’ll look like a banker from the Home Counties with 3 children and 2 labradoodles trying to be Bear Grylls whilst drinking a Starbucks.

 

[jasst]

How about a Fiat Ducato, on my radar at the moment, good revues, good choice of engines and body sizes.

 

[Zep]

I won't be getting a Ford, never have since my MkIII Cortina rust box, won't even be on the radar; have driven Transits and Transit Connects and have lost hearing in both from the droning on motorways.

Zep, I've read about early DSG's having issues but they seem to have worked them out by about 2015, I'm looking at a 2017 motor at the moment, cannot seem to find anything negative about these. They are a bit cheaper as it is in the middle of emissionsgate! Gets a Euro 6 though which is a lot better than some of the junk I've been looking at. I've had 5 years of bangernomics for work whilst promising myself I'd get the Frankenvan done. It hasn't happened so I think it is time to part it out and treat myself to something more suited to my present work.

Appreciate all the info lads, keep it coming.

Fair enough, I haven’t heard any recent issues either, and at that age it’ll be under warranty for some time too I suspect.

I am considering a DSG for my next company car, but that is on the basis that I won’t be paying to fix it!

If they come with radar cruise then get it, the best invention yet and even better with the DSG.

 

[ChrisH]

We run quite a fleet of them for work... loose track but prob 20 odd at the moment with the oldest being a couple of c.2008 T5s which we own and the newest being more or less brand new T6s on lease.

They're all diesel... mix of autos and manuals... mix of long and short wheel base... mix of 2wd and 4wd.

I'll try and pick through a few things:

• Auto boxes... no issues to report... in fact one of the 08 T5s is on its second engine and the box has now done something closing in on 300k km and touch wood... is still going strong. That is with the 175PS engine as well!
• Change on the newer autos is much better as you would imagine... the older one can flap up and down the gears a bit but it's generally fine. The tendency is prob more noticeable for us as they are used in the mountains so are always going up or downhill.
• Turbos can be weak. EGRs do get stuck. Few hoses that can split... but nothing crazy major that springs to mind. Lots of specialists out there which is good.
• 4motions are pretty good grip wise... but for most purposes... so are the 2wd. Here in the UK... I wouldn't bother spending a 4motion given the cost unless it landed that way. We had to have the haldex control unit changed on one recently as well which cost a lot for what is basically a mini ECU. They're known go bad. 4motion is great in the snow but snow is all about tyres 99% time and IMO an irrelevant conversation for the UK.
• LWB are long... sounds silly but expect a significant change in manouvering dynamics vs. SWB. Obviously it's a trade off of luggage space.
• Inside they feel more primo than most other 'vans'... they definitely rattle less and stay quieter for longer than Trafics and Transits in our experience. Trafics squeak and rattle like anything after 6 months. You get what you pay for.
• They are however... without question... vans (our fleet arr technically minibuses tor completeness but none the less). They're easy to drive... and comfortable enough... but they're not cars. Our family daily is an old Range Rover and with toe bar mounted cycle rack and roof box... we can pack up a good chunk of our life into that if we need to... and its quicker and more comfortable than any Transporter will ever be. If i needed 6 seats and not 5... a Disco would prob work for the same reasons. I just don't really see the point of a Transporter in a non commercial context... but I get there are a world of people out there who beg to differ!

Anyway... whether that's any use or not I don't know but fire any specifics over if you like because one way or another I've driven plenty of them.

 

[2b1ask1]

Thanks for the great info Chris; much of my work is in parks, often driving across grass and muddy places, I thought the XC-90 would cope but stupidly it doesn't have a diff lock so if one wheel spins it digs in and refuses to budge! not good when you are on your own in a darkening park!

 

[zagatoes30]

I am considering a DSG for my next company car, but that is on the basis that I won’t be paying to fix it!

If they come with radar cruise then get it, the best invention yet and even better with the DSG.

Do it, we have a 17 plate Skoda Octavia with a DSG box and it it is awesome - super smooth if just letting it do its auto stuff and super fast when slamming it about in sport mode. It's predictive selection is fantastic it always selects the right gear even when I try to catch it out.