Volkswagen T6.1 Transporter on sale now from £21,635
Fri, 25 Oct 2019
Orders are open for the new Volkswagen T6.1 Transporter. Prices for the panel van start from £21,635 (excluding VAT) with UK deliveries commencing from March 2020.
The Transporter is Volkswagen's best-selling van in the UK and the heavily revised T6.1 will look to continue this success story, with some significant mechanical upgrades.
All versions of the T6.1 Transporter get improvements in the handling department, thanks to a new electro-mechanical steering system that makes the van easier to drive at low speeds while providing better feedback. A new crosswind assist system is also fitted as standard, which prevents the van from being pushed out of its road lane by side winds.
A handy park assist system has been added to the options list. This automatically steers the van in or out of a parallel space, which could prove useful for van operators who regularly rotate their drivers between cars and vans. A rear traffic alert is also available, which uses two radar sensors at the rear to scan the road and warn the driver of approaching vehicles when reversing out of a load bay or driveway.
Volkswagen has simplified the Transporter van range at launch to just two trim levels - Startline and Highline models. This means the mid-spec Trendline trim level has been axed from the range. The high octane Sportline version of the Transporter will be added in late-2020.
The Startline will be available in T26 (short wheelbase only), T28, T30 and T32 in short or long wheelbase and with 2.0-litre TDI 90, 100 or 150PS engines. Highline models are offered with a 2.0-litre 199PS TDI; 4MOTION four-wheel drive is available in combination with certain 150 and 199PS units.
The least powerful four-cylinder diesels are matched to a five-speed manual as standard, while the higher ouputs get a six-speed 'box. A seven-speed DSG is offered on the 150 and 199PS variants, while the petrol 2.0 TSI engines have been axed due to poor sales.
Volkswagen's yet to confirm the Transporter 6.1's payload, but it's widely expected to mirror its predecessor’s maximum of 1278kg, which will leave it somewhat short against the 1400kg of the Vauxhall Vivaro and Ford Transit Custom.
