Price £30,460
Top speed: 119mph
CO2: 195g/km
MPG: 37.2
It’s not often you choose to take your holiday in a panel van, but that’s what three friends and I did last month. In a virtually terminal case of Lycra-inflamed midlife “cycleopathy”, we set out to ride from south London to the south of France – a distance of almost 900 miles. We did it for the challenge, but also to raise money for refugees. And Volkswagen’s new Transporter played the crucial role of support vehicle, safe haven and responsible adult. Over the course of the week it lugged bikes, spares, tents, sleeping bags, gallons of water, folding chairs, gas stoves, cooking pots and enough energy bars to fuel a herd of rhinos. It was our refuge on the road and acted as mobile home, lunch depot, coffee stop, mechanical workshop and, when the snoring in the tent got too bad, dormitory.
Volkswagen’s globe-trotting Transporter is now more than 65 years old, and more than 12m have been sold. The latest generation model is the T6 and it’s just been named Van of the Year 2016. It looks almost identical to the outgoing T5, but behind the boxy styling VW has introduced some bold updates. The biggest of these is the arrival of the new Euro 6 diesel engine. The van we tested was the 2-litre 180hp. It took a while to get used to the over-zealous brakes and enthusiastic throttle, but its efficiency and relentless reliability were hugely impressive.
Swapping drivers, we drove 800 miles straight, from Aix to London, in 16 hours, and not once did the VW hesitate. Thanks to fuel-saving BlueMotion technology, including Start/Stop, regenerative braking and low rolling resistance tyres, we did it all at almost 40 miles to the gallon. Less powerful engines in the range offer up to 48mpg. More car-like tech has been added to the basic model, too, including active cruise control, lane assist and auto light dipping. If you go for the long wheelbase, parking sensors would be a wise extra.
There’s a seemingly infinite list of equipment that can be specified depending on what you’ll be using the Transporter for – commercial load lugger or leisure camper, double cab or single cab. All come with an enhanced level of standard safety features. Over very long distances, the Driver Alert system (which flashes a coffee cup up on the instrument panel when you start to exhibit signs of tiredness) was particularly reassuring. Interior space is excellent, as you’d expect in a van, and the endless cubbies and storage bins soothed our OCD packing tendencies.
The Transporter was by far and away the best performer on our tour: a clear yellow jersey winner.
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @MartinLove166
