Soon to arrive in South Africa as the replacement for the dated current T6.1, approval of the new variants hasn't been made.
Still set to make its local market debut before the end of the year, Volkswagen’s Commercial vehicle division has introduced a trio of new versions of the Transporter that could be availed to South Africa if confirmed.
Now available in Germany, the additions consist of a dropside double cab, a combination panel van called the Panel Van Plus, and a panel van with an L-partition behind the steel bulkhead that separates the cabin from the cargo area.
Dropside double cab
For the dropside, the Transporter’s loading area measures 4.2 m3 and the loadbin itself 2 169 mm long.
The claimed payload is 1 073 kg and towing capacity 2 500 kg. As an option, the aluminium dropside bin can be done away for a chassis cab layout.
Based on the same platform as the Ford Transit Custom/Toureno Custom, the double cab Transporter has two versions of Ford’s 2.0-litre Panther turbodiesel engine: the 81 kW unit and the 110 kW.
Connected to the former is a six-speed manual gearbox, with the latter solely paired to an eight-speed automatic, supplemented, as an option, with the 4Motion all-wheel-drive system.
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As an alternative, buyers can opt for the electric version in three states of tune; 100 kW, 160 kW and 210 kW.
In this instance, the battery is an 83-kWh module, though a smaller 64-kWh can also be specified.
Panel vans
On the panel side, the Plus seats three on a newly incorporated bench seat, which has resulted in the steel partition having been dropped in favour of a plastic separator with an integrated window.
As standard, the Panel Van Plus comes with a single sliding door on the passenger’s side, however, a driver’s side door can be fitted as a cost option.
Finally, the L-shaped van seats four and sees the steel partition forming a box-type cradle behind the passenger seat – being Germany, this means on the right-hand side instead of the left where the driver is seated.
The result is the accommodation of longer items behind the driver, which slide underneath the seat using a special port hole at the lower section of the partition.
Unlike the Panel Van Plus, the L-shaped van comes with the dual sliding doors as standard, the one on the passenger side with a window included.
On the model front, both models can be specified in PanAmericana trim level, with the Edition grade being an option for the Panel Van Plus.
Up front, the same TDI and electric powertrains as the rest of the Transporter range applies, as does the plug-in hybrid not offered on the dropside double cab.
Using Ford’s normally aspirated 2.5-litre petrol engine combined with an 11.8-kWh battery pack, the Transporter eHybrid develops 171 kW delivered to the front wheels through a uniquely configured eight-speed automatic ‘box.
Approval awaited
Priced from €38 525 (R792 304) for the Panel Van Plus, €39 990 (R822 433) for the L-shaped van and from €41 158 (R846 454) for the dropside double cab in Germany, Volkswagen South Africa is yet to make a formal announcement approving the new options for the local market.
As it stands, only four variants have so far been given the go-ahead; the standard panel van, Crew Bus, Kombi and the Kombi Style that seemingly replaces the Caravelle.
Exact pricing is expected to be announced soon.
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