One of South Africa's most iconic people mover's now only offered with plug-in hybrid powertrain.
The all-new Volkswagen Caravelle features the German carmaker’s first local plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain, but at the expense of its predecessor’s venerable diesel engine.
One of South Africa’s most iconic people movers is offered in only one model derivative, called the VW Caravelle eHybrid 4Motion Style, which retails for R1 794 000.
VW Caravelle makes a Pitstop
On this week’s episode of The Citizen Motoring‘s Pitstop podcast, we discuss the arrival of the Caravelle T6.1’s replacement. And the strategy around introducing it in a PHEV and not diesel variant.
The eHybrid’s powertrain is a combination of a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, a 19.7kWh battery pack and two electric motors. The battery pack is integrated into the van’s floor, while one electric motor is located within the six-speed DSG gearbox and the second at the rear axle.
The powertrain produces a system total of 180kW of power and 350Nm of torque. The VW Caravelle eHybrid’s electric range is up to 95km. The overall range is 700km. The van can also travel at speeds of up to 130km/h on electricity alone.
Clever all-wheel drive
The all-wheel drive system operates in front-wheel drive for most of the time. This is due to the front electric motor and engine being connected directly to the drive wheels. Switched to Sport mode or during a loss in traction, the rear-mounted electric motor kicks in to enable all-wheel drive.
Once the battery is depleted, the 1.5-litre engine takes charge, in which case the powertrain is much less potent with outputs of only 130kW/250Nm. In comparison, the T6.1’s 2.0-litre bi-turbo diesel mill produced 164kW/470Nm.
The all-new VW Caravelle supports DC charging of up to 50kW. It will take 26 minutes to charge it from 10 to 80%. It comes standard with a seven-kilowatt on-board charger, which takes four hours to charge from completely empty to full.
