Van with a plan
Volkswagen’s van-mit-windows, the ‘car’ formerly known as the Caravelle, is now the Multivan. Which is an odd choice of name, given the main thing you need to know about this van is that it is not, in fact, a van.
Instead of sharing a body with the VW Transporter panel van (which continues as is), the new Multivan actually rides on the same MQB platform that underpins the Golf, Tiguan and, erm, VW’s latest Caddy van. Right.
By being a car that identifies with van pronouns, VW can offer a wider suite of engines and technologies, and better road manners. Which is why, for the first time, VW’s minibus can be specced as a plug-in hybrid. Prices are set to start £5,000 below the current Caravelle.
It’s a well-proportioned box and the two-tone paint jobs are fabulously Mr Whippy. Thanks to a request from Caravelle owners that the car should be able to access lowroofed parking garages, the overall height of the Multivan is 43mm lower than the old Caravelle. Despite this, relocated vents inside mean that headroom is preserved.
It’s also wider to the tune of 37mm, and the wheelbase is a whopping 124mm longer than before. Slabby sides and split A-pillars make for excellent visibility, while the visible bonnet helps place the front.
It’s extremely handy in town, no harder to pilot than a Polo.
Lengthwise, you’ve two choices. The standard L1, and the longer L2, which has the same wheelbase but tacks on 200mm to the rear overhang, to eke out more rear seat room and offer a bigger boot. Both versions have sliding doors on both sides and a top-hinged tailgate to the rear.
The eHybrid borrows a Golf/Passat PHEV drivetrain with 10kWh of usable battery and 31 miles of claimed e-range at up to 70mph. Handover between battery and petrol power is smooth, but the brake pedal fidgets as it juggles regen and disc braking.
The plug-in vancar always defaults to e-mode when started, to fluff your average economy, but if you want to save your charge for later while the buzzy petrol engine whisks you along the motorway, you’re sentenced to hard touchscreen labour.
VW thinks borrowing proper Golf-spec infotainment complete with voice assist and gesture control is some sort of deluxe upgrade. It isn’t – just laggy and frustrating. The volume and volume gutter still doesn’t light up at night, and the interface itself is long overdue the over-the-air updates that are supposed to make rubbish operating systems a short-lived wrinkle, not a consistent reason to avoid buying a Volkswagen.
Elsewhere, the dashboard is less minimalist, and massively better for it. There’s a grippy wireless charging pad
“UPGRADING TO THE LONGER L2 IS USEFUL IF YOU’RE REGULARLY SEATING SEVEN”
jutting from a cubbyhole that keeps your phone out of sight, and temptation. Pop-out cupholders are sited within easy reach. There are double-decker stowage pockets in both front doors and two glovebox compartments.
It’s notably better finished than traditional vans with windows, and touches like metal door handles and the supple leather steering wheel (thankfully rid of the Golf GTI’s horrid haptic buttons) ramp up the perceived quality.
Is there enough storage? You’d think so, but a dash-top cubby was, in the versions we tested, judged less important than a huge hi-fi speaker. We’d sooner have more room for snacks.
Each row gets a couple of USB sockets, but as they’re USB-C you’ll need an adaptor for charging most current devices. The seats can all recline and fold about, or be removed entirely and oriented rearwards so that your children can argue face-to-face. They’re 25 per cent lighter than before, but still hardly wieldy. You’ll arrange for feng shui once, and make a mental note to pack lighter next time.
Cleverly, the seat runners are powered and thanks to electrical contacts underneath the chairs, each chair can be heated. Unlike the front seats, second and third row passengers get a button for this. The luxury.
Upgrading to the longer L2 is useful if you’re regularly seating seven, particularly as there’s then enough legroom for adults to sit eye-to-eye, like they’re on The Apprentice.
Out back the tailgate is optionally motorised, but bike racks have to be towbar- not doormounted. The towbar is optional. Fit a rack and you can’t open the boot. This catch-22 has cost the Multivan three sales in the TG office alone.
Every control is low effort, the steering especially, and the ride – on optional DCC adaptive suspension admittedly – is absorbent. Wheels up to 19-inches are available, but we’d stick to 16s or 17s for maximum comfort. There’s a reason school buses don’t have splitters and wings. Why VW has bothered with a Sport mode or paddleshifters is anyone’s guess. This car brings out the driver you’d like to think you are: courteous, considerate, easy-going.