Volkswagen Transporter T32 Kombi

2.0 TDI 150 DSG SWB

Mileage 3432 List price £44,406 Target Price na Price as tested £50,670 Test economy 37.2mpg

SO FAR, THE only real downside I’ve discovered to running a Volkswagen Transporter is that I’m now all too popular among those who need to move house or take bulky items to the tip.

Compared with even a big estate car (and I’d know, having previously run quite a few of those), the Transporter laughs in the face of any “Can you move this?” challenge. And that’s in the short-wheelbase form that I’ve gone for; I can’t imagine what you’d need to be transporting (no pun intended) to require the long-wheelbase model.

My van’s rear seats offer as much leg room as your average limousine, yet the cargo area behind is still an enormous, square cavern. So, when some friends moved into a temporary rural retreat while they were having some insurance work done on their house, the Transporter was able to shift everything in just one trip, including a scooter, a rocking horse and multiple suitcases.

On another occasion, it took a double bed in two halves from my mother’s house to the recycling centre. Her car simply wasn’t up to the task, but the bed slotted into the Transporter with ease, alongside all my camera kit.

However, after loading the bed into the boot, I hadn’t driven far before a warning message appeared on the dashboard saying that one of the tyres was losing pressure. Just what I needed.

I hoped it was a dodgy sensor, but I found that the front nearside tyre had a rivet embedded in its tread, causing air to hiss out. The Transporter does have a spare wheel, but with the bed in the back, getting to that and the jack would have been tricky. Luckily, a local tyre shop, Ivybridge Tyres, was able take a look at it right away. To my relief, they were able to repair the tyre for just £16, and I was back on the road in just 15 minutes.

‘The Transporter has made me very popular with those moving house’