alloy wheels, heated seats, air conditioning with automatic control, wireless phone charging, additional USB-C charging ports, adaptive cruise control, blind spot assist and exit warning system, and a laminated heated windscreen made of heat-reflecting glass. Our test van also got extras such as an offside side loading door to go with the standard fit one on the nearside, an electrically-folding towing bracket, three folding roof load carriers and a leatherette, heated steering wheel that was multifunctional but, thankfully in our opinion, not oblong-shaped like the one in the Transit Custom that is so designed to enable its transformation, in some versions, into a lunch table or laptop holder. T7 loading capacities have been
increased compared to its predecessor: our van’s 5.8m3
load cube represents a 5%
uptick on the T6.1, load length is up 60mm to 2.6m and load width is stretched by 148mm to 1,777mm or 1,392mm between the wheel arches. Te LWB van offers a 6.8m3
load cube and a 3.0m load length. Volkswagen says all Transporter
drivetrains will feature maximum payloads of more than a tonne, including the PHEV when it arrives. Te e-Transporter’s top carrying weight is 1,038kg and it has a towing capacity of 2.3t, which, though less than the diesel’s 2.8t, is 300kg more than the T6.1. With weight saving in mind, the e-Transporter makes do with a tyre mobility kit instead of the spare wheel the ICE van gets.
Having driven the e-Transit Custom when it came to market last year, we were expecting the e-Transporter to exhibit similarly impressive driving characteristics and we were not disappointed – with handling and performance both excellent. Acceleration is seriously sharp in urban settings and remains strong up to motorway speeds where only a little wind noise encroaches into the cab. Te van remains firmly planted to the road when pushed hard even without a load in the back and the suspension copes well with speed humps and potholes at low speeds. A low centre of gravity thanks to the location of the batteries undoubtedly helps
the handling and combines nicely with accurate steering. Several driving modes are selectable to suit different conditions, including Tow for when hauling a trailer and Eco to conserve energy when unladen. Sport delivers a significant boost to performance but eats into battery range, which Volkswagen cites as 190 miles between charges on the WLTP cycle for the 218hp e-Transporter, rising to 270 miles in urban settings, where the ‘B’ mode can be selected to increase regenerative braking when the driver pulls off the throttle. Normal mode is the most versatile and best suited for most conditions.
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