Volkswagen Caravelle 4Motion car review

There are over 460 variations of the Volkswagen T5, the best known being the Transporter van, the Caravelle people carrier and the latter-day VW camper, the California. And now, with a choice of 4Motion four-wheel drive and a seven-speed, twin-clutch DSG gearbox, VW has even more bases covered.

Owen Ready travelled to Munich to see if the Caravelle people carrier can rise above its humble roots.

Full VW Caravelle/Transporter/California gallery:

Because of its commercial vehicle roots, the Caravelle's styling is characterised by its bluff nose and boxy rear but it’s about as good-looking as vans get. Its new face carries on the new, precise and technical look of the latest Golf and Polo.

With such a myriad of variants, you can choose a classic ‘white van man’ Transporter or a chrome-trimmed, upmarket Caravelle we tested or any combination in between. And if that’s not enough choice there are also long and short wheelbases, high roofs, medium roofs, pickup trucks, single cabs, crew cabs…you get the idea.

As practical as a van, as classy as a VW

An obvious advantage of the Caravelle’s commercial background is its practicality. There’s more than enough space for about as much stuff, people or any combination of the above as you could reasonably wish.

But what really raises it above its competition is the feeling of quality. Volkswagen has built itself a reputation for building some of the classiest – if not always the most exciting – interiors. The Caravelle’s high quality cabin does nothing to tarnish this – it wouldn’t look out of place in regular VW passenger car. It’s far too posh to throw a copy of your favourite red-top tabloid on.

With optional, integrated satellite navigation, high-end stereo, leather upholstery and even wood trim, it’s easy to see why the Carvelle is the choice of VIP chauffeurs.

More fun than you might think on- and off-road

Performance from the new, four-cylinder, 2-litre, twin-turbo BiTDI is strong. With 178bhp and 295lb/ft, the Caravelle 4Motion DSG takes 12.1 seconds to reach 62mph and on the road it feels livelier than the figures. The new 4-cylinder engine may lack the character of the 5-cylinder engine it replaces, but it is refined and impressively economical, managing to average 37.7mpg.

The less powerful, single turbo version of the engine is even more economical. The compromise is more noticeable turbo lag and less gutsy performance.
Caravelle’s optional 7-speed DSG, twin-clutch gearbox is as smooth and effortless to use as we’ve come to expect and its super-low first gear is useful for low speed manoeuvring, without slipping the complex clutch mechanism. The manual gearbox shouldn’t be ignored though – it has arguably the nicest shift action of any VW.

In normal driving, 90 per cent of power is send to the front wheels, but the latest, fourth-generation Haldex four-wheel drive system is able to shift 100 per cent to whichever wheels have the most grip.

The snow and ice covered mountain track we tackled proved no problem at all for the Caravelle 4Motion. A muddy, post-camping field should be equally easy to navigate if you plump for the California version.

Thankfully its off-road ability doesn’t have any obvious negative effects on its on-road manners. Obviously a large, tall van is never going to handle with the alacrity of a hot-hatch but the well-controlled body-roll, strong brakes and high grip levels make the Caravelle more fun to drive than you might expect. Only overly light steering and an occasionally floaty ride let it down.

Unrivalled versatility, at a price

Volkswagen expects the 4Motion option to be most popular on the £44,450 California camper, however the range starts at £20,850 for the short wheelbase Transporter panel van. Meanwhile Caravelle prices start at £35,900.

The VW isn’t cheap, especially if you’re interested in moving people rather than stuff but on the other hand it’s hard to think of a more versatile vehicle, especially with the four-wheel drive option.

By Owen Ready