Editor’s Pick July 2025 | The new Volkswagen Transporter isn’t just a Ford

Van reviewer Tom Roberts writes…

I've often said (to anyone who'll listen) that the T5 and T6 Volkswagen Transporters are the best versions of that van, so I was pleased to see that the new T7 Transporter robs some of their aesthetics – the front end is a nice blend of the two older models with unbroken slopes and smooth lines, and the doors are squared off sharply towards the B pillar. But for the first time ever, the Transporter is no longer ‘its own van’ and platform shares with the new Ford Transit Custom through a commercial agreement between the two companies. That’s right, the Volkswagen Transporter is now a rebadged and (slightly) redesigned version of Ford’s best-selling light commercial vehicle. The major differences are aesthetic and spec-based, with the most prominent changes visible at the front end and on the dashboard in the cabin. Needless to say, I was vibrating with excitement to get my hands on one (my wife said I was like a kid waiting for a mate to show up for a playdate), and when I finally did I was not disappointed... but I was very aware I could have been.

Before getting my hands on one, I'd heard countless people say that the new Transporter has lost its charm now it’s ‘just a Ford’ but I think that undermines the work Volkswagen has done to make it different. I only say this in the cold light of day now that I've experienced and reviewed several models of the new T7, because I was just as sceptical as anyone else. Really... what else was I to think? The Transporter is, on paper, now just another platform sharer that runs the risk of trying to live up to its brother van and falling short. Thankfully, Volkswagen was well aware of these concerns. Just shows I should put more trust in manufacturers, eh?
So, where are the differences? Well, the front end is completely redesigned looking nothing like the big open grille face sported by the Transit Custom, and the doors are squared off like other Volkswagen vehicles. Inside the cabin, the top half of the dashboard is completely Volkswagen’s design with an open dash tray and different cupholders and facings. But, like so many other platform sharers, there is a lot shared with its brother van: the engines are the same, the electric drive train is powerful and smooth, the infotainment system software is a rebadged version of Ford's, the underpinnings and load spaces are the same, and a lot of the tech and spec is similar (although split differently across trim levels between the two brands).

To finish up, I have to ask this question: in a world where all of the Stellantis brands share platforms across their van ranges and still continue to sell in huge numbers, why is so much criticism levelled at the new T7? Perhaps it’s because it was always its own van and now it’s not. Perhaps Volkswagen fans feel too much of the Ford van remains in the new Transporter. Whatever the reason, I implore people to give it a try.
Its pricing is competitive, its capabilities are exactly the same as the UK’s best-selling medium van of all time (of course), and despite sharing a platform with that other van I believe that it feels different enough to be judged on its own merits. Test drive one, that’s all I ask. There's a lot of Volkswagen in this 'just a Ford' van and I'm convinced it's going to do well.

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