The seventh generation Volkswagen Transporter is headed to SA in the third quarter of 2025.
While the VW Multivan range is built on a separate platform and serves as the brand’s family-focused people carrier, the new Transporter is co-developed with the new Ford Transit Custom as a commercial range, with panel van, pickup and crew bus models, and Kombi passenger versions as well.
The Transporter has grown in size to provide better practicality, and also gained more refinement and standard equipment.
The standard wheelbase model has increased 146mm in length to 5.05m and the long wheelbase variant gains 400mm to 5.45m, while all versions expand 128mm in width to 2.02m. It has resulted in 5% extra interior volume in the new range. The load capacity has been enlarged to 5.8m³ in the standard models and 9m³ in the versions with long wheelbase and high roof.
The range is initially available with a choice of turbo diesel and electric power, with a petrol-electric plug-in hybrid to follow in 2026. SA will get only the diesel versions in power outputs of 81kW, 110kW and 125kW.
Power is transferred via front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive depending on variant, with all-wheel drive available as an option.
All versions have payloads of more than 1,000kg, with the diesel offering the most at 1,326kg. Towing capacity in the diesel version has grown to 2.8 tonnes, a 300kg improvement over the Transporter T6.1, and the roof is able to carry a 170kg load (up by 20kg).
Volkswagen says every technical detail and function of the new Transporter has been improved compared with the outgoing T6.1 model, and the heightened refinement was the most noticeable aspect when I drove the three-seat panel van and eight-seat Caravelle at the T7’s international media launch in Athens last week.
The low levels of noise, vibration and harshness in the T7 panel van were impressive for a workhorse. The 2.0l turbo diesel engine is muted and doesn’t have an agricultural character, and the cabin is quiet as it’s separated from the loading bay by a bulkhead.
The van’s standard spec is good and the large infotainment touchscreen and digital instrument panel brings it into the modern era. The Transporter is no longer started by key but with a starter button, and the handbrake lever has been replaced by an electric switch.
I was surprised that only the driver’s seat can be adjusted, however. The two-seater passenger pew is fixed in place and the backrests are quite upright, which could affect long-distance comfort.
The load area is huge, and is accessed by rear barn doors and a single sliding side door.
With outputs of 125kW and a meaty 390Nm of torque, the unladen van felt punchy cruising along hilly coastal roads, with the power effortlessly handled by a smooth eight-speed auto transmission. The test vehicle averaged a frugal 8.0l /100km, though that will increase when loads are carried.
It’s a big vehicle, but light steering makes it easy to drive, and the ride quality is impressively comfortable. Threading the big van through Athens’ narrow city streets was sometimes challenging, but made less so by a relatively small 11.9m turning circle, which is just 1m more than a VW Golf. The vehicle also has a reversing camera that came in handy.
I next drove the long-wheelbase eight-seater Transporter, which has three rows of seats in a 2+3+3 format. In Germany the model is called the Caravelle but in SA the passenger versions will carry Kombi and Kombi Style monikers.
It has a huge boot and vast room for eight adults inside the cabin, though none of the rear seats had adjustable backrests nor rails to slide them fore and aft.
Accessing the third row is simple with a lever that tilts the middle seats forward, and there are sliding passenger doors on each side of the vehicle. The interior can be turned into a panel van by removing all the rear seats, which are lighter than before and easier to handle.
The family Transporter is well equipped with features, including climate control, multifunction steering wheel and USB charging points galore — I think I counted 10.
Versatility and space have always been the VW Transporter’s calling card, and the new T7 brings even more of that with improved refinement and sophistication.
Pricing and full details will be revealed at the local launch.
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