George Barrow
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As a four-wheel-drive panel van, the Transporter excels. Like its siblings, it handles itself brilliantly – both onand off-road – while the 138hp engine produces a decent amount of power to suit all terrains. Build quality is exceptionally high and driving it doesn’t become tiresome. However, it is perhaps a little disappointing that you have to look to the options list so regularly for the most basic of equipment, and while the base price isn’t expensive, notching up well over £2,000 worth of extras to specify a modestly equipped van is alarming.
The new Haldex coupling gives the 4Motion the feel of a front-wheel-drive vehicle, while providing the added security of four-wheel-drive, and although you’d expect to suffer on fuel, the 90:10 front-to-rear power bias helps the 4Motion realise impressive fuel consumption figures.
If you need to stray off the asphalt, the 4Motion will deliver in all but the most extreme situations, and although maximum payload is reduced a fraction by the 4WD system, the strong 138hp engine is more than capable of pulling you through, albeit with less gusto than we would like.