VW TRANSPORTER
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Price as tested: £19,788 (ex-VAT). Includes £15,841 for the basic vehicle; £1,068 for Abstraction control; £224 for the driver's airbag; £298 for central locking; £47 for the half-height bulkhead; £404 for electric windows/ mirrors; £893 for alloy wheels; £183 for front fog lights; £145 for load-floor mat; £195 for headlight washers; £141 for tinted windows; and £349 for the towing pack.
Engine: 2.5-litre petrol, 110hp (81 kW).
GVW: 2,800kg. Payload: 1 ,045kg.
Fuel consumption (laden): 22.4mpg (12.614/100km).
/n a range of vehicles as extensive as the Volkswagen Transporter, there will inevitably be a few variants aimed exclusively at niche markets. Its SWB van version, with a 110hp five-cylinder petrol engine and automatically engaged fourwheel drive, probably occupies the smallest niche of them all. Our test vehicle features a significant proportion of the available options, taking the price to a fraction under £20,000 (exVAT).
• VW targets this version at users such as courier firms and police forces in the more northerly parts of the country (while the diesel bus version is apparently popular with Scottish trawlermen!).
• PRODUCTIVITY The Syncro four-wheel-drive system incurs a payload penalty of 100kg, as well as preventing the spare wheel being fitted in the standard under-floor location. The previously optional (and costly) spare wheel bracketry on the outside of the offside rear door is now standard; part of Volkswagen's recent move to improved specifications and price cuts.
This eliminates the loadspace intrusion of the previous Syncro spare wheel mounting, but has security and convenience implications.
VW publishes a fuel consumption figure of 20.9mpg (13.5lit/ 100km) for the two-wheel-drive version of this van with a 50%
payload on board. Round CM's Kent test
route, fully laden and in less than ideal conditions, it managed an impressive 22.4mpg (12.61it/ 100km). Our figure is all the more creditable as part of the journey was marred by an intermittent part throttle misfire which manifested itself in wet conditions, but has yet to be identified by VW • ON THE ROAD The transversely-mounted 2.5litre five-cylinder petrol engine tested here does not have the highest torque figure in the range (that honour falling to the 2.5-litre TDI with its stump-pulling 250Nm), but it does produce at least 85% of its maximum torque throughout the useable engine speed range.
In-cab noise levels in this version, with its half-height steel (optional) bulkhead are dominated by tyre noise amplified by the load space.
Mechanical noise is largely limited to a distant rendition of that distinctive five-cylinder growl reminiscent of an Audi Quattro. The other feature shared with that distant cousin, fourwheel drive, is totally seamless in operation, and free of any outward evidence of its existence.
The Syncro system normally transmits torque to the front wheels, but any slippage is detected by the rear mounted viscous coupling and distributed according to available grip. When the going gets really tough a rear cross-axle diff-lock can be engaged pneumatically via a large knob on the lower dash.
In normal on-road use the van is almost totally immune to the usual weight transfer-induced wheelspin of front-wheel drive vans, increasing the safety factor during manoeuvres such as emerging from side roads in the wet. How much of this can be attributed to the ABS-linked traction control, and how much to the four-wheel drive, could not be established during this short test.
However, Volkswagen makes the point that the Transporter Syncro is not intended to be an out-and-out off-roader. With this in mind, off-road testing was limited to a brief foray around a grassy, muddy hillside. Provided that some momentum was gained on the flat, its hill-climbing ability was respectable —although ultimately limited by the road-biased tyres.
If anything, its ride is improved by the longer travel suspension fitted to the Syncro version, showing remarkable composure over the worst metalled surfaces. The body showed excellent integrity, with just the slightest bang from the rear doors on the very worst potholes, no doubt helped by the optional bulkhead. The higher centre of gravity could be expected to adversely affect the handling, but competent chassis control reduces any ill-effects to a minimum.
Climbing aboard, the first thing you notice is the rather high step of the Syncro version; a grab handle would be appreciated by the less athletic. The driver's seat has a wide range of adjustment, although none for lumbar support, and is firm in a typically Teutonic manner.
The excellent carderived dashboard is unchanged; the deeply inset instrument panel remains a paragon of reflectionfree design. Our only real criticism in the cab area is the radio. The SonyNW unit in the test vehicle not only had fairly mediocre audio qualities but also lacked the RDS which is surely essential for any driver these days.
The longer travel suspension would make this van an ideal candidate for remote headlamp levelling as standard. Electrically adjusted and heated door mirrors could only be faulted for a slightly inadequate range of adjustment, while the rearmounted spare wheel steals about 20% of the area visible through the interior mirror. Another minor annoyance was
• SUMMARY driver's seat has a wide range of adjustments. The Syncro system
was probably conceived with snowy mountain passes in mind, but it also provides additional insurance on greasy city streets, albeit with a £3,000 premium.
Anyone needing a van to deliver a one-tonne payload, quickly, and despite most of what the British weather has to offer, will find themselves looking at a very short list, comprising conversions of the Ford Transit and Peugeot Boxer from County and Dangel respectively. However these are more rugged and less refined, and aimed at different markets.
Mercedes and Renault recently unveiled their contenders for this sector; we look forward to assessing them against the VW CM's respect for the Transporter family is a matter of record. While we remain slightly unsure of this version's exact role, there is no doubt that it fulfils it very well, with an all-round mix of ability and refinement which is currently unmatched.
0 by Colin Barnett MODEL Volkswagen Transporter Syncro 1 200SWB Van.
ENGINE Volkswagen five-cylinder electronic fuel-injection petrol engine with threeway catalytic converter. Capacity: 2,461cc. Maximum net power: 1 1 Ohp (81 kW) at 4,50Orpm
Maximum net torque: 1 401bft (190Nrn) at 2,20Orpm.
TRANSMISSION
Volkswagen five-speed allsynchromesh manual gearbox.
WEIGHTS Load area: 4.0m2. Load volume: 5 4m3. Axle design weights: Front, 1,480kg; rear, 1,490kg. GTW: 4,500kg.