VW LT32 MIND
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IPRICE AS TESTED: £18,120 (ex-VAT). ENGINE: 2.5-litre, 94hp (70kW). GVW: 3,200kg. PAYLOAD: 1,223kg (with 754 driver). FUEL CONSUMPTION (LADEN): 27.8mpg (16.311t/100km).
t's obvious that the Volkswagen IT van range and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter have a common ancestry, but since their introduction they've gradually gone their separate ways. This divergence was highlighted early in 2000, when the LT missed out on the major internal makeover the Sprinter received. As it can safely be assumed that the main reason for the Sprinter's facelift was to counter criticism that the original 1995 product was beginning to show its age, does this also mean the VW version has been cast adrift and forgotten by its makers?
We had begun to think so, but Volkswagen has now confirmed its faith in the LT with the launch of a raft of improvements for the latest models. The good news is that the rationalised range offers significantly more van for your money, but the interior remains effectively unchanged.
Externally, the revised LTs can be identified by white indicator lenses at the front and power output badges on the wings. ABS brakes with EDL traction control, previously a £750 option, are now standard, as is tinted glass. The basic spec on medium and longwheelbase models includes a high roof, but it can be changed for a low roof, saving /78o and 25kg.
Under the bonnet, a new line-up of TDI engines consists of five-cylinder 2.5-litre units rated at 82, 94 and io7hp and a 2.8-litre fourcylinder unit rated at 129hp. By the end of the year this will be replaced by an uprated version which, with 156hp and 331Nm on tap, will pip the top-of-the-range Sprinter to the title of Europe's strongest van.
The major change to the range, however, is the introduction of a new LT32 variant, bridging the gap between the current LT28 and 35 models. Compared with the I128, an extra £1,200 buys you 34 okg more payload, but saves 11,340 against the 3 ookg higher LT35. Our test subject is the LT32 in medium-wheelbase, high-roof form, powered by the new 94hp engine.
PRODUCTIVITY
The combination of tall roof and relatively short overall length might not result in the most elegant-looking duckling in the pond, but it does provide an awful lot of load volume in a handy-sized package.
Van designs are beginning to go the way cars did a few years ago: put the same parameters into the CAD system and it will come up with the same result every time. Any difference in kerbweights for a given body dimension will be minimal, and the LT32's payload of 1,223kg is bang on the class norm. No doubt the same reasoning is responsible for the fact that its laden fuel figure of 27.8mpg is
within a whisker of its 3.2-tonne opponent The unglazed rear doors have clean, eas to-use catches to hold them at 90° and 18c 270° doors are an option. The lack of a re step makes frequent access to the 650mn high load floor something of an athletic cha lenge, and it's not much better through if metre-wide side-loading door. An unglaze full-height steel bulkhead is standard, but if phenolic resin floor and ply-lined sides of oi test van are not.
It's little wonder that the retail motor trac claims to be struggling these days. LTs nee to visit the workshop for a major servic once a year or every 30,000 miles, with a interim oil change at 15,000 miles. VW warranty is reasonably generous, wit unlimited distance for the first year and VI UK-provided driveline cover up to thrE years or io 0,00 o miles. A year's worth roadside assistance is also included.
ON THE ROAD
At 3.2 tonnes, the new 94hp engine providE quite enough power to cope. Gear changes vi the legendary lever (the butt of a thousand vu gar jokes and now abandoned by Mercede are pretty smooth, but there's a noticeable ga in the ratios between third and fourth. It's di: appointing that VW provides a rev countE only in the 4.6-tonne LTs, as it would be a be ter productivity aid than the large clock fitte
its place, particularly as the cab is suffi,ently well insulated to make it hard to hear hat the engine's doing.
Handling of the well-sorted rear-wheelrive chassis is drama-free in all situations rid the all-disc ABS brakes are equally up to re task, although the long pedal travel is still feature to be aware of The tall and short layut was noticeable on windy motorways, and got a bit wobbly in some of the crosswinds le encountered during our tenure.
That original cockpit layout still looks dated, particularly the hard black plastic dash moulding, but the use of lighter grey panels lower down gives some relief. Bes:.des the visual issues, the LT's interior also shows its age in terms of space efficiency. The ingenuity taken for granted in more recent designs is lacking, with little more than the large gloyebox and a selection of door pockets to its name. There's certainly nowhere for the currently fashionable two-litre water bottle, apart from on the passenger bench seat.
One of CM'S testers, whose hormones (or pasties) made him grow upwards instead of outwards as nature intended, complained that if the seat is far enough away to provide enough legroom, the steering wheel is too far away to reach withoc t a strain. The otherwise comfortable seat is also rather lacking in "uprightness".
1221=1
There's never been any doubt about the LT's i3ility to do the job. But, rightly or wrongly, the showroom appeal factor is playing an increasing part in the van-buying equation. From the driving seat the latest LT remains a little uninspiring, but from the fleet manager's swivel chair the view is altogether more appealing.
With productivity figures the equal of any and VW's traditionally high build standards, albeit with VW's traditionally high front-end prices, the purchase of an LT will definitely be ruled by the head and not the heart.
• by Colin Barnett