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Volkswagen celebrates the twentieth anniversary of
Page 70
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the all-wheel-drive
Transporter with the
launch of the latest model.
Collin Barnett reports.
For a year or two now, there have been no 4x4 panel vans available off the shelf. But no sooner had we written about Mercedes' Sprinter 4x4 than we were invited to Germany to try out Volkswagen's latest Transporter contender.
The first production Transporter 4x4 was launched in 1985, although trials had been ongoing for most of the preceding decade.The T3 Syncro, of course, was still rearengined and rear driven, so drive had to move forwards. A viscous coupling served to decide when the driven wheels were losing grip and divert drive to the front wheels.The effect was to give the benefits of permanent four-wheel drive without many of the drawbacks; 16in wheels and raised suspension gave increased ground clearance and greater axle articulation.
Twenty years on, apart from the mechanicals being turned through 90', the latest T5 version is essentially the same.The viscous coupling has been changed for a Haldex oil bath multi-plate clutch item, there are some modern electronic aids and the name has changed to 4MOTION [VW's spelling] to bring it in line with VW's passenger car range terminology —but the principle remains unchanged.
An additional bevel gear set on the normal front final drive sends drive through the Haldex coupling and a lockable rear diff to the drive shafts of the independent rear suspension. In normal running, the torque split is around 9010 biased to the front, but when the front wheels spin faster than the rears, signalling loss of traction, an internal oil pump is activated, increasing pressure on the clutch plates that join front and rear.The torque split increases up to a 50-50 distribution, One significant change since the '80s is the increased use of chassis electronics, so the Haldex coupling at the centre of the system now has the help of the ASR traction control system,and ESP stability control when fitted, which sadly it isn't on van versions With electronic control.the system is quick to react —Volkswagen reckons it can be fully locked in less time than it takes the input shaft to turn through 45.
The 4MOTION system takes some 100kg from the Transporter's potential payload. •