Drive Review: Volkswagen Caravelle T6 4Motion

The sixth generation of VW’s family favourite – the Kombi, the ‘Bus’, Microbus, ‘Gus’ – is now available locally, 65 years after the first ‘Bulli’ rolled off the assembly line in Wolfsburg. Besides a broad range of engines, derivatives and transmissions, higher equipment levels, short and long-wheelbase derivatives the new Volkswagen T6 range also offers improved safety features, comfort, convenience and greater driving dynamics thanks to a strict diet.

Caravelle T6 tests with specs and pricing South Africa

Nearly 2 million units of its T5 predecessor (over 23 400 in South Africa) were sold around the world in eleven years, and  nearly 12 million Kombi’s have been sold worldwide since the first model was introduced in 1955.

Available with a range of body styles, from a simple single cab Pick Up workhorse to the range topping “office on wheels” Volkswagen Caravelle which we had, the popular people mover now has a sharper redesigned front end with its design lines, beads and edges running continuously from front to back. The entire body has the appearance of being all one piece, as if milled from a solid block.

The attractive design maintains that blocky appearance but now tauter and smoother and our Caravelle T6 certainly looked at ease whether waiting outside the entrance of a Sandton hotel or next to a lake in Dullstroom. Being the original people mover, the shape is instantly recognisable and evokes strong family memories –it always seems to crop up in the family photo album.

Unlike the KIA Sedona, in the Volkswagen Caravelle T6 you sit high while the view ahead is unobstructed. At first it can be intimidating, the driving position is fairly vertical, the pedals seem far away and the steering adjustment doesn’t offer much. Because of its size, you tend to check the mirrors frequently while subconsciously avoiding those tighter parking spaces.

The instruments are kept at an arm’s length but to their credit are nicely finished with gloss black inserts for a smart and elegant look, almost matching the V-Class for overall plushness but suffering one or two instances of glare. Meanwhile the dials work with precision and quietness while the touchscreen has proximity sensors to pre-empt your next move.

Powered by the 2.0 BiTDI power plant turning 132kW 400Nm through a 7-speed DSG, the new Volkswagen Caravelle is unique in this segment because it gives customers the security of VW’s 4Motion all-wheel drive system. Useful if heavy rainfall has made that favourite picnic spot inaccessible for most or merely for the fact that it provides greater stability and instills confidence behind the wheel.

The engine however is insipid (even when unladen) and overtaking upwards of 80km/h does take considerable time (and road) while the drivetrain at low speeds, particularly when reversing uphill, can be snatchy, preventing you from modulating the power smoothly. The KIA Sedona and Hyundai H1 both have better diesel mills.

Other negatives included bulky second and third row seats which consumed a lot of unnecessary space and the table mostly playing havoc with the seating configurations. Because of this Volkswagen Caravelle T6 doesn’t seat as many (comfortably) as the packaging suggests and you’re forever compromising one end to satisfy the other.

Cheap covers for seat mechanisms felt flimsy and whether you’re pulling or swivelling, the seats don’t glide or rotate as smoothly as they should, needing some physical strength to get them into position. Even the sliding door squeaked and wobbled on its rails when closing.

Having recently driven the Passat you’d assume the Caravelle would include some of the same comfort features. Pity the specification is sparse, not offering a rear-facing camera while other omissions included items like electric tailgate, lane departure warning and active cruise control – all offered on the cheaper KIA Sedona. The T6 Volkswagen Caravelle has a distinct shortage of technology considering its premium price.

Overall we weren’t blown away by the latest Volkswagen Caravelle T6. The engine is lethargic when tasked with overtaking and doesn’t manoeuvre around at slow speed with any grace. VW has been a bit shy when it comes to bestowing it with the latest driver and convenience systems and that’s a real shame when they’d be ideally suited to this application. We’d buy the KIA Sedona which exhibits those car-like tendencies and packs greater technology, not to mention a cheaper price.

This review was written in conjunction with Ferdi de Vos at AutoNews