Volkswagen Transporter Kombi review

The diesels start at £43,171. That’s for the base 108bhp with the six-speed manual. It’s around £2k extra for the 148bhp model, more if you want the eight-speed automatic, and another £3k again if you want all-wheel drive.

It's £51,583 for the 168bhp version, which forces you to step up a trim level. Not cheap.

But wait. Because the Transporter is a commercial vehicle, you can reclaim the VAT if you’re buying this with your company ID pinned to your shirt. That means a starting figure of £36,045 for the base diesel, or £43,055 for the most powerful one. 

Much more agreeable. And the other versions?

The plug-in hybrid comes in just the one guise and starts at £48,883. We say that, you can also have it with the long wheelbase, which costs another £1k-1.5k whether you go diesel, PHEV or e-Transporter.

Speaking of… the e-Transporter Kombi starts at £48,803 – including the Plug-In Van Grant, which shaves £5k off the purchase price for the base 134bhp electric motor; your only option in the entry-level trim. Otherwise it's roughly £7k more for the 215bhp motor, or a minimum of £59,327 for the range-topping 282bhp version. How deep are those pockets of yours?

To give you some perspective, the base panel van starts some £3k cheaper if excluding VAT; the VW Multivan (which isn’t eligible for commercial van tax incentives because it is classed as a passenger vehicle) begins from £50k ish; an ID.Buzz around £60k.

What are these different trims you speak of?

Ah, this one's simpler. The Transporter Kombi comes in four trims, skipping the panel van’s bare-bones Commerce spec, meaning you’re straight into Commerce Plus, Commerce Pro, Commerce Pro S and finally Sportline!

Commerce Plus gets 16in steel wheels (with covers), LED headlights, body coloured bumpers, dual sliding doors, 12in digital driver's screen, 13in touchscreen with wireless smartphone pairing, parking sensors front and rear, a rear-view camera, cruise control, keyless start… all far removed from a typical workaday van.

Step up to Commerce Pro and you get 16in silver alloys, privacy glass in the rear windows, heated windscreen, heated seats, wireless phone charging, a 360-degree view camera, and keyless entry.

Commerce Pro S adds 17in black alloys, (powered) mirrors and various bits of trim, plus a slightly fancier interior.

Only recently introduced to the range, the Sportline gets 19in alloys, 29mm lowered suspension, a sportier bodykit, roof rails, Matrix LED headlights, leather sports seats with red stitching, and Sportline branding throughout. You still have to impersonate your own V6 though.

I don’t know where to start. What would you choose?

We’d be tempted by the Commerce Pro; it gets proper 16in alloys – finished in silver which look 10x better than the black alloys to our eyes – plus a few more mods cons for little extra cash over the base model.

The long wheelbase version also feels like a no-brainer to us. As for the powertrain, we’ve only tested the 168bhp diesel so far; we wouldn’t look below the 148bhp version if you’re regularly going to be travelling fully loaded with offspring or paraphernalia (or both).