Volkswagen Transporter

The Transporter range of vans has been around since the 1950s and has evolved into a highly competent line-up of commercial vehicles. In that time, more than 8.5 million have rolled off the production line. This version of Volkswagen's Ford Transit and Vauxhall Vivaro rival was launched in 2003, and is bigger, more powerful, and better equipped than the model it replaced. Two diese engines are on offer, with several outputs, ranging from a 85bhp 1.9 TDI to the 174bhp 2.5 TDI.

TDI

Twin rear doors, two sliding side doors and a low sill for ease of loading. You get a choice of three roof heights and two wheelbases. Payload capacity ranges from 834kg to 1297kg and the area of the load space is between 5.8 to 9.3 cubic metres. There are two gross vehicle weight (GVW) options: 2600kg or 3000kg. It's a much improved space over the model it replaced in all respects. A minibus version - the Transporter Shuttle - is available as a cut price alternative to the Transporter-based Caravelle (see separate review).

2.5 TDI