Volkswagen Multivan test drive since 2003 minivan

German multi -chief

Advanced conservatism. This is the first definition that comes to mind with a cursory view of auto -huts among the commercial cars of the German concern. With a closer acquaintance, it is only strengthened. But who said that observing traditions is bad?!
 



The birthday of Volkswagen commercial cars T is March 8, 1950, and their godfather Ben Ben Pon.
It was according to his sketches that the first folk loaf was created, which became the founder of a whole direction of universal machines with a single -combed body. However, the inspirer of the project is considered to be the general director of the German concern Henry Nordhof. The concept of the machine in 1947 was developed by the designer Alfred Hesner, and the first prototype of the trailer on the wheels saw the light in 1949. A year later, mass production unfolded at the factory in Wolfsburg, and in 1956 it was transferred to Hanover.

 

Initially, the car with a double cab was received by the TYP 2 index, and then it was renamed the more sonorous Transporter, or T1. With a length of 4.3 m and a wheelbase of 2.4 m, a van weighing a little more than a ton could be transported in a compartment with a volume of 2 m3 to 830 kg of cargo. Opposite 1.1-liter engine with a return of only 25 hp. He worked with a 4-speed synchronized manual gearbox. In total, 1.82 million VW T1 was released from the spring of 1950 to the fall of 1967.
 

13 years after the birth of T1, the Transporter Kombi minibus appeared, or VW Bus, which became the progenitor of the current VW Multivan and which the Germans themselves call it only as a bus of all time. Meanwhile, the second generation of commercial machines was produced from 1968 to 1979, the total circulation amounted to 2.93 million copies. The creator of T2 was the designer Gustav Mayer, who is better known as Gustav the conveyor. By the time the model is morally obsolete, its assembly was transferred to factories in Mexico, Brazil and South Africa.
 
In the spring of 1980, the T3 was launched into the series, which retained the previous concept. And 10 years later, in August 1990, the release of a fundamentally new T4 of up to 2.8 tons began. Novelty manifested itself not only in design, but also in a semi -rolling layout, carrier, transverse location of the engine and front -wheel drive. Since 1996, a comfortable Multivan has been created on the basis of the Caravelle minibus. The fourth generation of commercial heaps lasted on the conveyor until the end of 2002. The VW T5 era came, by the beginning of which over 53 years of the history of the lineup, 8.5 million of the TRANSPORTER family was produced.

 

Like the predecessor, TE-fifth has many modifications. One of them is a seven-seater Multivan with a 130-horsepower turbodiesel and a 6-speed manual gearbox, we took for editorial tests. On the electronic odometer, a mileage of only 10 km was listed, and this meant that we were the first! Interest in the car increased because it was projected on the previous experience: in the late 1990s, I had a lot to shave a lot of previous generation on the roads of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. And, as Odessa residents say, these are two big differences, or four small ones.
 
You can’t say right away that Multivan has enlarged in size. This is noticeable when two models stand nearby. Meanwhile, the adjustment of the dimensions by current standards is very significant: T5 has become 101 mm longer, 64 mm wider and 24 mm higher. Others lie behind external differences. So, the useful volume of the cabin grew to 5.4 m3. The folding table on the T4 gave way to a folding original design on T5. A lot of drawers, pockets and shelves appeared in the cabin, designed to raise comfort to a new level. A 1.5-liter bottle with a drink is now easily fits in the door pocket, and a drawer on two persons appeared on the central console: its holders are able to wrap jars of soda with a capacity of 0.33 or 0.5 liters. The body received a 12-year factory guarantee from through corrosion. But before, such generous advances were issued only to cars operated in a more gentle mode.

 
A pleasant innovation sliding glass in the side doors. Now there is no need to ask the driver to switch the ventilation to a more intensive mode: it has become stuffy to open the window and get the influx of fresh air; It became chilly you can slightly cover the glass or close completely. Through the fifth door, access to three drawers under the rear sofa opens. One inconvenience: if the car is parked close to another car or to the back fence, it is problematic to open the back door, because it rises up. There are no complaints about the rear side doors: they are shifted without much difficulty and are reliably fixed in the extreme position. That's just the effort should be decent. And in relation to the weak floor, just remarkable. However, is this female business to clap doors
 
We talked about the basic and additional equipment of the TE-Fifth in the last issue of the magazine. And in order not to repeat ourselves, let's talk about the practicality of the car with which we spent more than one day. Let's start, of course, with the salon.

 

It is not difficult to choose a convenient position behind the wheel of TE-FISH: the designers made sure that both the shorty and tweed themselves well. Several simple manipulations by adjusting devices and feel at ease. An overview from the driver’s place is beautiful even without outside help, you can maneuver on tiny heels, not fearing what will come, as experts say, an insured event. However, the rear is clearly not enough parking sensors: when the score is centimeters, not everyone wants to tempt fate and gravely murient.
But Multivan is freed from captivity of a close show room, and we set off. The nasty voice of an on -board computer with a small interval repeats the phrase Bitte, Tanken three times (please refue it). And without a hint, we know that we need to go to the gas station, the red lamp is burning with a non -extinguishing light, and we, thank God, are not a color blind. The bay neck is located on the left, and therefore it is very convenient to drive up to the column. A couple of minutes and the procedure is over. Now quickly in the transport stream. It doesn’t work quickly. Firstly, the dynamics are weaker than expected, and secondly, on the calendar Friday, which means, on the roads of traffic jams.

   

At a three-quarter length, we fall into a green wave, and our 130-horsepower T5 confidently holds in a stream of hurrying foreign cars. But let's not forget: we go empty (driver + passenger), and what will happen with maximum loading. There is no need to reason about driving with a 750-kilogram trailer without brakes, and even more so with a trailer weighing 2500 kg, equipped with brakes: this is from the category of blitz-questions for experts. For Russian motorists, in my opinion, a turbodiesel of the same volume with a return of 174 horses or a gasoline V6 with a capacity of 235 hp. A six -speed manual gearbox is flawless, but a six -speed machine with a Tiptronic system would look more logical on such a car. However, this is a matter of taste. It is a goodwill to the steering wheel and good maneuverability for a weak motor. However, I would like to have less radius of turn: on narrow streets with a bilateral single -lane movement sometimes you do not fit into a semicircle from the first attempt. Yes, and the rolls of the body in high -speed turns could be less. But the sound insulation is good: notes of a working motor do not bother the driver and passengers. And even with a car radio on, the trip is completely enjoyed.

  

The salon was truly impressed with its versatility: in it you can not only change the number of seats, but also turn it into a small bedroom. It is not without reason that in the list of additional equipment there is even a sleeping set: dense curtains and a bed rug. And the sofa for relaxation is a triple rear seat, which is easily transformed from the seal into the sleeping. The universal system of roller supports and guides in the floor allows you to move two autonomous chairs at your discretion. Both (as, by the way, driver and navigator), with lumbar support and folding armrests. There are so many possibilities of transforming the salon that the designers did not even bother to count them. By and large, their list is limited only by the imagination of the user.
 
Autography
Volkswagen Multivan T5
Predecessor
VW Multivan T4 (1998)
Premiere
sENTYABR 2003
Engines
104-235 hp
Production
Germany

The car is provided by Rus-Llan.
During the test, the car is insured by LLC Nation Center.


Text: Alexander Trokhachev
Photo: Yuri Dorodonov
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Source: Wheel magazine [No. 74/2003]