2026 Volkswagen Transporter review: Australian first drive

The Volkswagen Transporter lineage can trace its roots all the way back to 1950 when the original Volkswagen Type 2 (T1), known colloquially as the Kombi, became just the second vehicle – behind only the groundbreaking Type 1 (Beetle) – manufactured by the German brand.

Over the intervening 75 years, the Transporter has gone on to become a mainstay of delivery routes the world over.

But this new seventh-generation Transporter brings a seismic shift for the nameplate. The first all-new Transporter in over a decade now shares its underpinnings with its arch-rival, the Ford Transit Custom. The platform-sharing collaboration is a way of future-proofing both stalwarts of loading docks around the world.

It’s a symbiotic relationship and forms part of a bigger collaboration that sees Ford take the small-sized city van Volkswagen Caddy and rebadge it as a Tourneo Connect for European markets. Both are built at Volkswagen’s plant in Poland.

It’s the flipside of the relationship enjoyed by Transporter and Transit Custom, where the Ford favourite largely underpins the Volkswagen icon. Both are built at Ford’s Otosan plant in Turkey.

The local Volkswagen Transporter line-up comprises two power choices – diesel or battery-electric – as well as a range of short- and long-wheelbase variants. Diesel models are available with a choice of front- or all-wheel drive, while the two electric variants are exclusively rear-wheel drive. A range of plug-in hybrid variants are due in the first half of 2026.

Pricing starts at $58,590 for the entry-level Transporter SWB TDI390 FWD and maxes out at $85,590 for the electric LWB BEV415. All prices are before on-road costs and options.

Sharing a platform with its main rival means there are a lot of similarities between the pair. Externally, Volkswagen has done a decent job of ensuring the Transporter looks distinct from its Ford counterpart with distinctive front- and rear-end styling and new front door windows.

Inside, it’s a similar story with a largely similar layout and design, the biggest notable difference the steering wheel and the location of – incongruously – the dashtop cupholders.

It’s all changed under the short stubby bonnet of the Transporter, where a new-to-Volkswagen 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel pushes out 125kW and 390Nm across the entire internal combustion range. Why is it new to Volkswagen? Because it’s a Ford engine – the same mill doing the hard work in the Transit Custom.

It’s a similar tale with electric e-Transporter variants, where a Ford-sourced electric motor at the rear axle provides the motivation. It’s fed by a 64kWh lithium-ion battery pack also sourced from the Blue Oval stable. It’s worth noting, however, that in the Volkswagen, the electric motor makes 210kW and 415Nm; a significant boost over the E-Transit Custom that musters 160kW and 415Nm from its lone power unit.

So how do the Volkswagen Transporter and Ford Transit Custom compare on price? Well, they’re similar, but certainly not identical, a bit like the vans themselves. The entry point into the Transit Custom range, for example, asks for $56,590 before on-road costs, undercutting its twin-under-the-skin by $2000.

At the other end of the spectrum, the equivalent long-wheelbase E-Transit Custom starts from $77,590 before on-road costs.

The days of a bare-bones delivery van are behind us. And that’s reflected in the cabin treatment and standard equipment bundled into the new Volkswagen Transporter.

The entire range benefits from LED head- and tail-lights, push-button start, climate-control air conditioning, three heated seats, a 13-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, inbuilt satellite navigation, DAB+ digital radio, a 12-inch digital cockpit driver display, and seven USB plugs.

A comprehensive suite of safety and advanced driver assist systems are also on hand, including front and rear AEB, adaptive cruise control, traffic sign recognition, lane assist, blind-spot warning, a rear-view camera, and front and rear parking sensors with low-speed AEB.

It’s not exactly a powerhouse of luxury inside, but neither is the passenger compartment bereft of comfort. Three seats across come standard, although buyers can opt for a no-cost deletion of the three-seat bench in favour of a two-seat layout.

The seats themselves, finished in durable cloth trim, are comfortable and nicely bolstered. The extendable under-thigh support is a welcome addition.

When perched in the driver’s seat, it feels quite car- (or SUV-) like, and not at all like sitting on top of a van. The seats are nicely adjustable – although the passenger seats lack any kind of recline function, resulting in a somewhat stiffly upright seating position. Not so the driver’s seat, which does offer a level of recline.

Visibility out front is excellent and rearward sightlines are good, thanks in part to the excellently large side mirrors, but more importantly for a van, a window in the standard-fit metal bulkhead that separates the cabin from the load area.

A delivery van lives or dies by its load capacity, and here it’s good news for the new Volkswagen Transporter. Load length has increased by 60mm over the older model, according to Volkswagen, while payload is up significantly too across the range. A load-through hatch on the bulkhead at the rear of the passenger side seat adds a further 450mm, which is ideal for those long, skinnier items.

The most commodious are the SWB and LWB front-wheel-drive models, with all-wheel-drive variants ceding payload to Volkswagen’s 4Motion system.

Unsurprisingly, electric models give away even more payload thanks to the weight impost of hauling that 64kWh battery pack. A full rundown of load dimensions and weights is listed in the table below.

Access to the cargo area is via a standard-fit tailgate and a kerbside sliding side door. Buyers can option a second sliding door on the driver’s side ($1190) and swap out a lifting tailgate for barn doors ($690).

Other options for the cargo area include the addition of one or two side windows ($490 a pop) and wooden floor coverings with three airline rails that ready the load area for myriad bespoke shelving and cabinets.

Volkswagen Australia offered a taste of both diesel and electric variants of the seventh-gen Transporter at the local launch in Sydney.

First up, the short-wheelbase entry-level diesel front-wheel drive, aka Transporter TDI390 FWD. The 125kW/390Nm diesel engine is not only willing, offering brisk and linear acceleration, but is also remarkably refined.

There’s little in the way of engine noise permeating the cabin, certainly under normal driving conditions. It’s only under harder acceleration that some diesel gruffness permeates the driver's compartment, but even then it remains decently isolated; a distant grumble rather than serenity-shattering rumble.

The eight-speed auto is smooth and responsive, while the steering feels nicely weighted, and light enough to make easy work of tight inner-city enclaves and parking.

Unladen ride comfort is good too, which bodes well for when the Transporter is carrying its full payload, with the suspension set up for vehicles of this ilk tuned for hauling a load weighing up to 1000kg in the back.

The test route plotted by Volkswagen wasn’t overly long, but did take in plenty of Sydney’s industrial heartland, offering a real-world view of what to expect from behind the wheel.

And overall impressions remain strong, the diesel engine proving willing and refined, matched by composed road manners and a lightness of touch to the steering that doesn’t require a workout behind the wheel. That’s important for drivers who will spend their workday navigating urban environments for eight, nine or even 10 hours a day.

In a case of 'out with the old and in with the new', my next delivery run came behind the wheel of the long-wheelbase battery-electric e-Transporter.

It’s powered by a single electric motor driving the rear wheels and making 210kW and 415Nm. A 64kWh battery pack provides the energy, with an estimated driving range of around 330km (WLTP) based on global data. Volkswagen Australia says it’s still finalising the driving range of Australian-specified vehicles.

Whatever the final number is, expect range to decrease with a load in the back, meaning the e-Transporter’s best-use scenario is for businesses and couriers with short daily routes. Those covering longer distances will be better served by diesel options or by the arrival of plug-in hybrid Transporters due in 2026.

It seems amiss to not include adjustable regenerative braking. Selecting 'B' from the gear selector is claimed to optimise the energy harvested through braking, but it's a mild application. Some level of configurability, and even single-pedal driving, would be a welcome addition.

Recharging the battery from 0–100 per cent will take around 7h 30min on a three-phase 11kW AC wall-charger. A peak DC charging rate of 125kW results in a 10–80 per cent recharge time of around 38 minutes.

The EV version of VW’s venerable delivery van doesn't disappoint on the road where acceleration is refined and linear. Thanks to that signature EV instant torque delivery, the e-Transporter feels surprisingly quick, certainly when unladen, hinting at enough in the tank for when the long-wheelbase BEV415 is carrying its full 760kg payload in the back.

As it is in the diesel, ride comfort is excellent, the load-lugger comfortably absorbing the usual road blemishes. Road noise inside the cabin is nicely insulated too, the bulkhead doing its job of isolating the echoing boom from the cargo area.

Like the diesel, the BEV415 feels car-like in its execution; a lively van that feels nimbler than its dimensions suggest.

Much like in the broader passenger car arena, the battery-electric e-Transporter isn’t a solution for everyone. But for those who are served by its range and payload, the e-Transporter presents as a viable option in the still nascent world of e-deliveries.

For everyone else, the tried-and-true diesel Transporter range is a good option. Well appointed, with comfortable road manners and decent performance, the Transporter remains a player in the world of light commercial vehicles.

And while this new platform-shared Volkswagen Transporter has parked its heritage and past, it’s done so with both eyes on the future.

Rob Margeit is an award-winning Australian motoring journalist and editor who has been writing about cars and motorsport for over 25 years. A former editor of Australian Auto Action, Rob’s work has also appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Wheels, Motor Magazine, Street Machine and Top Gear Australia. Rob’s current rides include a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E-Class and a 2000 Honda HR-V Sport.

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