Volkswagen Transporter review

The car-like feeling continues inside, and if you’ve driven any VW hatchback or SUV in the last decade you’ll prod away at all the controls without even looking. And given the T6 launched before the Mk8 Golf era, all of the air con controls (if you’ve specced it – it’s optional on lowlier T6.1s) remain physical. Hurrah! The touchscreen above has DAB, CarPlay and the like as standard, and can be upgraded to a bigger 8-inch screen with sat nav for £1,416. Yowch.

It’s arguably a bit too car-like in here, mind. Where the Ford Transit has clearly been developed in the field – with slots, trays and cubbyholes that swallow up all of the drive-thru staples with millimetric precision – the Transporter finds itself wanting a little.

There are ginormous door bins – and plentiful places to stow things away up front – but you’re best eating your sausage rolls by the side of the road if you don’t want flakes of pastry sprinkled around like the first snowflakes of winter. Maybe VW just reckons we should all take proper breaks and not try to combine mealtime and worktime. Maybe VW is right.

You certainly wouldn’t want greasy fingers in the Sportline. That gets nappa leather and Alcantara upholstery with red stitching and loads of kit like heated seats, a digital dash and gloss black trim.

Heading into the back – the most important part of van – yields greater news. Compared to rear-driven vans, the front-drive T6.1 has minimal intrusions and the wheel arches barely impede a truly cavernous space. We’ve only had the shortest Transporters in both length and height, but much like in the engine bay, we’ve never wished for more. It’s a highly useable space back there, with a big door aperture on the side.