VOLKSWAGEN MULTIVAN

New-generation multi-purpose carry-all gets latest drivetrain and tech updates

- FELIX PAGE

TESTED 10.5.22, LONDON ON SALE NOW

VOLKSWAGEN MULTIVAN LWB 2.0 TSI STYLE DSG

This, if you like, is peak Volkswagen: a sharp but sensible people mover with subtle stylistic nods to its predecessors, a boatload of standard equipment and an array of variants to cater cost-effectively to wildly different demographics.

On moving from generation six (T6) to seven (T7), the Caravelle becomes the Multivan, arriving just as VW prepares to welcome the similarly positioned but all-electric ID Buzz into showrooms and the new Ford E-Transit Custom looks to provide the innards of the next generation of the more commercially minded Transporter.

Unlike them, the Multivan uses a much more familiar platform: the faithful MQB architecture, which over the past decade has proved its worth as a refined and well-rounded basis for everything from the Audi A3 to the Skoda Superb and Cupra Formentor. What this gives the Multivan is an easy one-up over rivals such as the Citroën Spacetourer and Mercedes V-Class, which soldier on with van-based platforms and all the refinement implications that brings.