In association with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles
7 ways the Volkswagen Multivan is the perfect passenger carrier
We explore all the reasons why Volkswagen’s 7-seater is the ultimate family wagon...
Multi – small word, big connotations. So if you’re going to call a vehicle Multivan, you’ve got to be certain that it’s very good at a lot of different things.
That’s exactly what Volkswagen has achieved with the Multivan – an exceptionally capable machine that can seemingly handle anything that an active family or bustling business can throw at it. Is it the perfect passenger carrier? We think it could be. Here are seven reasons why.
#1 Impressive space and practicality
With the word ‘van’ in the name, you’ll no doubt be expecting plenty of space from Volkswagen’s passenger carrier. And you won’t be disappointed.
The Multivan is perfect for growing active families who like nothing more than going and exploring the outdoors at weekends. Such families tend to bring along a lot of outdoor equipment, be it mountain bikes, climbing kit or rucksacks, but the Volkswagen Multivan is more than capable of accommodating everyone as well as all the essentials they bring with them. Indeed, the long-wheelbase Multivan has a full 661mm of luggage space available, even when all seven seats are in use.
And that spaciousness means the Multivan makes a superb working vehicle for transporting people in luxury, from an airport to a business meeting, for example. The associated equipment might be more office-centric than outdoors, but the Multivan is easily able to carry everything.
#2 Clever flexible seating
True usability is usually found in an ability to adapt to whatever is asked of you. By that metric, the Volkswagen Multivan is extremely user-friendly.
It has seven individual seats that can be folded, slid forward or back, and removed altogether. The middle-row seats can even be swivelled around to face the rear.
And that’s not all, because the Multivan also features a centre console that can be moved around and unfolded to double as a multi-function table – ideal for playing family games during rest stops, or simply catching up with work on the way to and from the airport.
Fold-out trays on the back of the front seats are also ideal for the sort of things that keep children amused on longer journeys.
#3 A choice of efficient powertrains
As befits a vehicle designed with a multitude of uses, there’s a comprehensive range of powertrains available in the Multivan.
Diesel fans are catered for by a 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine that produces 150PS and 360Nm of torque – ideal for relaxed long-distance journeys. Combined WLTP economy of 43.5mpg and a fuel tank capacity of 58 litres also means you and your local fuel station attendants will remain strangers.
If you prefer petrol power, then the 2.0-litre TSI turbocharged petrol engine is right up your street. This engine produces 204PS and 320Nm of torque, and gives the Multivan genuinely sparkling performance, with the 0-62mph sprint despatched in just 9.0 seconds.
There’s also a plug-in hybrid model in the form of the eHybrid. This could best suit those who regularly drive across cities, such as when transporting clients, because it seamlessly blends a 177PS 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor on the front axle, plus a second electric motor on the rear axle. The powertrain generates 245PS as a whole, while the 19.7kWh battery allows the Multivan to travel up to 57.2 miles on electric power alone – a great opportunity to reduce your running costs. Better still, your Multivan has the extra traction and reassurance of four-wheel drive.
#4 A pleasure to drive
We’ve already talked about how well the Volkswagen Multivan caters for families, customers and all of the things they bring along, but what of the person sitting up front? The one with the steering wheel directly ahead of them?
Well, Volkswagen has thought about that person just as hard as anyone else. For a start, there’s a vast amount of space and adjustability for the driving position, which means that getting comfortable is simplicity itself.
The Multivan is also not actually a van, because instead of being based on a commercial vehicle, as its predecessors were, it’s based on the lengthened underpinnings from the Volkswagen Golf, which means it drives brilliantly.
The steering is light and accurate, and the enormous glass area and slim pillars make seeing what’s around very easy indeed. There’s also a large Digital Cockpit Display directly ahead (configurable on some models), plus vast electrically adjustable, heated and folding door mirrors. In addition, systems including Lane Assist, Lane Change Assist, Park Assist and Dynamic Road Sign Display helps keep the driver completely informed.
#5 A wealth of comfort features
As What Car? notes, the Volkswagen Multivan is a comfortable way to travel. Its testers say: “Ride quality is very decent, and the suspension deals with the initial shock of potholes and expansion joints before it gets to you.” That’s thanks to that Golf platform again.
The comfort in the cabin is exceptional, too, with two trim levels available – Life and Style.
Life examples come with parking sensors front and rear, adaptive cruise control, a Ready 2 Discover infotainment system including ‘Streaming and Internet’ with 10-inch colour touch-screen and eight loudspeakers, LED headlights, plus 16in alloy wheels.
Move on to Style and you’ll get 30-colour ambient lighting, heated front seats and steering wheel, rear-seat air-con, plus matrix LED headlights, sat-nav, Alexa voice activation, a heated windscreen and electric sliding doors and tailgate. And for those who demand more, Style also brings you keyless entry and start, and 17in alloy wheels.
#6 Advanced tech features
Communication is vital in the modern world, which is why the Volkswagen Multivan is not only a superb people-carrier, it is also a brilliant office on the move.
To that end, the Multivan Life features a Ready 2 Discover infotainment system and 10-inch full-colour touchscreen display. This set-up not only features an integrated SIM-card, but it also allows simultaneous pairing of two compatible mobile devices. In addition, devices can be connected to it though Bluetooth or two USB-C ports in the front.
And if you download the Volkswagen We Connect app, it allows We Connect1 services, including the ability to find the location of your parked vehicle, receive notifications about servicing, and make emergency and breakdown calls.
Meanwhile, Style models feature the Discover Pro navigation and infotainment system, including DAB+ radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus gesture control.
#7 Iconic design
American memoirist and poet Maya Angelou said it best: “If you don’t know where you've come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” And that statement applies perfectly to the Volkswagen Multivan, a vehicle that pays homage to predecessors, such as the Volkswagen Caravelle, but which is entirely focused on the future of family motoring.
To that end, its styling is a thoroughly modern reinterpretation of its forebearer’s, so everyone can see at a glance that it has all the history and heritage of its bloodline, but with a clear focus on what the family and business transport of tomorrow will require.
Verdict
Want to get away from it all at the weekend? Or do you just want a brilliant working vehicle that can transport up to six passengers in total comfort?
The Volkswagen Multivan is the ideal vehicle in which to do either. As What Car? says: “The Volkswagen Multivan is undoubtedly an MPV for the modern age. Simplicity is long gone, replaced by luxury and usability. Indeed, the Volkswagen Multivan really is the multi-purpose vehicle its MPV categorisation promises.”
The Multivan has vast cabin space and truly flexible seating options, plus plenty of space for luggage, and all of the luxury and communication equipment you could need. As a home away from home for weekend warriors, or cost-effective business transport, it has few rivals and no equals, and it is truly befitting of the ‘Multi’ moniker.
