Volkswagen Transporter long-term test: report 5
The VW Transporter has long been a staple of the medium van market, so now we're living with one to see if it can be the perfect photographer's apprentice...
The car Volkswagen Transporter panel van T32 Commerce Pro 2.0 TDI | Run by Max Edleston, photographer
Why we’re running it To see how well Volkswagen’s latest medium-sized van stacks up as a photographer’s apprentice
Needs to Offer more than enough space for all of our kit, long-distance comfort and connectivity to keep in touch with the office
Mileage 8406 Price £48,720 (inc. VAT) Best Price £48,720 (inc. VAT) Price as tested £51,102 (inc. VAT) Official economy 36.7mpg Test economy 36.4mpg
24 October 2025 – Secret storage solutions
Rather worryingly, recent research from Volkswagen has revealed that one-in-four van drivers had reported something being stolen from their van in 2024 – a figure that’s up by 19% on 2023. Clearly, then, keeping your valuables out of sight in a van is important, and it’s something that my Volkswagen Transporter has been helping with recently.
You see, while I used to leave my rucksack – containing, among other things, my wallet, camera lenses and batteries – in the back of the van, I was worried about it rolling around and potentially damaging valuable equipment. So now, instead, I leave it underneath the passenger seat.
Yes, I recently discovered that lifting up the Transporter’s passenger seat reveals an area that’s big enough to securely hold my main camera bag in place. That means not only does it risk getting bashed into the main cargo area by any of the flight cases of kit I usually carry with me, but is also kept away from the prying eyes of any passersby.
It won’t shock you to learn that spending much of my time on the road means that I’m a frequent visitor to roadside cafes and service stations, and here too the Transporter has been helping me to enjoy my lunch in comfort. I recently discovered that the hard table-like surface of the middle passenger seat, once it’s folded down, contains a recess which is just the right size for a portion of chips, for example. It’s not quite as effective as the Ford Transit Custom’s steering-wheel table, but it does give me somewhere to eat.
There’s also a flip-down cup holder on the Transporter’s centre console, but I’ve found that it’s very specific about the size of cup it’ll take – too small or too large, and you’re likely to find your feet swimming in lemonade. And while I’m conducting a nationwide study to see which cups provided by fast food outlets offer the best fit, I’m yet to find a winner. And while it’s a bit annoying that the cup holder isn’t large enough to hold my water bottle, I can at least keep this in the Transporter’s door bin instead.
I think the Transporter would really benefit from some overhead storage, like I had in the Citroën Berlingo I ran a few years ago. That was useful for storing papers, my laptop, and a couple of space copies of What Car? for photographic reference. I can’t see this listed as an option on the Transporter’s online configurator, but maybe it should be.
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