Volkswagen Transporter long-term test: report 8
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 13,110 Price £48,720 (inc. VAT) Best Price £48,720 (inc. VAT) Price as tested £51,102 (inc. VAT) Official economy 36.7mpg Test economy 35.1mpg
10 January 2026 – Carry on camping
I’m sure that at some point or another we’ve all gone on a long trip only to find we’ve forgotten something – or forgotten to do something before we left. So you can probably empathise when I was invited to a friend’s wedding recently and completely forgot to book a hotel to stay the night in. In most cars, this would be a big issue – but in my Volkswagen Transporter, it provided the opportunity for an interesting test.
After several hours of disco dancing, I returned to the Transporter keen to get my head down, though not looking forward to having only my phone light to see with. Thankfully, the Transporter has an additional internal light on its back set of doors – as well as overhead lights which operate on a timer.
It wasn’t the most comfortable night’s sleep I’ve ever had, but I felt smug knowing that a) mine was the wedding transport which was able to function as a mobile hotel and b) my overnight stay had cost a lot less than most people.
In other news, we’ve recently had a new addition to the family in the form of Dougie, a Westie puppy. And on a recent trip to show him off to my friends and parents I was able to put my new pet-friendly travel cot to good use. Not only does this keep Dougie from roaming around the Transporter’s interior, but it allows him to have a good look around at the world going by.
He was clearly impressed with the Transporter’s ride quality, too, because despite usually being a bundle of unstoppable energy, Dougie was quickly found to be snoring on the passenger seat.
So whether you stand on two legs or four, it seems, the Transporter is a good choice for a nap.
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