Volkswagen Transporter long-term test
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 14,134 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 Running costs (excl. depreciation) £2605 (fuel)
23 February 2026 – Why my favourite company car wasn't a car at all
If you were to drive around the entire coastline of the UK in what would surely be quite an interesting road trip, the total distance you’d cover would equate to around 11,000 miles. And that distance is less than I’ve covered at the wheel of my Volkswagen Transporter over the past six months. So when I say that it is among the best cars I’ve had during my time as an automotive photographer, I feel well qualified to say so.
And for a road trip of that magnitude, I don’t think there are many more comfortable vans than my Transporter. Even when my days frequently required early starts, late finishes and many hours spent driving to different shoot locations, the Transporter’s comfortable and supportive driver’s seat meant I arrived ready to work. Easy adjustment to the driver’s seat and steering wheel meant that I always found my driving position easily – despite my van being regularly requested by other members of the team to help them with odd jobs.
Yes, as I’ve written about previously in these reports, my popularity soared when colleagues, friends and family found out I had a van as my company car. And offers of coffee, meals and hang-outs were usually accompanied by pleas for assistance with everything from muddy garden furniture to mattresses.
No matter what we hurled into the back of the Transporter, it never seemed to fill. And thanks to the multitude of lashing points found in the rear, I was able to stop my more expensive photography kit from bouncing around as we drove along.
I also found two admittedly niche uses for my van during its time with me. First, I used it for tracking for several shoots, with me buckled into the back and the rear doors open, turning the Transporter into a mobile photography platform. And second, when my plans for a wedding hotel fell through, I found I could spend a passable night sleeping in the back of my van.
While most of my trips were undertaken solo, I did squeeze three passengers into my van on occasion. And while neither of my front-bench companions were as comfortable as they might be in, say, the Volkswagen Passat I ran previously, everyone who sat in the Transporter was pleasantly surprised by how well it catered for them. Indeed, the feedback I received most often was how well laid out the Transporter’s interior was, offering more storage trays, slots and cubby holes than anyone could have use for.
One I found particularly useful was under the passenger seat, because lifting it up revealed an area just large enough to hold my camera bag securely and away from prying eyes. My only frustration here was the lack of an overhead locker like I had on the Citroën Berlingo van I ran previously, which was useful for storing paperwork between jobs, but that’s a small gripe.
To drive, I found the Transporter’s 148bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine to be gutsy – even when hauling around the contents of various friends’ houses. I found I had to work the six-speed manual gearbox a bit harder to make the most of gaps in the traffic in such situations, but that was no hardship.
I’m impressed with my van’s final fuel economy figure of 35.1mpg. Yes, it’s a little behind the official figure of 36.7mpg, but considering the varied uses and journeys I’ve put my Transporter through, it’s a number I’m happy with.
While there’s no getting away from the fact that, at 4.9m long, the Transporter is longer than most other vehicles, it never felt daunting to park thanks to its larger door mirrors and rear-view camera. If I were to have my time with the Transporter again, though, I’d plunder the options list for the digital rear-view mirror, since towards the end of my time I began to miss being able to clearly see what was behind me.
As the end of my time with the Transporter neared, I found myself beginning to miss this spacious, reliable workhorse. Ultimately, it’s probably a bit too big for my needs, because as I’ve said, I never managed to fill it up. But as a tool for getting me and my kit wherever I needed to go, as well as taking on a stack of odd jobs in-between, it was practically faultless. It turns out, then, that the best company car for me wasn’t a car at all – it was a van.
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