WHY THE VW KOMBI IS STILL SO POPULAR

LIKE the Volkswagen Beetle of yore, the Transporter range, or just plain Kombi, is instantly recognisable despite having gone through a myriad changes over the years.

The difference is when VW updated the Beetle it missed a retro trick and it didn’t exactly sell in numbers while the Kombi held its own and its popularity continued.

I suppose the fact that it’s incredibly practical in terms of carrying people, can be converted into a camping set-up, carries those long planks with ease and seating can be arranged in a variety of different configurations has a lot to do with it.

Officially known as the T6.1 range, the one we had on test was the Volkswagen Transporter 2.0TDI crew bus LWB auto in Trendline spec.

Under the hood, or rather the redesigned front end, is, as the name suggests, a 2.0-litre turbo diesel that pushes out 110kW and 340Nm coupled to a seven-speed gearbox driving the front wheels. There’s the option of a five-speed manual transmission but I reckon when you’re driving comfortably in a bus it’s the auto you want.

There’s also the option of a 146kW and 450Nm with 4Motion all-wheel drive, but for everyday use I found the less tuned one on test more than sufficient.

Gear changes were smooth throughout and with seven adults on a 200km round trip for a family outing, the engine provided enough power and was never found wanting, even up steep inclines.

Also, you’re not buying it because of its speed, although VW claims a top speed of 172km/h. To be honest, I’ll take their word for it rather than see whether it can.

I also found that with a group of people the car was quieter inside than with only two up, possibly because the weight settled all the little rattles that bedevil a bus-type vehicle (and it’s not unique to VW) and the volume dampens much of the road noise. Kudos to VW though for keeping wind noise to a minimum, even at the national speed limit.

Connecting the phone to Bluetooth is a simple task but here again the volume of the crew bus apparently makes you sound like you’re talking in a tunnel, so it’s not ideal for complicated business discussions, but rather the daily bread and milk calls.

The double sliding side doors are exactly what you need in a parking lot for passenger entry and exit and for placing the odd shopping bag, and the rear seats fold forward easily with enough space for the elderly to egress.

Our car was fitted with the optional leatherette seats which looked hardwearing and a bonus considering its likely to have a lot of traffic during its use as a people carrier.

If you’ve never driven a Kombi I suggest you do so simply because the driving position is so unique and comfortable, more so than a large SUV. You sit high and upright, the steering wheel pointed up at you, and with reach and rake it’s not a problem to keep an eye on the analogue dials with digital readouts between the two showing figures such as consumption, tyre pressure, range and electronic speed.

The one thing that did stand out however with passengers is that there are no cup holders or charging points behind the driver and passenger compartment. For a vehicle that’s likely to be used almost exclusively by families, I can’t understand why the designers didn’t take this into account, especially with youngsters and their devices and energy drinks. So it’s left for a “boer maak ’n plan” solution.

It doesn’t take anything away from the drive though and there are a lot of them on the road, and once you’ve driven one and are in the right target market you’ll understand why.