Seven seater comparison review: Volkswagen Multivan

First published in the October 2016 issue of Wheels magazine, Australia’s best car mag since 1953.

The Volkswagen Multivan is the leader of the space race, if not quite the final frontier.

Can’t wait to see the final score? Jump to the verdict now.

Volkswagen invented the MPV. Fact. It happened way back in the 1950s when the nice people at Wolfsburg bolted some extra seats into a Volkswagen Kombi van and created the Microbus. Even the name was clever. And when you look at this latest variation on the theme, it’s quite plain to see that VW’s ’50s mind-set remains. If it ain’t broke, etc…

Trouble is, the rest of the players have embraced newer design elements, leaving VW’s people-mover at risk of becoming an anachronism, purely on the basis of it being so closely related to a commercial vehicle.

The second-row chairs feature armrests and can swivel through 180-degrees to turn the rear of the Multivan into a boardroom. Both rear rows can be removed, too, forming the van that VW would rather you not think about in this context.

The windows are huge and the VW has the most adult-friendly third-row seating, fore-aft adjustment, air vents, cup-holders and a sliding door on each side is a nice touch. If your kids are big or you plan to use the third row all the time, then the Multivan really comes into its own.

Given that you can spend better than $80,000 by shopping at the high end of the VW Multivan range, the $49,990 being asked for this model seems reasonable. Especially when it also includes forward collision warning, city emergency braking and a rear-view camera.

But up against the sophistication of 2016’s finest, the Volkswagen T6 Multivan is incapable of escaping its 2004 origins and its commercial-vehicle upbrining.

Working for its class

Despite the clever touches in the Multivan’s layout and specification, there’s no getting away from the distinct feeling that this is a van converted to civilian duties. So what are the giveaways? Well, let’s start with the look of the thing. It’s boxy, but it’s good, we guess. Then there’s the sliding side doors (which we actually approve of) and the second-row windows that don’t roll down conventionally, but slide also.

Look beyond that, however, and the clever touches like the bottle storage under the dashboard and enough power outlets in the third row for everybody and you can see that plenty of thought has gone into the Multivan, regardless of its origins.

Other seven seater options