This, if you like, is peak Volkswagen: a sharp but sensible people mover with subtle stylistic nods to its predecessors, a boatload of standard equipment and an array of variants to cater cost-effectively to wildly different demographics.
On moving from generation six (T6) to seven (T7), the Volkswagen Caravelle becomes the Volkswagen Multivan, arriving just as VW prepares to welcome the similarly positioned but all-electric ID Buzz into showrooms and the new Ford E-Transit Custom looks to provide the innards of the next generation of the more commercially minded Transporter.
Unlike them, the Multivan uses a much more familiar platform: the faithful MQB architecture, which over the past decade has proved its worth as a refined and well-rounded basis for everything from the Audi A3 to the Skoda Superb and Cupra Formentor. What this gives the Multivan is an easy one-up over rivals such as the Citroën Spacetourer and Mercedes V-Class, which soldier on with van-based platforms and all the refinement implications that brings.
The most radical change on paper, meanwhile, is the addition of a new plug-in hybrid variant which pairs a 148bhp turbocharged 1.4-litre petrol engine with a 114bhp electric motor on the front axle for a combined output of 215bhp, and gets an EV range of around 31 miles. More convention powetrain options include a 2.0-litre turbodiesel with 148bhp, a 1.5-litre petrol with 134bhp and the range-topping 2.0-litre petrol driven here.
Buyers also get a choice of two body shells (standard and long, the latter with a 200mm extended rear overhang) and two trims: entry-level Life and range-topping Style, the latter of which is the subject of today's review.
What's it like?
Plumping for a van-shaped MPV as your seven-seat, family-hauling weapon of choice over a more overtly prestigious SUV – in the form of the Volvo XC90, Land Rover Discovery or Audi Q7 – is a choice no doubt driven by a preference for modularity, flexibility and practicality over all else. And while those school run stalwarts claim early victories in the kerb appeal, performance and off-roading stakes, the Multivan's fitness for purpose really is a force to be reckoned with.
Rails running the length of the cavernous rear cabin mean it can be reconfigured at will, with the option of removing, swivelling or rearranging the five (or optionally four) seats, and sliding the centre console back and folding it out to form a workspace-cum-dining room. Whichever way they end up facing, each Multivan passenger is hosted in comfort with a luxuriously cushioned seat and plenty of leg and head room.
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