[Closed] Transporter 6.1 must have options

air con would be much higher up my list in my next van than heated seats/steering wheel .

A heated screen how ever would be a priority number 1 . I even fitted one to my land rover. I miss it in other vehicles.

the factory fit Infotainment system on a t6 is far from a premium fit product it looks like something that was fired in from the back door with a trebuchet after the hole was hacksawed in the dash. Its an horrendous bit of kit and really makes the interior look cheap and half arsed.

tail gates are the way forward unless your sticking pallets in the back theres no reason not to .... even if you do have to draw forward to open the boot in a carpark - its a price worth paying (is it just me that ALWAYS reverse parks ? )

of all the t6 options the only one id really want is the 4 motion but its a bit overkill for the school run and probably not all that compatible with airbags and daft wheels.

I’m slightly boggled in the mind at the number of people who think that heated seats and steering wheels are ‘essential’.

air con would be much higher up my list in my next van than heated seats/steering wheel .

A heated screen how ever would be a priority number 1

of all the t6 options the only one id really want is the 4 motion

I have to admit, I’m slightly boggled in the mind at the number of people who think that heated seats and steering wheels are ‘essential’.

I was going to say the same thing. I've never had them, but I've never looked at an option list and remembered my hands or bum being cold for any length of time once the engine was running. And I used to live in the Alps. Cold steering wheel is just not something that has ever been a problem I've even noticed, never mind considered spending a reasonable amount of money trying to fix.

There are a few things that I look at on an option list and think that'd be useful (electric seats with a memory position for example) and that I'd consider on my next purchase. I've never found cars a particularly cold place to be, except for my old soft top MG. I used to wear gloves when driving that in the winter. Seat was heated by the exhaust pipe just below it and feet were right by the manifold (LHD) so never cold for long... still wouldn't have heated seats or steering wheel in that, even if such a thing existed 🙂

Heated seats and steering wheels, buy no means essential, are just one of those things that it's really hard to go back from.

I've spent almost all of my driving career in classics or bangers and ridiculed anything modern or complicated. Now I can unashamedly admit that there's nothing better than gripping a toasty steering wheel on a freezing cold morning. I hate when I jump back in my own van on my flat, cold seat with its cold, plastic steering wheel.

Also having driven every possible version of T6 with every permutation of options with prices ranging from merely very expensive to jaw dropping, I'm a bit over them. Now I'd just buy something much cheaper that does the same job and doesn't turn heads in the trail centre car park. It's not like I don't have loads of other crap to spend money on and I prefer a van that I don't have to be precious about.

Is the T6/T5.1/T5 front end option available as an "upgrade" on the T6.1?

Keep thinking of replcing my T5 Caravelle - as much as I love it I wish I had a poptop and they're not so easy to retrofit in Spain with the homologation stuff. Rear bench seat makes a decent bed, but need another (fam of 3).

Must haves for me other than a poptop would be a Webasto and 2nd battery (got those on the T5) spending a lot of weekends in the Pyrenees it's worth having even this time of year.

Hired an Octavia a while back and was convinced by ACC and lane assist. Our van doesn't get used day to day, only does the Pyrenees runs, coast and the odd jaunt up to France or UK. Waze & Spotify would take care of the ICE.

Things like air con go without saying, in fact not even air con - climate control. Any vehicle without that wouldn't even get a second look, same for one without power steering, or an engine, or wheels 😁

The options can work out very expensive on the VW cans. When I ordered mine I wanted everything but that would have cost north of £12k over the already expensive cost of the van. I ended up having to ruthlessly cut it down to must haves. I don’t regret any of my choices although I would have loved LED headlights but they were very expensive. I ended up with around £4.5k of extras. Luckily I got a discount on the van to offset the cost of the extras.

Diesel heater around £2k (I see its about £3k now)

Two zone climatronic ac around £1.7k ( that’s the extra heater/air con blower in the back)

Parking sensors front and rear around £500

Cruise control around £250

Extra window in rear passenger side.

Extra Internal led lighting

Diesel heater around £2k (I see its about £3k now)

Crikey - are they still fitting Webastos? Can get a top of the range Eberspacher fitted for a grand afterwards with all the remote start etc.

How come the OP hasn’t been berated like the other guy that wanted to spend a similar amount on a car. Possibly less, I bet a T6 with a some options gets to £40k quite easily?

Because he's treating himself for his 40th therefore we can't question his lifestyle choices. 🎂 happy birthday OP, go nuts!

I think the OP has got away with it on this thread because he didn't start off by saying he wanted to spend £40k on X and then giving Y as examples of potential purchases. 😉

Because he’s treating himself for his 40th therefore we can’t question his lifestyle choices. 🎂 happy birthday OP, go nuts!

Ah that’s where the other guy went wrong, should have started “I have 40k to spend for my 40th.” Understood.

(FWIW I don’t have an issue with either thread, was just interesting to see the different responses).

he didn’t start off by saying he wanted to spend £40k

Saying I want to buy a T6.1 does imply it though.

I was joking of course. Why hasn't he been vilified for spending loads of money on a luxury item while others are facing hardship? I'm guessing it's because he wants a nice friendly van rather than an antisocial speed machine. And because we like vans here because you can put bikes in them.

Totally agree Phil! Maybe it would have been different if he wanted to get a pickup truck.

Santa Cruz?

Or is that factory fitted

Definitely

Twin sliding doors
Tailgate (great for sitting under in the pissing rain watching building control checking foundations)
Folding mirrors ( for those tight lanes )
Heated windscreen

Heated seats are nice, but remote app start* is even betterer ( fire it up 5 minutes before leaving and the windscreen is clear and the cab is toasty)

* factory fitted on my Transit custom Sport

To be clearer I thought it was because the other fella said he wanted to spend £40k on a "fun car" and then suggested a couple of rather dull options (sorry)?

I'm sure there was a "how much?!" element of course...

Fitted a rear parking camera to the Citan today, suitably impressed!.

Choosing Ford or VW will be immaterial in the near future anyway 😀

https://www.parkers.co.uk/vans-pickups/news/2019/ford-vw-van-pickup-alliance-confirmed/

DSG, power latching tailgate and sliding door (not power doors), heated seats, cab carpet,2+1 rear seat, rear camera. The standard spec on the highline gets you pretty much everything else you need. The LEDs are nice, and a massive improvement on the old H4 lamps, but the T6.1 gets the H7 lamps which are perfectly fine, so way up the cost/need. Any money you save spend on sound insulation, upgrading the suspension, (don't then ruin your new found comfort with 20 inch rims) a bucket to catch the leaking side windows.

oh, and if I see you on the road....don't wave at me! I'm not your friend.

Choosing Ford or VW will be immaterial in the near future anyway

Ah yes. As the poster above said, it's essential to set aside £1400 to replace the shit sliding windows when they fail in a couple if years.

And because we like vans here because you can put bikes in them.

We do?
I like mine because I can sleep in it.

Choosing Ford or VW will be immaterial in the near future anyway 😀

Look on bright side the number of mods to make your transit look shit will increase exponentially

Don't get the bench seat, bloody uncomfortable as a passenger (in either position).

No one seems to have mentioned a garland hanging from the rear view mirror or van life stickers (or do they come as standard?).

Ah yes. As the poster above said, it’s essential to set aside £1400 to replace the shit sliding windows when they fail in a couple if years.

I only paid about £300 to have mine replaced.

Look on bright side the number of mods to make your transit look shit will increase exponentially

Love that.

Biturbo, DSG, Highline spec, LED lights, heated seats, app connect.

If it's a camper, a diesel heater is a good idea. A) for winter heating but also B) drying wet clothes after riding

For me it would be a lwb 4 Motion Startline with;
Adaptive cruise
Delete bulkhead
Twin seats with swivels
Business pack
Comfort pack
Power wing mirrors
Diff lock
Updated alternator
Larger fuel tank
£41,228

Oh and I would keep barn doors as it makes loading the roof easier for me, but understand vans with a tailgate have better resale to private buyers.

I've got a T6 (ex demo model):

What I've got what I would go for again:

Adaptive cruise,
DSG,
Power tailgate,
Soft latch side doors
Apple car play (although it needs a wired connection in mine which is annoying)
Window in tail gate

Stuff I've got which I could live without
LED lights
Heated seats
Larger fuel tank
2+1 - would probably just prefer a 3 seater - you can then put more under the seats
200bhp - canes the fuel

Things I wish I had:
2 REAR SLIDING DOORS. 1 is a real pain with 3 kids.

How come the OP hasn’t been berated like the other guy that wanted to spend a similar amount on a car. Possibly less, I bet a T6 with a some options gets to £40k quite easily?

I only opened this thread to see how upset the bed wetters would get at the OP for daring not to be skint. Disappointed tbf. Vans are not economical people, where's the outrage?

I only opened this thread to see how upset the bed wetters would get at the OP for daring not to be skint. Disappointed tbf. Vans are not economical people, where’s the outrage?

I’ve been waiting to open a Jaguar Ipace vs Porsche Taycan as next company car thread until all this nonsense blows over 😉😂

do you mean me and my q7 vs xc90 thread? as someone said then, stw view vans as cool so anything goes!

question. zip run petrol t6 vans in london, how? i can't see anything but diesel on the configurator.

Petrol T6 was briefly available for I think about 18months. Not available on 6.1 currently in UK.

Ahhhh. now i know a petrol van seems weird, but when the van becomes a shuttle/people carrier and is homed in london, well.. diesel just seems wrong.

Ahhhh. now i know a petrol van seems weird, but when the van becomes a shuttle/people carrier and is homed in london, well.. diesel just seems wrong.

Petrols not much better it's just alternative polution.

Electric at least gets it out the city. But ultimately the space polution is more concern

Standard spec on the T6.1 changed from the T6

Lots of stuff can be retrofitted but some can't so really does depend on what you're doing with it

Mine is a daily driver, only vehicle and carries three kids and a dog. Took me a little while to find the right spec van (I was buying used), have a look in the T6 forum for some really great info

4motion

im a big fan of the 4wd. It’s rarely needed but when it is it makes a difference That really counts.  It’s glorious to drive off a wet campsite while the poor people in there mere 2wd vans bog down in mud and self loathing.

2+1 seat in the back is great. I know... mine came as a bench Of three and it’s a two man job removing them.  They are in the way so much that they are now long gone, as is the option to carry passengers. Grrr

the 2+1 in the front is not great.  It’s impossible to get comfortable on the passenger 2x side if you share it or have it to yourself. Plus if there are 3 people up front it looks like you are going on a plastering job.

I had my V6 from new... the windows in the whoosh bang door leak. VW fitted roof rails and made that leak. The drivers door seal fell off. And VW in Poole even manger to leave a spanner under the bonnet. Otherwise it’s been great.

Discount.  I was told by a former VW sales chap that they are given 12% play in the price. I asked for a deal, and was offered 10% almost instantly and without bother... no sucking air through teeth, no BS sales dramatics.  That saved me over £3k.

Have I missed the option of been able to stand up in the back?

That'd be a pre-requisite for me, and at +6' I guess it'd need a higher roofline.

Trail rat I agree and I'm not saying petrol is cleaner. Unfortunately the government do so dpfs and low emission zones. The former doesn't work well in a congested city and a vehicle doing a lot of shortish trips, fear that the latter will get harsher doesn't gel with spending £50k on a vehicle that I'd hope to keep a long while.

We're hoping our 15 month T6 might be the last diesel we have, assuming the T6.1 or more likely, T7 comes with a hybrid option. Problem is needing a large family vehicle that can tow well too (Caravan), which is does with aplomb.

Thanks for all the advice, think I’ve got it sorted now. Just arguing with the wife over colour