Caravelle vs Transporter

Morning all,

getting a new child, dog and assorted crap carrier. Will be used for the occasional camping trip but do not want a camper, kitchen etc.

been looking at Caravelles and Transporter Sportlines online for a bit and it seems like Caravelles are a bit better value. Is it because they are seen as uncool/taxi type vehicles? Or are they not as reliable in some way. As I understand it they are the same base vehicle but Carsvelle has more seating etc.

any thoughts?

I had a Caravelle (excellent for your use case by the way).  I think you’re right about the “cool factor/scene tax” but the only reliability issue I had that wouldn’t have applied to a Transporter was that the electric powered side doors could be a bit temperamental

Isn’t the shuttle the ‘taxi’ version of the T5/6?  The caravelle is the executive taxi, & I’m surprised to hear you say there less expensive than a normal transporter. I know the seats being extremely heavy, so removal is not as easy as either the shuttle or transporter versions  & you’ve no ‘hidden’ storage (or privacy) with the extra rear windows. So it maybe there aren’t as desirable for converting into a camper, which is what everyone seems to want to do?

Isn’t the shuttle the ‘taxi’ version of the T5/6?

Yup it (sort of) goes Kombi > Shuttle > Caravelle

Kombi being very basic in the back (and no 3rd row of seats/windows), Shuttle a little better (overhead vents + actual door cards iirc) and the Caravelle has a car-like finish everywhere with seats you can do various things with, plus a table.

Caravelles are also usually very expensive like Z1ppy says

Yep – third the expense of a carvelle! I looked at them when I was shopping for an equivalent. Ended up getting a newish Ford Tourneo Custom with all the bells and whistles. Very nice and much cheaper than an equivalent age Carvelle. You do occasionally see transporters which have been converted into a Carvelle-ish type thing – but that won’t count as a car for tax / speed limit purposes.

Same as others, I’d be surprised if Caravalles are cheaper!

Worth bearing in mind the plastics/trim in the Caravelle are nice to have, but impact (slightly) oin carrying capacity if you’re ramming stuff/bikes/kids in the back. As much as I’d like a Caravelle/Tourneo for the nicer trimmed interior, my personal use would trash it. Double-cab with basic lined cargo area means I don’t worry about that.

• Kombi (‘Sportline’ is a kombi with bodykit etc) is a Van with a second row of seats and some glazed doors. The second row is not a very nice place to sit. The seats are fixed and the doors are lined with plywood. No opening rear windows as standard.

Registered and taxed as a ‘van’ but you can drive most configurations of them at 60/70 due to the dual purpose vehicle loophole.

• Shuttle is the ‘people carrying’ version of the van – fully glazed, and properly trimmed in the back but similar more basic fixed seats and interior fit out.  Very basic spec on most.

• Caravelle is the MPV, registered and taxed as a car. Higher spec, seat rails, better seats themselves, much nicer interior trim, rear a/c etc. They are much, much nicer in the back and the only variant I was considering (I found them to be more expensive so interesting what your finding).

Note – other (arguably better value) equivalents exist too, Ford/Merc/Stellantis.

If you are just going to be shoving kit in the back then get a kombi. Sportlines will be more expensive because of the extra bodykit, more bhps and all the scene costs that attracts. A more basic spec kombi should be cheaper than a caravelle.

We’ve got a Highline Kombi and it does everything on your list. I love travelling in the back, especially on motorways but my kids have no complaints on any journeys and we can do a lot of miles sometimes.

4 bikes in the back with front wheels off or 4 bikes plus luggage for a riding holiday if both wheels are off.

Kombi (‘Sportline’ is a kombi with bodykit etc) is a Van with a second row of seats and some glazed doors. The second row is not a very nice place to sit. The seats are fixed and the doors are lined with plywood. No opening rear windows as standard.

I noticed that too (that the Kombi is fairly basically trimmed in the 2nd row) compared to the Transit Custom double-cab-in-van we bought instead. Transit still has fixed seats but they’re comfy, and it’s properly trimmed with plastics, carpet, etc and dual-sliding doors. I chose NOT to have opening rear windows cos – if anything like my old T5 – they’re a leak risk! A/C is good enough. Just done a 2,200+ mile trip around France/Germany/etc in ours loaded to the roof with tents, camping stuff, 4 bikes, 2 paddleboards, etc. and no complaints from any passengers.

To improve the back of kombis a bit you can swap the basic door cards for a nice molded one with lots of cubby holes/ door bins. All the camper fit out aftermarket places sell them.

Yeah rear windows will leak unless the new ones have improved this. The drain holes are tiny and clog easily. Same for sunroof drain pipe outlets, but they are easyish to access and unblock.

Caravelle interiors are made of amazingly tough stuff. I’ve no qualms at all about using it as family transport, bike lugger, Ikea crap fetcher, race car bit transporter, builder’s skip, holiday adventure facilitator. The carpet is almost certainly nicked from the MAN bus factory – I once infamously let an engine fall over while transporting it in the boot. It promptly dumped its sump all over the floor. The oil simply vacuumed up without a stain. Truly astonishingly tough.

Like many German cars nowadays, they’re randomly built: you can get a good one, an awful one or somewhere in between. Their consistency has gone. I’ve had an awful one (t5.1 180bitdi, set itself on fire TWICE, engine ate its head gasket, brakes randomly seized on) and an OK one (T6 199bitid, EGR cooler failed on holiday in Spain at 18mths old, spent 7 weeks apart while it was fixed, that was 3 years ago. Has been almost perfect since).

Seats are amazingly flexible. As standard you get non-swivelling captain’s chairs up front, two swivelling, sliding, reclining captain’s chairs in the middle, a table that slides in the rails, goes up & down but is generally a bit crap and a massive three seater bench in the back that also slides, reclines and turns into a bed. You can option to swap this for two non-swivelling seats in the third row. Many LWB are sold this way. There’s a super rare Business version with two Liberace-approved voluminous electric recliners and integrated drinks cabinet all adorned in truly ghastly burr walnut and gold trim. Allegedly made by Bentley for VW they replace all the seats in the back. Looks bloody awful to me, but then I don’t own vast swathes of desert in the Middle East.

Shuttles and Velles get roof mounted vents in the back, however only the Executive spec Caravelle has a secondary air conditioner as standard, though it was an option on Shuttles and the non-exec ‘velle. I reckon this is essential if you’re going to use it as family transport.

Shuttles get more sound deadening than standard transporters (whihc get SFA in the back), velles get more than shuttles. I still think they could have done a better job of reducing tyre roar, but it’s pretty bloomin’ good. Doors and rear 3/4 panels are where I’d bung it.

Only the velle gets the sliding rail seat system from the California. This is amazeballs and once you know how it all works you can customize it with loads of off the shelf bits or even make your own tie-downs to hold things. The captains seats are easily removable by one person. The rear bench weighs 90kg so you have to improvise. I’ve done it on my own with a beer crate trolley but have now settled into using an engine crane as I have one to hand. Shuttles use a more traditional fixed point mechanism.

I recently bought an additional captain’s chair for the back. I use this in place of the big bench for holidays as it keeps my tribe slightly separated.  Works brilliantly.

Most velle’s come with a towbar as  they are a couple of hundred quid factory option. Aftermarket they’re nearly a grand.

Another really useful option is the luggage net as this allows you to pack vertically. It plugs into roof mounted fittings behind the third row or behind the front seats and the floor system.

Great piece of kit for outdoor folk with lots of kit to move about!

Not sure if it’s relevant but you might want to check out VED and LEZ for your use.

My Euro5 Kombi gets charged as a commercial vehicle in the LEZ but our friends Caravelle is classed as a car so exempt, deposit having the exact same engine but weighing more!

1. If you are looking at Euro 6 you’re ok for now.

However they pay a lot more VED, something like £400+ versus £215ish (can’t remember latest rates).

the secret seat config.

My T5 was a LWB Caravelle with 8 leather seats (2-3-3).

Had all creature comforts.

Ended up up selling the rear most bench and ripping out and selling most of the interior to convert it.

Transporter limited to 60/50 on dual / single carriageway

Bonus you can have a cheeky 10 mins parking in loading bays 😉

I’m looking at the Pug/Citroen/Toyota version. Cheaper, better spec and not ‘everyone’ has one (i.e. common), oh and most are considerable more powerful, the 2.0 coming in 150 and 180 bhp.

I’m looking at the Pug/Citroen/Toyota version

Been doing a lot of looking at these recently too. Pretty certain you need the long one to make it worthwhile for bikes, but otherwise looking like quite a good option.

Other one being the V-Class… if I start selling various vital organs

V Class are very pricey.

I’m looking at the Pug/Citroen “long” in 2.0 auto trim (180 bhp), but top of the range (Allure/Flair) or VIP (less seats). Not many around though. Many more Caravelle’s though.

Transporter limited to 60/50 on dual / single carriageway

That depends on the build of the transporter. If it’s a kombi or even converted to a kombi then is should pass the dual purpose vehicle threshold and you get car-derived van speed limits applied.

When our velle started playing up I thought about chopping it in for a merc & joined a few forums to see what was what. Yeah, definitely better the devil you know.

The Stelantis option is good. Utterly littered with tech – VW should be ashamed of what they cludged into the T6 and 6.1 in comparison. It is smaller though and the seats, especially in the back are a lot closer to the floor.

Kombi (‘Sportline’ is a kombi with bodykit etc) is a Van with a second row of seats and some glazed doors. The second row is not a very nice place to sit. The seats are fixed and the doors are lined with plywood. No opening rear windows as standard.

Depends on the Kombi, my T5.1 came with twin sliding doors with opening windows, no major leaks so far

The rear can be quite noisy and not very nice in std trim but a few hundred quid and an afternoon of fitting sound deadening, insulation and carpeting makes a huge difference, i dont sit in the rear so im not bothered by the comfort and ive had no passengers complain

Had 6 bmx’s in the back of my Kombi plus 6 people and all their kit for a weekend away not long ago, made things so much easier all being in one vehicle rather than having to have 3 cars carrying two bmx’s and two people inside each one

That depends on the build of the transporter. If it’s a kombi or even converted to a kombi then is should pass the dual purpose vehicle threshold and you get car-derived van speed limits applied

Shirely most ‘big’ vans don’t qualify as they “designed to weigh no more than 2 tonnes when loaded fully”. Even the smallest T28 has a gross weight of 2800kg.

Dual purpose vehicle needs 2nd row of seats, rear windows and a weight of under 2040kg.

My T30 T5.1 Kombi has a listed weight of 2039kg in the V5 so I’m going with that.

I’ve been doing car speeds for 9 years, been ok so far!

I insulated and carpeted mine and on the first trip out my regular passenger commented I could speed up. I was at the speed limit but it was so much quieter than before he thought I was well under. It’s a really nice place to be now, happily drove to the Alps this winter.

“I’m looking at the Pug/Citroen/Toyota version. Cheaper, better spec and not ‘everyone’ has one (i.e. common), oh and most are considerable more powerful, the 2.0 coming in 150 and 180 bhp.”

I looked at those before I bought my Custom. My thoughts were – much cheaper but when I looked at them the space behind the 3rd row was pretty inferior compared to the short wheelbase custom, but drove like a car and less scary to take into 2m max height carparks.  Also when I demoed one I spotted some rust on the sill behind the drivers side door pillar below the sliding door. I commented to the sales woman that I was surprised to see rust on a 2022 vehicle and she said, words to the effect of  “oh they all do that, it’s a design floor as the water flows down to the roof but there is a dip where it pools. We will sand it, touch it up, and lacquer it but I’ll.always come back”. Put me right off!

@z1ppy it’s an unladen weight of <2040 and a second row of seats with widows. Doesn’t really matter what it weighs laden.

Got to have a window in the rear door too. Also something about ratio of space behind second row to overall length.