Revolution to the Four

You have to feel a little sorry for the fourth generation of Volkswagen’s Transporter. Launched in 1990 – so celebrating its 30th birthday this year – it was a highly significant vehicle for VW. The company has even hailed it as a ‘paradigm shift’ which, frankly, sounds more like a great title for a sci-fi movie rather than a term somebody might apply to, well, basically a Van. But you can see its point. After 6.7 million T1, T2 and T25 Transporters with their engines slung out the back, the T4 put its motor ahead of the driver. And, for good measure, it also introduced front-wheel drive, two different wheelbases and four-, five and six-cylinder engines, wrapping everything up in a handsome if somewhat conventional body. It was easily the most usable Transporter ever.

But in bringing Volkswagen into line with its competitors, and dialling down the idiosyncrasies and distinctiveness, the fourth generation Transporter lost some of what had made previous incarnations