Last week I was due to pick up a VW Caravelle, but when I got to Automotive’s offices in Sandyford to pick it up on Monday morning the e-Transporter was the car I was offered. Well, there is not a huge difference between those two people carriers as they are both from the VW stable.
Normally I used to book a large VW in summertime, when my grandchildren used to visit from Denmark. Well, those grandchildren are adults now and this summer they were in Spain, which is probably no warmer than Ireland.
The Caravelle and Transporter share the same platform architecture. The Caravelle elevates itself with premium touches that mask its commercial heritage. The distinctive chrome ‘Caravelle’ badges extend into the front wings. A redesigned grille distinguishes it from the standard Transporter. The Caravelle’s build quality stands out with upgraded materials throughout the vehicle.
The proper name for my eight-seater test car was the e-Transporter Panamericana. It was a very safe motor, and you could not drive off until the seat belts were fastened.
I liked the high driving position, which gives a good view of the road and your surroundings. At 5.4 metres long the Transporter is massive, and you need to very careful when parking, cornering and reversing.
I always get favourable comments when driving new cars. Last week while waiting for my daughter on Baggot Street a lady approached and asked how many wheelchairs the Transporter could take? I explained that I just had the car for a week and referred her to the VW website.
Officially the range with a full charge was 320km, but even in the hottest week of the year it was difficult to get to 300km. It’s a surprisingly poor range and you would have to wonder if it was really wise to go electric in such large people carrier.
The Government recently announced an attractive scrappage offer to boost EV sales which was is slightly more attractive to motorists in rural Ireland. The following week Ionity announced that they were increasing the charges for their public charging points, and they were quickly followed by the ESB.
Ireland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe right now for domestic electricity, so I suppose it follows that public charging points will also be expensive. But long-term if you are thinking of switching to a fully electric car, a home charger is recommended, unless you place of employment provides a free charging facility. And there are such companies I am reliably informed.
Prices start at €63,995 for the eight-seater e-Transporter, while the Commercial version is about €15k cheaper. The Caravelle start at €69,495. The charging point is located at the front of this massive people carrier, which makes it very easy to get into a tight charging spot.
With two huge sliding doors, access and egress is very easy. I think the Transporte would be ideal for taxi or fancier Limousine-type work, but the range would probably be an issue for long trips, like Dublin to Killarney or Dublin to Cork. Would your passengers be happy to wait while you charge the car at Obama Plaza, probably yes if they were Americans.
The towing capacity is 2,300kg, which is impressive. But that was not an issue for me last week. No grandchildren this summer, so I used the space in the e-Transporter to clear out some rubbish from my shed and visited a local recycling centre.
