Noble transporter
VW T7 Multivan – in the Bulli successor, the eHybrid depends on the diesel
The electric range is a maximum of 50 kilometers
© press-inform – the press office
The Multivan says goodbye to diesel. VW assumes that most customers choose a hybrid model. The successor to the Bulli then manages everyday routes electrically. If the path becomes longer, the petrol engine steps in.
The whole world is complaining about the SUV epidemic, but in Germany the largest and most sought-after vehicles are still the buses. All descendants of the legendary VW Bulli, even if today’s generation has little in common with its ancestors. “Multivan” is the name of the noble version of the VW transporter, famous for the versatility of the interior fittings and the price list, which is far removed from the lowlands of a craftsman’s bus.
With the new generation – T7 – a break in van history is imminent: For the first time, diesel engines are not the measure of all things. But the plug-in hybrid, which combines an electric drive and a gasoline engine. As a touring vehicle, the Multivan is currently not recommended as a pure electric car. VW assumes that more than 40 percent of T7 drivers will park the hybrids in the garage.
Bye, bye Diesel
It combines a 150 hp petrol engine with a 115 hp electric motor. The system output is 218 hp, with a maximum torque of 350 Newton meters. Despite all efforts in terms of weight savings, the T7 weighs a good 2.1 tonnes, so the performance is also required. In 11.6 seconds the car is from zero to 100 km / h, the top speed is 190 km / h. If you exhaust the performance, the gasoline engine is clearly noticeable.
As expected, the Multivan drives like a large car, the chassis copes well with a live weight of 2.1 tonnes. The high recuperation performance in the sport level takes getting used to. If you take your foot off the accelerator, you will noticeably slow down. As with the other VWs, the 10-inch touchscreen can be largely configured. The handsome cockpit manages without a center tunnel, as the levers of the dual clutch transmission and the electronic parking brake have moved upwards.
Vehicle for its own electricity
According to the standard, the Multivan 1.4 l eHybrid only needs 1.5 liters per 100 kilometers. On the test drive, which was started with fully charged batteries, it was 5.6 l / 100 km. Purely electrically, you should travel around 50 kilometers, with us it was 39 km, whereby we were also traveling on country roads and motorways. The top speed is then 130 km / h and the acceleration was quite sufficient.
The ranges correspond to the requirements of the buyer. The distances that are covered every day can be moved purely electrically. The combustion engine helps with greater distances. The energy storage can be refilled on a wallbox with 360 volts and 3.6 kW in three hours and 40 minutes, but you can also charge the car at the socket with 230 volts and 2.3 kW alternating current. Then it takes five hours. The 10.4 kWh battery is full again overnight or during working hours.
Private customers can combine the hybrid with a solar system on the carport and a storage system, then they can use their own cheap electricity. Here the hybrid with a small battery fits perfectly, as a domestic solar system hardly supplies enough electricity to fill a 100 kWh system.
Significantly larger interior
The Multivan is primarily about indoors. And this is where the seventh generation grew. In length by almost seven centimeters (69 millimeters) to now 4.973 meters and in width to 1.941 meters – plus 3.7 centimeters. At 1.907 meters, the T7 is 4.7 centimeters lower, making it look much stockier. The wheelbase is important for the interior and has grown by a full 12.4 centimeters. The long version is different, by the way. At 5.173 meters, it is 13.1 centimeters shorter than before and only offers the same wheelbase as its predecessor.
There are no more benches, they have been replaced by armchairs. The chairs in the second row can be rotated 180 degrees as before. As with its predecessors, the chairs can simply be pushed back and forth on a rail system in the passenger compartment. 29 kilograms were saved on the armchairs, so the individual seat was about 5 kilograms lighter, which helps with installation and removal. By moving the seats and the expansion option, the interior can be used very flexibly. That is the reason for the success of the Multivan concept. Volkswagen can pay for that well, the hybrid Bulli costs at least 57,173.55 euros and will be available from mid-November.