A test drive in a Volkswagen Multivan confirmed that the Multivan is a true multi-purpose car, a versatile solution for a family car, for example.

The test drive was of the long version of the Volkswagen Multivan with seven seats. So there was enough seating for a larger family and enough luggage space.

CvvB: The car has two seats in the cabin and five in the passenger compartment. All the seats in the cabin are separate, which means you can move the seats to where you want them and remove them one by one.

The front seats can also be swivelled backwards to create a small negotiation space in the cabin.

The cabin floor has three rails parallel to each other along almost the entire length of the cabin. The seats can therefore be moved from the front to the rear and vice versa.

To top it all off, the car is a charging hybrid, which has an impact on the overall fuel consumption of the car.

The car is promised a range of around 50 kilometres on electric power, but that figure was not reached during the test drive. However, in an urban area, the mileage promised might well be achieved in a quiet drive.

Pleasant to drive

The car is really comfortable to drive. You sit high up in the car and have good visibility in all directions. Reversing is made easier by the reversing camera.

The seat and steering wheel adjustments are adequate, and the main controls on the dashboard are traditional switches. Of course, some of them are conveniently located on the steering wheel.

Driver assistance systems make driving easier, such as intelligent cruise control and lane departure warning. The lane departure warning system works pleasantly smoothly without strong jerks.

The cabin benches have proper elbow rests that make driving more relaxing.

The car doesn’t have a traditional gear lever, but a switch on the dashboard to select gears. This leaves more legroom.

The gearshift technology is shift-by-wire, whereby the gears are changed electronically.

One of the car’s strengths is its silence, especially when driving on new smooth asphalt.

Large electric sliding doors on both sides make the cabin easier to use. The upward-opening tailgate is also electrically operated.

The passenger compartment has individually adjustable air conditioning and ventilation.

There are small storage compartments under the seats in the passenger compartment. The backrest of one of the seats can be used as both a table and a cup holder when folded forward.

The test car had a large glass roof which, according to Volkswagen, doesn’t let any heat through. In hot weather, however, the inner surface of the glass was very hot.

The car is always powered by electricity when it starts moving. It’s a bit of a two-way street, so sometimes it was annoying to have used up the battery on the motorway, for example.

Of course, you can set the battery to run down only to the amount you want, for example, so that you have enough power when you enter an urban area.

Plenty of space

With a boot capacity of up to 4 053 litres, the car can also carry larger items, while its 1 600 kg towing capacity provides further options for transporting goods. If required, the car can also be fitted with roof rails if the car does not have a glass roof.

The Multivan eHybrid is available in both standard and long versions, with Multivan, Life or Style equipment levels.

In addition, the Finnish model range includes a separate Multivan Business trim level. In Finland, the Multivan eHybrid is always available with 7 seats as standard equipment and is also available with 6 seats at no extra charge.

Standard equipment includes a 10.25-inch digital instrument panel with three different views and a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

The exterior colour range includes eleven monochrome versions and three two-tone colour options.

Standard equipment on the Volkswagen Multivan eHybrid includes LED headlights and LED taillights, cruise control, fatigue detection, leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel with gear selectors, mobile phone capability, App-Connect with Apple CarPlay wireless functionality, and more, left and right sliding doors, remote central locking with keyless entry, fuel heater with timer and remote control, reversing assist, rain sensor and electric sliding door closing assist for both sliding doors.

The Style trim level, on the other hand, offers, among other things, parking assistance and parking sensors at the front and rear, three-zone air conditioning, IQ.LIGHT LED headlights, reversing camera, power sliding doors on both sides and electric tailgate closing assist.

Assistive systems

The new Volkswagen Multivan eHybrid offers a wealth of driver assistance systems – with more than 20 different systems to choose from.

Standard equipment includes an environment monitoring system with emergency braking, a new turn assist system, traffic sign recognition, lane keeping assist and cruise control.

Optional extras include windscreen display, trailer reversing assist, “Area View” camera system, blind spot and rear cross traffic alert.

The Multivan eHybrid has a combined output of 160 kW (218 hp) from the electric motor and petrol engine, with a maximum torque of 350 Nm. The electric motor produces 85 kW (116 hp) and the TSI petrol engine 110 kW (150 hp).

The new 6-speed dsg automatic gearbox has been specially developed for the rechargeable hybrid. The Multivan eHybrid has a lithium-ion battery with an energy capacity of 13 kWh.

When running on electricity, the petrol engine of the rechargeable hybrid only comes into play at speeds above 130 km/h or depending on the battery charge level.

The new Volkswagen Multivan eHybrid is 1 941 mm wide, 4 973 mm long and 1 907 mm high. It has a wheelbase of 3 124 mm.

The long version is 5 173 mm long with the same wheelbase as the standard version. The standard version has 469 to 3 672 litres of luggage space, depending on the position of the seats, while the longer version has 763 to 4 053 litres.

The price starts at €63,443 (Volkswagen Multivan eHybrid 160 kW, DSG automatic, 7-seater).

In terms of value for money, Volkswagen must have made a good decision. Even with the basic equipment, you get a very versatile car for this price. If necessary, all five passenger seats can be removed and the car can be turned into a decent van in no time at all.

The Volkswagen Multivan Life Business eHybrid 160 kW DSG was the test car, which cost €73 123 including all the accessories.