Volkswagen Transporter
Often considered as the classy alternative to the Ford Transit Custom, Volkswagen’s Transporter can trace its lineage back to the iconic Microbus of the 1960s.
Not that the recent models have shared anything with the air-cooled originals for a long time, but the spirit is still there – as evidenced by the vast numbers of people who recreate the past by turning them into campervans.
As a working van, though, the boxy Transporter is still up there with the best. Its premium image and car-like cabin are some of the best in the business. However,
Within our £10K limit, you’ll probably be looking at the generation known as T5. It started production in 2003, had a major update in 2010 and ran until 2016. The current T6 generation still uses a platform based on the T5, so it was clearly a good package to begin with.
A word of warning on diesel T5 models, however: many of these engines were affected by the Volkswagen Dieselgate scandal and have probably been “fixed” by Volkswagen dealers.
There have been tens of thousands of complaints from Volkswagen Group car and van owners about their vehicles after being “fixed”. Avoid these models if possible, regardless of what the smiling salesman may tell you.
