#Vanlife goes grand with Volkswagen’s new Caravelle 6.1

The VW Caravelle has always been a very desirable family vehicle for extended South African households.

With its immense size and adaptable interior architecture, generations of South Africans have found adventure and kindled fond memories in generation-upon-generation of Caravelle.

Caravelle family upgrade

VW has now introduced the latest T6.1 version of its Caravelle family van to the South African market, adding some subtle design upgrades and impressive digital technologies.

The exterior changes are marginal, with new LED lights at the front and rear and broader radiator grille, with a chrome garnish finish. VW’s aerodynamicists have slightly reshaped the front bumper too.

By far the most noticeable and distinguishing feature of Caravelle 6.1 is its colourways. Customers can choose from six solid colours and seven dual-tone options, which look absolutely fantastic on the VW van’s large bodywork.

VW Caravelle 6.1 a sleek cabin experience

For many loyal VW Caravelle owners, the cabin environment is crucial and this latest version does not disappoint.

It features improved digitisation, with a 10.25-inch virtual cockpit, delivering customisable readouts and graphic interfaces. A significant improvement over the previous model, is seamless connectivity between your smartphone and the VW infotainment system’s Apple CarPlay and Android Auto interfacing, which no longer requires an annoying cable.

VW’s industrial designers have spent a great deal of R&D time and resources to ensure that the digital information and entertainments screens in their vehicles render accurate graphics, with defined colour and shape contrast, even in direct sunlight.

The South African driving environment can be harshly bathed in direct sunlight, flooding into a vehicle such as the Caravelle, which has a large glasshouse. Despite this, all digital screens in the Caravelle 6.1 retain excellent clarity.

Beyond the superior infotainment screens, the Caravelle 6.1 retains its immense interior with generous roof volume and seating for seven. The middle row can be swivelled too, whilst a collapsible table converts the Caravelle cabin to an impromptu roadside restaurant when required.

SMALL ENGINE, WITH MORE PERFORMANCE

Powering this latest VW Caravelle is a more potent version of the two-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel, boosting 146kW and 450Nm. Those outputs are distributed to all four wheels, via VW’s 4Motion drivetrain, with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission shifting gear.

For the sake of comparison, the previous Caravelle produced 132kW and 400Nm, which mean that new powertrain does not deliver massive gains, but when laden with a full complement of passengers and luggage, those 13kW and 50Nm extra, should make a noticeable difference in terms of throttle response.

VW has never marketed the Caravelle as an affordable family van. It is a premium product and priced as such, with this latest version entering the local market at R1 149 400.