[Closed] Transporter T5 Sportline Kombi for bikevan - owner reviews

Got one that is in essence the same. I couldnt get a Sportline with two rear doors so I made my own. Same running gear/engine/springs.

£215 tax
On the reg document as a diesel car.
Comfy and quick
30-36 mpg
Same wheelbase as a car (SWB)
Low enough to get in multi story car parks
Remapped to 213 bhp / 440 torques

Easy to live with but some folks have had problems with the dpf (diesel particulate filter). Doesnt like tootling around so much as the dpf can have regenerating problems.

Some people have had dual mass flywheel problems, turbo problems, but mine is fine so far. Very happy.

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=147

There is also a German site with loads of info on it:

http://www.t5-board.de/english.php

played with 2 now. different wheelbase/seat/window layout but both essentially same (174 sportline kit)

brilliant vans.

almost too nice for a van in a sense (have to keep them too clean!)

the padded load bay is well worth it as you can sleep on it and jump onto your knees when loading etc in total comfort.

I currently have a 104bhp, previous to that I had a 132bhp and I've spent a lot of time drivingf 174's as we run them in work.

Out of the three the 132 is the most practical. My 104 is a little under powered (although better on fuel) and the 174 drives a bit, well, jerky maybe and it guzzles fuel.
The 132 is a perfect combination.

As an everyday car they are awesome. My missus drives it most days and after the initial 'getting used to driving a van thing' she now loves it. With reverse parking sensors they're actually easier to drive/park/etc than most other cars. Infact we have a BMW mini too and on most occasions she'll opt to take the van.

As a bike van they are also perfect. I was at Afan at the weekend with mine with 5 of us, 5 bikes and all the luggage for a weekend with room to spare. A couple of times a year we also load ours up and drive down through France using it as a camper.

We love ours enough that I cant see a time when we wont actually own one.

Richie

As Rickmeister says - I actually did develop a turbo fault with both of mine but VW chuck a new one under warranty with no hassles and whilst the fault develops the vans still completely drivable.

on the mrs front mate my mrs had a proper face on about us getting one right up until it was sat on the drive.once she had used it on her own with the kids and suchlike she had to admit it was the best thing we had done.

Richie was your problem the engine going into limp mode due to an overboost signal? If so pop your fuel filter off and check it isn't full of oil before the warranty runs out!

The sportline is a lot of money over the standard van for what you get, you can do the same bits yourself for about £2k less last time i looked.

As richie says the 130 bhp version is the best all rounder i used to get 40mpg from a tank on mine all the time. It depends how much the sportline badge/bling is worth to you i guess.

thats what i did i got the 130 one with all the extra stuff.

You may want to have a look here
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/forum15.html
if you haven't already. Lots of chat, reviews and opinions on all things Transporter. By the way I've got a 130 remapped to about 175 and I love it.

Hey Steveh

Yeah it drops in power as if you're only pushing the accelerator halfway down. I'll check the fuel filler and see if there's any sign of anything dodgy, thanks for the heads up.

Richie

oh and yeah, I got my VW dealership to fit a body coloured spolier, tinted windows, etc before I collected it and it cost barely anything extra.
I also got some after market (load rated) alloys and had them sprayed black all for considerably less than the cheapest VW offering.

If it's the fault i know (that vw are still trying to deny i think as it effects all the 2.0tdi's in cars as well) then it drops into limp mode and only turning the engine on and off resets it.

The problem is the seals on the injectors going which lead to oil mixing with the fuel, which in turn burns badly and clogs up the turbo causing the variable vanes to sieze/not respond as they should and the engine gets all upset. Turbo replacement seems to be what vw do to fix it but it doesn't cure things properly. The proper fix is new injector seals and maybe a new fuel lift pump from the tank as it's a ring main.

And thats fuel filter richie not filler, guessing it was a typo but just in case 🙂 To check it remove the header tank from the coolant system and there are 4 push fit connectors on to the filter it's on the rhs by the engine bay wall as you look under the bonnet. Mark it all up to make sure it goes back right and easy peasy.

Steve, would the same apply to a Seat Leon 2ltr TDi FR as it sounds exactly like what used to happen to my father's company car. Seat had it back so many times and had no clue what was wrong with it (computer says no problems), that he rejected it under safety terms as dropping in to limp mode while overtaking was scary!

Yeah certainly could be but have no direct experience of it. A VW insider told me about it on the quiet and mentioned that it was also present on the 2.0 tdi. If you get the diagnostics before you turn off and on then the code remains but i think its lost otherwise. I found mine as I've got a little hand held vagcom unit so was able to make it trip and find the code.

Hey Steveh.

That is exactly what happens. It seems to only happen when you stress the engine though, i.e: halfway up a steep hill or when you've been cruising along in 5th or 6th and you have to slow and drop it to 4th for some reason.

I did have this with my 102 (its just had a new turbo which, for now, seems to have cured it) but I had it far worse on my 2.5 132bhp.

I'll give mine a proper check over later and see if there is any signs of oil.

Thanks again for the heads up!

Richie

Sounds just like what mine did then, mine used to particularly "like" a certain bit of the snake pass driving toward glossop where a steep hill appears.

The look on the face of the man in the vw garage when i suggested it to him, he said nah that can't happen and then i showed the 50/50 fuel oil i'd drained from the filter was priceless 🙂

Oh yeah and a new turbo (or even just cleaning the insides of the existing one) will fix it for a while until the clogging up returns from burning dirty fuel.

The more i read about T5's the more i want a T4..

my mate used to sell t5's for a living and he'd advise you to get a t4! 😀

Have a T5 Kombi (130) and it's superb. No faults whatsoever in three years from new. Apart from the shite sliding windows!!

Get 35-45 mpg. Hi tax but minimal depreciation and maintenance.

Would love a more fun drive but it's too good to sell!!

Ive got a the 2.5litre 174bhp, they rock, touchwood no probs so far, use it to go to wales, peaks,europe, lots of power for a van, very comfy drivin position, gearstick in the right place, good backup, very worth the extra bucks, in my opinion, fits five bikes with front wheels off, easily, and five bods n gear, and a dog. done 23000 miles in 8 mnths without a missed beat. (hope thats not the kiss of death).
Ive got the 1.9 88bhp version too, done 90000 in 3yrs, not missed a beat either, a hose from the turbo went last week, got it fixed the same day, £80.
Get one.

STOP IT !
I keep reading these posts and now I am seriously thinking I might get a T5. I have a very impractical work wagon but am thinking I could gift it to the boys and get a T5 and something small, fast and dirty ! My car almost every day has a bike in it or a kayak on it so maybe a van would be more practical for me. Damn you all. 😆

get one col it changed my life mate.

*puts hands over ears*
Nooooooooyesssssssssssss ok i'll look into it further.

I can get the 2.5l Transporter with 4motion 4wd. NZ doesn;t seem to have a huge choice, or the 2.5l or this 2007 T5 SWB 2.5TDI 128kW, Manual, Silver, 42,000km with 16” alloys, alarm, rear park aid, colour coded bumpers and air con; New $50,000, Now $38,990

Not cheap are they ? The 4motion one new is about 50K.

I've got the 4motion one and it's been an ideal vehicle for work and family duties, 76000 miles now done and no probs. It's been places a van shouldn't be! Problem with mine is the colour - black, it shows every scratch from "squeezing" through undergrowth on FC tracks!

This isnt going to help either.....

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or this...
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Look into the eyes, right into the eyes, not around the eyes, look into my eyes....

Buy a T5....

3-2-1, your a happy biker!

whats the 4motion like for thirst?

Its a bit heavier on fuel and its up a tax bracket.....

just dawned on me col i bet you folks dont have a paticularly vast second hand market.

definatly want one now!

Nah not a whole lot of second hand , a few though. Will drop into VW today and have a yack with them.

update: have a couple nice options to look at this week - 2 T5's, both 2.5l diseasles, one 4 motion, one not, both quite tasty looking. Have approval to flog current car and get one (+ something small fast and dirty - a 911 probably 🙂 ) I love midlife crisis' 😛

Something like this?

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Could for sale if anyone is looking for one........

yhm!

Buy a Reno, cheaper to run, 6 speed box, more reliable, not so nickable.

Is there much point getting the LWB T5 over the SWB? Not had a good look in the back of one yet but in some photos they look a bit small for 4 bikes (with wheels left on) but then rickmeister's looks like there's bags of room.

You're talking about 300mm longer in the rear section for a LWB. In a kombi I'd say it was worth doing. In my SWB kombi I could get 2 bikes in complete no hassle but no more without taking wheels off as they have to sit at an angle. Well without rolling the rear seats forward anyway.

In bare van terms I'd say not really unless you carry a lot of stuff.

400mm actually, but let's not split hairs! I've got a 130bhp LWB that I'm converting into a camper. My old T4 is available for sale if anyones interested.

As others have said, its 'only' an extra 400mm but it really does make a difference.

We took an SWB Kombi to France a few years ago & you couldn't get a DH bike in behind the seats without having wheels off, unless it was in diagonally, then it was 2 bikes max. That somewhat defeats the object of having a van to me. We now have a LWB, and the bikes are in a built garage in the back boxed off from the rest of the van. If we wanted there would be plenty of room for a second row of seats in the mid section now. However we have a full bulkhead in ours as its not used as a camper.

Have an awning being fitted next week to ours, with the privacy room sides and front which will make life even easier away at races etc 🙂

No more gazeebo, just roll out the awning, zip the sides on & hey presto. Almost essential in the UK where it seems to p*ss down at every race we go to.

oof these VW's are expensive and hard to find one with > 2 seats which is what I would prefer. I have been offered a nice silver Vito, 2.2 diseasle mixto thing with 3 rear seats, its a 2007 van and in very good nick (1 owner from niew, nz new, fsh etc) and cheap compared to the VW. Done some googling and it seems to be a marmite thing - some reckon they are great no problems, others have had probs although a lot are pre 2004 ones.

Anyone got any comments on the Vito mixto ? Certainly ticks all my boxes esp if i take one of the rear seats out so its a 4 seater only and has a bit more room.

slackman99, handy to know. I too have a Leon which does the same thing.

Head gasket went early this year and since then it has been back to the garage numerous times for losing power and kicking out white smoke. Engine would limit itself to 2000rpm which as said, when overtaking or pulling onto a roundabout can be scary. Each time, they have not been able to cure it and have now said the engine needs replaced. Am now waiting on someone from the lease company coming to examine the car.

Looking at replacing it with a VW Caddy Maxi life. Quite different but more practical.

Right heres an update - got a 2005 T5, 2l diesel, manual. Got an extra rear bench seat fitted with proper belts all certified etc and a sliding window. Roof rack, decent head unit and rear speakers - sorted. Its red. My friends are calling me Pat now....to make myself feel better i also scored a minter 2004 Golf R32 👿