VW Transporter 2.5 TDI Sportline (2008) CAR review

Always had a sneaking admiration for the A team? Need to carry loads of clutter? Then you need Volkswagen’s latest Transporter, dolled up with the mean ‘n’ broody Sportline specification and one of the most powerful diesel engines in all vandom. The result is a quick and versatile jack of all trades – it’ll lug the kitchen sink by day and give the Mondeos and Vectras hogging the outside lane a fright by night.

VW takes the regular Transporter and adds body-coloured bumpers and door handles, newly chromed grille, bling side rails and a cheeky rear spoiler. In Hannibal Black, it all looks strangely similar to BA Baracus’s company wheels. The Sportliner runs on 18-inch six-spoke alloys, sitting 30mm closer to the ground thanks to lowered Eibach springs. Faintly ridiculous on a van, or the acceptable face of builders’ wheels? You decide.

How quick is it?

That 2.5-litre five-pot has oodles of strong pull. You’ll easily keep up with traffic even when fully laden, thanks to a hefty 295lb ft of twist. It’s quiet at a sixth-gear cruise, but there’s plenty of turbo whoosh when you prod the throttle. It’s so flexible, there’s little need to change gear, but when you do you’ll appreciate the high-up gearlever and easy, slick action.

Those 235/50 R18 boots provide plenty of grip, and the Sportliner rides as well as any other van we’ve driven. You won’t hurtle it around like a Golf, but neither should you if you care for your cargo.

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