SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Icon updated: 2021 Volkswagen T6.1 Kombi DSG Trendline

A good thing

Posted: May 30, 2021

The numbers
Price: R758 100
Engine: 1968 cc, four-cylinder diesel (single turbocharger)
Power: 110 kW between 3250 and 3750 rpm
Torque: 340 Nm between 1500 and 3000 rpm
0-100 km/h: 12.0 seconds
Top speed: 182 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8.2 l/100 km
Tank: 80 litres
Luggage: Up to 3500 litres
Ground clearance: 201 mm
Turning circle: 11.9 metres
Fit into garage: 5006 x 2297 x 1990 mm
Maximum towing ability, braked/unbraked: 2500/750 kg
Standard tyre: 235/55R17 Bridgestone Turanza ER300
Spare: Full
Warranty: 3 years/120 000 km
Maintenance plan: 5 years/60 000 km
Servicing at 15 000 km intervals

A little respect, please. This is no flash-in-pan newbie; its grandpa was born when China annexed Tibet in 1950. And that was 19 years before Woodstock, and the generation that made camper vans famous. Grammy probably took your parents and a bunch of neighbourhood kids to school, sports and ballet in one; so much for those “new” city SUVs, then.

Part of its charm was that, unlike most of today’s wannabes, owners could fold or remove seats to load up family and gear for a weekend’s camping or convert them into ‘panel vans with windows’. They were also devilishly useful for parking side-on to sectator fences at Kyalami, Hesketh and Killarney. That way the whole family could enjoy shade and all the racing action.

Today’s Kombi is in Revision1 of its sixth generation and available with three versions of the same 1968 cc diesel engine, two gearboxes and two trim levels; basic Trendline and smarter Trendline Plus with, among other things, 4Motion awd.  All seat eight in 2-3-3 configuration.

Trendline comes with either an 81-kW motor and five-speed manual or the seven-speed DSG, 110-Kilowatt model – seven kW more than the equivalent T5 Kombi had in 2015 – while the Plus version powers away with 146 kW and 450 Nm, as fitted to new Caravelles.

All have alloy wheels, fully sized steel spares, fabric covered seats with manual adjusters, electric windows in front, kiddie locks, three sets of ISOFix, ABS, stability control, post-collision braking, anti-slip regulation, electronic differential locking, traction control, hill hold, fatigue detection, two airbags, rear fog lamps, towbar with trailer stabilisation and rubber floor covering. Carpeting costs R2800 extra.

Additional safety kit, available optionally on the two upper models, includes trailer manoeuvring assistance, front fog lights, speed limiter for the cruise control, side and curtain airbags, lane change and side assist, rear traffic alert and high beam control.

South African versions boast reinforced suspension and uprated shock absorbers for our somewhat rougher environment, with front axle load rating increased from 1610 to 1680 kg. We get a heavy-duty jack as well.

Audio is courtesy of a six-speaker Composition Colour setup with 6.5” colour touch screen, phone interface and a pair of Type-C USBs. Discover Pro audio with satnav is optional on Trendline Plus only. To help with parking, all models have pdc front and rear, plus a reversing camera.

New on this range are crosswind assistance (useful in a vehicle so tall) and electrically assisted steering with reach and rake adjustment.

Additional kit on Trendline Plus includes smarter 17” wheels, folding for the electrically adjustable and warmed wing mirrors, automatic aircon in place of the regular version, LED headlamps with washers, and DRLs.

Because our test rig was a mid-range Trendline with 110 kW motor and DSG, we’ll concentrate on that. While oldtimers might historically envision the vehicle as being rather basic, it really isn’t. It’s spacious, comfortable and decently vigorous - 100 km/h comes up in 12 seconds and its top velocity is 182 - more than adequate for a family bus-camper-carthorse, surely?

Leg room and headspace at all seating points is more generous than most folk are used to, aircon is ducted separately into both rows of the back section, seatbacks in second and third rows fold flat onto their squabs to accommodate odd loads, two side doors provide easy access, the rear hatch practically opens itself once the catch has been released and all loading sills are comfortably low. And you can remove any or all but the two front chairs for maximum load versatility. What’s not to like?

Kombi T6.1 might not be quite as spiffy as a Caravelle, but it has all you really need. It’s also practical and useful. Grammy and those kids at Woodstock knew a good thing when they saw it.

Test unit from VWSA press fleet



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This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

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