This double cab panel van wears reflective safety clothing, no trouble whatsoever finding it back in a big parking lot. It says TDI on the grille and hatch, the blue capital I indicates this fourth gen Transporter has the least powerful version of the 2.5 liter, inline-five turbodiesel in its nose.
Only 88 DIN-horses drive the front wheels. Overstressed the power unit isn’t. Just for comparison purposes: currently, the most powerful TDI-engine in the Volkswagen Transporter is a 2.0 liter, Bi-Turbo inline-four with 199 DIN-hp.
The maximum power output of the T4 ranged from 60 DIN-hp (the 1990-1995 1.9 D) to 204 DIN-hp (the 2000-2003 2.8 VR6). Note that there never was a factory T4 with the famous 1.9 TDI engine.
The cargo compartment is actually longer than the body suggests. Have a closer look at the intruding, full divider. With a wheelbase of 2,920 mm (115”) this is the SWB model. LWB: 3,320 mm (130.7”).
The T4 was the last Transporter generation that was also exported to North America, where it was marketed as the EuroVan.
The current gen T6.1, introduced in 2019, is basically the third facelift and update of the 2003 Transporter T5.
Related articles:
Classic CARmentary: 1999 Volkswagen EuroVan MV by Adam Dixon
Curbside Classic: 1993 Volkswagen EuroVan – The Vanagon That Wasn’t There by Tom Klockau
Definitely easy to pick out in a parking lot of non-color vehicles. That is one of the big reasons my wife likes her bright blue car, much easier to spot in the parking lot than the silver car she had before that.
I have a suspicion that if every silver or black car on the road were instead this high visibility green and orange, there’d be a majorly significant reduction in accidents without the push for rupe goldberg autonomous technology.
But that would be tacky…. so eew.
I do like T4s. Much better vans than the later T5. This reminds me of my old T4. It was an ex-AA recovery van with the more powerful 110bhp engine which I had remapped to 140 after blanking off the EGR valve. I also lowered it onto 18″ rims. It made a great family day van. You couldn’t miss mine either!
That’s one very nice T4! Our ANWB roadside assistance also uses Transporters in that shade of yellow.
You mention “family day van”. Mid-size, double cab panel vans are often used here as a family car/commercial vehicle hybrid.
Yeah, they’re really popular here in the UK for that as well. Especially around my area, in the south west. Transporters are the van of choice down here with surfers. Practical and cool, what more do you need?
The Transporter was, is and will probably stay the best selling light commercial vehicle on our market.
The 2019 Top 10:
https://www.bestelauto.nl/nieuws/vw-transporter-best-verkochte-bestelauto-van-2019/14872/