(first posted 9/26/2013) The Van Wars were in full swing by the early ’90s. The dreaded crossovers hadn’t yet put in an appearance, and the Minivan was King. Dodge and C-P dealers were raking the money in, the mid-engine Previa was an amazingly engineered version of the Nineties Kid Hauler, and even the Aerostar was doing relatively well, despite being in production for close to a decade. Amidst all this cash generation came Volkswagen, who finally replaced the venerable-but-slow-selling rear-engine Vanagon with something more with the times.
I must admit I love the Vanagon (’88 Westy CC here). Although the initial air-cooled versions were, ahem, not the most speedy units out there, the updated Wasserboxer version that came out for ’83 was a bit faster–and less prone to overheating, of course. But by the early ’90s, the Vanagon was a bit of an anachronism. 1991 was the last year they were imported, but sales were so sluggish that if you wanted one in the middle of 1992, odds were you could still find a new, untitled one at your local VW dealer. And if it was a Westfalia Synchro? Well!
But the end of the road had come for the rear-engined VW van, and in its place came the EuroVan. Oh, I’m sure VW was hopeful that it would be able to take a larger share of the lucrative minivan market for itself, but it was not to be. 1993 was the only year you could get one, as sales were so disappointing that VW USA yanked them from the lineup. They did continue to be offered in Canada and Mexico, however.
Perhaps it was that “unique” VW dealer experience (I like VWs, but I’ve heard enough dealer horror stories to keep me from the marque, perhaps for life), but the EuroVan was DOA in its inaugural year, despite the new design, front-wheel drive, comfortable appointments and even a camper version. Of course, you must remember that circa 1992-93 VW was on the ropes in the States, so the EuroVan arrived at the worst possible time. Between 1994 and 1998, the only EuroVan you could purchase in the U.S. was the Winnebago-modified camper–which was much more extensively equipped than the VW-made camper seen here.
That could have been it for the T4 Transporter (as it was known in Europe), but the EuroVan got a second chance–or a second act, if you prefer. For the EuroVan rejoined the U.S. lineup in 1999, with a newly-added VR6 engine and a mild restyling. I remember when they suddenly reappeared, and happily snapped up the brochures at the VW dealer in Davenport, thinking it might make another quick exit. But it remained available through the 2003 model year. Its successor was the Town & Country-based Routan, which Ed Stembridge filled us in on recently.
Inside, you have no-nonsense gray upholstery and a logical instrument panel layout. The somber gray interior is a sharp contrast to the bright aqua interior! While not to everyone’s taste, I do like that aqua paint–it’s so bright and cheerful!
Yes, this one is a camper–an MV Weekender, to be exact. It even has the pop-up top, though it is much less noticeable at a glance than on a Vanagon Westy. And in aqua to boot! I always liked the facing rear seats with the fold-down table, and always fancied playing cards with friends while on a multi-state drive. Sadly, I have never had the pleasure.
The EuroVan MV Weekender was Westfalia-modified, with a rear bench that folded into the bed, the second and third rows that faced each other rather than all facing forward, a folding occasional table, pop-up roof with a second bed, refrigerator, bug screens for the windows, and other camping goodies, like the curtains seen here!
All in all, a nice van and a nice, appealing design, but it just didn’t really take off, despite the second chance. I saw few of the ’99-’03 models in the QC area; indeed, about the only ones I saw were the ones used by the local dealer as customer shuttles. But I always had a soft spot for them, and lamented their passing in 2003. I have seen darn few since then.
So you may understand why I was so happy to spot this one, the very morning of the CC get-together in Iowa City, when I met our esteemed Executive Editor in the flesh for the very first time, along with JP Cavanaugh, Ed Stembridge and Jason Shafer. I was actually running a little bit late when I saw this EuroVan, but I just had to stop!
VW vans have had a tough time in the States since the mid-’80s. The classic VW “widows peak” vans of the ’50s and “bay window” vans of the ’60s and ’70s may be much-loved and well-collected these days, but what about a nice, retro modern VW Van. Come on, VW NA! Let’s see a VW van in the vein of the New Beetle and current Beetle? And while you’re at it, how about doing something about those less-than-ideal, less-than-honest dealerships we see all-too-frequently here in the land of Broughams and McDonalds?
This is a nice catch. I must say that I’m right envious of you finding this on your drive to Iowa City as all I found was a bunch of clapped out Edsel’s and B-body wagons in somebody’s front yard. 🙂
Seriously, I’m not sure I’ve even seen one of these in the metal. It doesn’t sound like a bad vehicle at all, but I’m wondering if the basic shape may have been an influence in sales performance as it is so much boxier than a Previa, Caravan, or Aerostar.
Ironically, I found it while still in Rock Island–just a couple of miles from my place, in fact.
Hi Tom, Thanks for the write up on the 1993 Eurovan. I love the MV I just bought but can’t find any parts. It needs window crank handles and a driver side left turn signal lens. Any ideas where I could find such things? Thanks, John
Combover…..you’ve made my day!
Nice find. I had forgotten that these had a model run of just a single year before coming back with the V6 several years later. We had one family at our kids’ school who drove one of these. They may still have it.
The one thing I remember about these was that they were crazy-expensive. The landscape was full of nice, comfy V6-powered minivans but this one was badly underpowered, very stark and sparse inside, and was something like $5k more expensive than the competition. At that time, I still had a bit of a tendency to root for VW, but I could completely understand why this one flopped so badly.
I drove many of these when I lived in Germany, all of them quite basic Transporter models owned by the University I worked in. I think T4’s were not designed thinking of anything else than their loyal german T3 private owners and local companies. Yes, they were quite late, if you think of the european competitors Renault Trafic, Ford Transit and PSA/Fiat Jumper/Ducato, all of them having front engine and, except for the Transit, FWD, but it was not easy to design a vehicle capable to convince T3 owners of the benefits of the new configuration. I heard many conversations between germans about this issue, during long travels through Europe in a T4, and most of them agreed that VW did quite well: 3 adults could still sit in the front (important for cargo version), a small familiy could still sleep over a weekend in a multivan (Eurovan), and overall dimensions were still ideal for large and crowded cities.
The T4 was really successful in Germany, and you can still see them everywhere. But even for the rest of Europe these were not the cheapest, and not that successful as VW would have expected. As the ideal trade-off between en european cargo van and a 6 to 9 passenger van for families, the T4 was probably too small as cargo van for the US, too large and costly compared with US minivans and too complicated in its construction (independent rear suspension, engine-over-gearbox with terrible engine access, etc.) for most markets. The good part is that they’re really robust (at least the ones I drove in Germany). BTW, these were never offered in South America, but they were really popular in the parking lot of my school in the nineties, brought by our german teachers directly from Germany… The rest of us here could only get a new brazilian T2 from the local VW dealership!
Just saw this site as I sold my old 92 7 passenger 5 cylinder VW Eurovan. That model was known as the Eurovan here in Canada rather than the Vanagon or Transporter. It had 400,000 kms on it and was still going. I bought it in Germany and shipped it back to Canada after driving over there for a couple of months, camping with my family. It was a great vehicle and had lots of pep if you drove it properly,using the gears. Had it up to 170 kms (over 100 mph) on the Autobahn. I remember “road racing” a guy in a TransAm once and he got very pissed off that he couldn’t easily lose a VW van when we arrived at our destination within a few minutes of each other. It was incredibly reliable and I seemed to do clutch and brake jobs half as often as my friends who drove Aerostars and Chrysler mini-vans although I must admit it was the first vehicle I owned that I didn’t do all my own servicing – trying to get to the oil filter was a real chore. But the space inside was phenomenal. Loved that thing and planned on restoring it but knew I would never get to it so sold it to someone who wants to bring it back to its former glory. Thanks for the thread link and for triggering so many memories.
I ran around in a new one in Hannover and Niedersachsen when I did errands for my college roommate’s father. His family owned an awesome hardware store and when I was on break, I went to his parent’s house and helped around the store.
Naturally, being new meant that Ralf and I would test it out around the back roads.
It was a 2.5 TDI. It was the fastest VW van I had ever drove. I wasn’t expecting it to actually accelerate, but it most definately did! It had a five cylinder, direct injected, turbo diesel, so we were able to make it go faster than it should have, making the turbo kick in whenever we could. It was fun. But there were limits to the vehicle’s sporting abilities because it was so damn tall, a bit narrow, and made you feel like you were riding a carnival ride if you weren’t belted in and holding on.
We made it go too fast, but we were never a threat to anyone else on the road, except ourselves.
The problem with it was that the T4 didn’t look different enough to offset the VW van image. Expecting a VW van with any type of performance, even normal performance, after years of seeing them struggle on any hill, gave the VW an image which by the 1990s, no shoppers were willing to consider. The T4 was entirely different, but looked too much like the slow loaves of bread puttering around Boulder Colorado or Berkley California.
They were well built. And expensive as well. The one Ralf and I sped around in was top of the line and his father would warn us to remember that it was supposed to last the store a decade or so because of it’s cost. I don’t think we wrecked it, but we did come close a couple of times when we forgot it’s limitations on curves. The view from the windshield a couple of times was a bit edgy. I didn’t know the farm roads around Melle or Schledehausen when we tried finding short cuts between Osnabrueck and Hannover, over the Wiehengebirge, so I let my buddy drive and we discovered that the van’s back end could slide out on right angle curves if he didn’t brake soon enough.
Sometimes we got our deliveries at their destination a lot sooner than expected, and sometimes we had to drive back to the store with the windows open to air out the van as we sped back. The old man would probably follow up if we showed up with beer breath or smelled like hashish and didn’t want us on the road in that condition representing his business.
He was kind of conservative llike that.
I would love to find a Westphalia conversion, preferably one of the last 2-3 years. The girlfriend and I love motorsports, automobile and motorcycle, and there’s a lot of tracks within a half day’s drive that would be perfect for a weekend. As all racetracks have showers and porta-johns (at least, most have flush lavatories), this would be the perfect vehicle for such weekends. Besides, I have very little desire to be dealing with on-board plumbing, gray and black water, and all the complexities that go with them (like winter storage). Which is why I’ve shied away from just buying a small used RV.
Just spent four days driving one of these through the Catskills for a music festival. Best van ever; wackiest engine choice of all time though…the “wide-torque” 2.5 on a camper has 110 very tiny horses…shades of going over a hill in a 71 single port … 55! 50! 45! 40! Amigonnagetoverthehillomigodddddddd….
I have a T4 Euro-spec transporter that I’ve been meaning to post…I’ll try to get that up sometime today…
I’ll also add that this is probably the last real VW you could get in the states…everything’s modular; no central electrical buss, simple, well made, built to last. I love em and Lady JB wants us to get one so bad…
I only knew one person (in the US) who drove a Eurovan (a ’93 similar to this one). He was born in Germany, and had bought the van new in 1992 and was daily driving it until about 2010. When I asked him why, he said, “Because they don’t make anything like this anymore.”
I have seen 8 of these in the last month here in Nova Scotia they are popular and as such still command a premium. Six of the eight where silver with a red one and a black one thrown into the mix. Two of them had the camper top and steel wheels. I wish I would have had the time too fallow them to get picks but as Im moving there wasnt time.
Is it the reverse CC effect? A few days ago I saw a mint condition VW Eurovan pulling out of a Target parking lot in an upscale area. My brain was trying to calculate what the heck it was as I’d mostly forgotten these. It looks modern enough and the van I saw was so clean, I momentarily thought VW had a new van product out. Then I started to recall they had a boxy van that I only ever saw on Magnum P.I., and realized it was a vintage VW of some sort.
Same here.. saw one a couple weeks ago, and could not remember when the last I saw one was. I’ve seen more Busses than Eurovans in the last 10 years… Heck I’ve seen more Edsels than EVs.
“Heck I’ve seen more Edsels than EVs”
LOL! I bet I see an Edsel about twice a year. Saw a ’59 sedan parked at the curb in downtown Omaha last Christmas. Remarkably clean. Saw a ’58 going down I-80 near Atlantic, IA this summer. I’m due for another sighting.
Very popular here these late VW vans, finally VW entered the 20th century with their commercial offering and can compete on performance with Ford and Toyota instead of cluttering the crawler lanes these do get up and go
The sales of these “Urine Vans” were due to:
1) The very anemic performance compared to it’s competition (that four had to work real hard which meant, with or without load, the fuel economy was poor)
2) They were horribly expensive.
Overpriced and underpowered. Didn’t help that most of these showed up here with the Wal-Mart wheelcovers.
Potential buyers usually said “pass” . . . . VW would repeat this faux-pas in the mid-00’s with the W12 Phaeton. I distinctly remember a Phaeton W12 on display on the main terminal floor of Anchorage’s King Ted Stevens Airport. EVERYONE would out exclaim out loud, “74 thousand . . . for a Volkswagen?” . . . The Urine Van and the Phaeton sold in numbers that would’ve made 1957 Packard sales look large!
Never had any idea that these were a one year only deal in the states. I see them around often enough here, including a panel version too.
Remember when aqua, teal, turquoise, blue-green or whatever you called it became oh-so-trendy in the early-mid 90s? I liked the color personally (no surprise, right!), but it turned out to be a flash in the pan.
Much like the old Jeep (Grand) Wagoneer, there is at least one business that buys up old EuroVans and restores them.
Something like this?
Huh I have actually seen a few mid 90’s ones for sale here in CT a 95 and a 97 but they may have come over from Canada you see these once in a while here in newengland but they are getting more rare.
CC-effect indeed, I saw a camper conversion T4 van last week, I think I decided not to take a photo of it because it was too new…
OMG! That’s my van! (Only whoever owns it took better care of it than I did) I bought it brand new in 1993 for $24,000, and drove it until the engine blew up about 2 years ago. That van spent more time in the shop than I did in the kitchen, and I even wrote an angry detailed letter to VW demanding some type of compensation for their horrible engineering when it only had 50,000 miles. Probably had to tow it (as in it being completely dead in the middle of nowhere or on the freeway) at least 15 or 20 times. It finally blew because it overheated for the umpteenth time, and this time the gauges failed to show it. So what did I do? I immediately went out and bought another one! Another 93, even worse than the first. A year later, I sold it and bought a beautiful 2002. What a difference! Real power – it actually keeps up with traffic, but everyone wants to pass me, even at 8o mph, because they can’t get over the public perception that if they are behind a VW van, they must be going slow! Had the 2002 for a year now, and its only needed towing twice – once for the ignition switch failing, another for the water pump and power steering failing – so it still a wonderfully driving POS. What can say, I’m an addict! I love my Eurovan! After 2 splitty’s, and 2 vanagons, it drives like a Mercedes, and breaks down like a corvair! We raised our 2 boys that van – I still remember my youngest son’s friends calling it the Godmobile. Who else got picked up at school every day in a car with a pop-top roof and a bed! I’m still holding out for the new Microbus!
Did VW make an AWD version of Eurovan?
I believe this generation of front-wheel drive platform van, as well as newer ones, were available in Syncro form, but not in the US market.
There’s a VR6 Eurovan down my street with a wheelchair lift. Seems to me VW promoted those for a while, because the regular passenger vans weren’t selling well. I’d like to have a Weekender model with a diesel. I don’t know why VW gave up on selling those in this country so easily. They could always build delivery vans at a VW factory here to keep the prices down. Look at the Mercedes Dodge Sprinter delivery van. We’re also seeing plenty of Ford Transits and Fiat-Dodge Rams running around. You see them everywhere. Then if someone wanted a passenger or camper conversion van, there’s always someone out there to do it. Now that VW do Brazil has stopped making the old rear engine VW transporter model, they’re probably looking to produce a new T5. We could import them from there at a reasonable price. From what I hear Mexico has the VW Crafter van, which is a Sprinter van with a VW diesel engine, and different front end styling.
Shifting, The Great. (From the Vanagon, (t3), to the Eurovan, (t4)). Was it worthy?
http://www.vwsyncro.eu/p/from-vanagon-to.html
The Syncro Heresy
Tom, so nice to see these older posts of yours back on the front page. The pictures are especially nice! 🙂
VW lost a golden opportunity of making that retro-van.
The Bulli concept, body wise, was nearly production ready. Only missed the electric drivetrain it was probably going to have. Was more or less Golf sized.
I happily snapped up a 1:18 scale model of it, still available from your friendly VW dealer if I ain’t wrong
The Bulli’s demise had to do with the IIHS small-overlap crash tests. There was no way to stay true to the concept’s styling with the engineering changes involved, according to VW.
Perhaps, thinly veiled code for “we screwed up with diesel engines and must pay bazillions of euros. So, no extra funding for figuring out how to turn the Bulli into the production reality. Sorry, dudes.”
I think the #vanlife folks who don’t want a Sprinter, Transit, Promaster or older domestic van, have had enough of skyrocketing Vanagon prices and the low performance, even with Subaru conversions (which add even more cost). In my area the Eurovans, especially campers (both Winnebago and Westfalia) have been coming out of the woodwork for the last few years and are almost as common as Vanagons despite much lower production numbers. As a former Vanagon owner and current VW owner, I see the appeal, especially with a Westy poptop, but not sure it’s really much better than an Astro van. Though Astro AWD prices are creeping up too …
here’s mine. 1993 mv weekender a little rough around the edges (278k miles) but still reliable. it’s my rolling project. the earlier versions are refereed to as the “short nose.” i prefer this 5 speed and the 2.5 liter 5 cylinder to the vr6 and automatic in the “long nose” later versions. enough power for the gentler mountains of the northeast where i live.
What happened to Tom Klockau? He was probably the most active poster here for a long while and then suddenly he was completely gone.
I seem to remember he was unemployed. Did he just get a job? I hope he’s alright.
This is my favorite Transporter generation. I worked for Avis when these were replaced and whenever I grabbed the keys for a Transporter or Caravelle, I crossed my fingers hoping it was one of the old ones still in the fleet.
These feel more truck-like than their replacements, but in a good way.
Tom appears on a FB classic car every now and then so hes still alive out there.
Thanks. That’s good to know.
Tom is alive and well and posts regularly at the Riverside Green site.