{"id":9124,"date":"2016-07-28T16:44:34","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T16:44:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/?p=9124"},"modified":"2016-07-28T16:44:34","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T16:44:34","slug":"will-the-new-volkswagen-crafter-be-a-sprinter-beater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/archives\/9124","title":{"rendered":"Will the new Volkswagen Crafter be a Sprinter beater?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Volkswagen looks set to\u00a0go head-to-head with its former manufacturing partner Mercedes-Benz.<\/p>\n

Whereas the current and previous model Crafter vans have been rebadged Sprinters fitted with VW engines, the new Crafter<\/a> will be a completely different van.<\/p>\n

\"All-new

The all-new Volkswagen Crafter van — can it take the fight to the Sprinter?<\/p><\/div>\n

Designed by VW and manufactured at a new\u00a0factory in Poland, the new Crafter appears to address several of the\u00a0current van’s weaknesses\u00a0when set against the Sprinter.<\/p>\n

New power plant<\/h2>\n

For example, whereas the Sprinter’s 2.1-litre power units is a scaled-down\u00a0version of the engine used in Mercedes’ light trucks, the old Crafter’s 2.0-litre diesel is essentially the same as that used in its large cars and\u00a0the Transporter van. Under\u00a0heavy loads, the difference becomes apparent. The Sprinter’s\u00a0torquey delivery makes it a more effective long distance load lugger.<\/p>\n

While the engine in the new Crafter is still a 2.0-litre unit, Volkswagen was at pains to point out today that\u00a0the new engine is a\u00a0“commercial vehicle diesel engine”<\/em>. \u00a0This\u00a0new Euro 6 “EA 288Nutz” engine\u00a0appears to be a versatile unit. It will be available with four power outputs, 102PS, 122PS and 140PS, plus a\u00a0bi-turbo 177PS version.<\/p>\n

Buyers will be able to choose between front, rear and all-wheel drive models, with VW’s 4MOTION system making its first appearance\u00a0on a large van. There will also be a choice of manual and automatic gearboxes.<\/p>\n

Size and space<\/h2>\n

The van itself will\u00a0be available in three lengths and three heights and will feature an impressive array of safety systems. A new electro-mechanical steering system means that\u00a0active driver assistance systems such as ESP with trailer stabilisation, ACC Adaptive Cruise Control, post-collision braking system, side wind compensation system and a trailer manoeuvring assistant system among others will\u00a0all be available.<\/p>\n

Inside, drivers will be cossetted in a cab that’s unmistakably Volkswagen. However, it looks very well endowed with storage and working space and should be a decent place to spend time:<\/p>\n

\"Cab<\/p>\n

Passive safety systems will include front, side and head airbags for the driver and passengers, plus an extensive range of warning systems. These include options for a reversing camera, parking distance monitor and the Rear Traffic Alert system.<\/p>\n

Will the\u00a0new Crafter be a winner?<\/h2>\n

It’s not often a completely new large van comes on the market. Volkswagen appears to be making a big commitment to the success of the new Crafter.<\/p>\n

From what we know so far, the new van should be\u00a0a potent package.<\/p>\n

However, as always the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. How will the new Crafter rate with fleet operators and drivers? How reliable will it be, and how will\u00a0total ownership costs compare\u00a0with other similar models?<\/p>\n

How well will VW’s\u00a0support package compare to\u00a0those of established large van manufacturers like Ford, Fiat Professional and Mercedes-Benz?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Engine and specification details for the all-new Volkswagen Crafter. VW appears to be making a serious effort to carve out a share of the large van market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[403,493],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9124"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9124"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9129,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9124\/revisions\/9129"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vanrental.co.uk\/vanblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}