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Ford Transit Custom vs Volkswagen Transporter

What's the difference?

VS
Ford Transit Custom
Ford Transit Custom

$49,997 - $70,990

2023 price

Volkswagen Transporter
Volkswagen Transporter

$39,989 - $47,992

2021 price

Summary

2023 Ford Transit Custom
2021 Volkswagen Transporter
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Diesel Turbo 4, 2.0L

Diesel Turbo 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type
Diesel

Diesel
Fuel Efficiency
7.2L/100km (combined)

7.5L/100km (combined)
Seating
3

3
Dislikes
  • Loss of unique engine tune
  • Impractical tow rating
  • Short seat base cushions

  • No ANCAP rating
  • Small kerbside mirror
  • Noise levels at highway speeds
2023 Ford Transit Custom Summary

Most buyers of mid-sized (2.5- to 3.5-tonne GVM) vans want them purely as workhorses and often as part of hard-working fleets.

Although these cuboid-shaped commercials are usually available in a limited choice of colours (take your pick from fridge white or freezer white) they are well designed for such roles.

However, for van buyers wanting to project more of a sporty image than the usual whitegoods-on-wheels, there’s Ford’s Transit Custom Sport. It’s been around for a few years now, so we recently put one to the test for a week to see if it’s still worthy of its unique ‘Sport’ title.

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Interested in a Ford Transit Custom?
2021 Volkswagen Transporter Summary

The VW Transporter has been in production for more than 70 years, as its bloodline can be traced back to the original rear-engine split-window ‘Kombi’ launched in 1950. So, during those seven decades, the German manufacturer has no doubt learned a thing or ten about building light commercial vans.

The current T-series of Transporters was launched in 1990, which was the first of six generations culminating in the current T6 range, that comprises not only work-focused vans but also people-mover, campervan and cab-chassis variants.

VW recently released a 6.1 version of vans and people-movers. That decimal point brings significant upgrades of standard safety equipment, headlined by City Emergency Brake (CEB), plus new variants. We recently put a Transporter 6.1 to work for a week and discovered a very capable mid-sized (2.5 to 3.5-tonne GVM) van with few flaws.

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Deep dive comparison

2023 Ford Transit Custom 2021 Volkswagen Transporter

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