Volkswagen Crafter vs Foton Tunland

What's the difference?

This is not the vehicle for somebody looking for the odd weekend away. That’s mainly because it will take up a lot of real estate when you’re not using it (it may not even fit in a lot of car-ports or garages) and it’s far from a daily driver for the school run or shopping trips.

If you’re looking for a getaway machine that will also work at home for the other 48 weeks of the year, a conventional caravan and four-wheel-drive is likely to be a better bet, purely because the tow-vehicle can be your day-to-day transport

But if your plans include longer getaways and you have the storage space to keep the Kampervan stashed away safely, it starts to emerge as a functional alternative.

Talk to long-term travellers, and even the best camper trailer needs to be set up each night and folded away next morning, and as for tents, don’t even start us…

But like a full-sized caravan, the VW simply pulls up to where ever it is you want to stay for the night and is ready to feed, entertain and rest its occupants within seconds of stopping.

But unlike a big, heavy caravan, the Volkswagen imposes far fewer driving caveats (including fuel consumption) and is a vastly more enjoyable and simple thing to drive in pretty much any circumstance.

It's not for everybody, but for those whose lifestyle it matches, the VW Kampervan is an alternative to a caravan that deserves short-listing. Let’s face it, 50 million hippies can’t be wrong.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

You have to give Foton some credit because the 2026 Tunland V9-S 4x4 is a big US-sized ute without the big US-style price-tag.

On the surface this is an impressive vehicle. It’s well-equipped, comfortable, reasonably capable off-road and is generally nice to drive.

But under closer scrutiny, and when driving the Tunland, some substantial flaws soon become obvious, not the least of which is an underdone powertrain and some annoying driver-assist tech.

Still, it is a lot of ute for the money, so the Tunland represents a strong case as a budget buy.

Given that the design of the camper conversion was partly the work of Jayco, there’s every reason to suspect that the end result should work for recreational users. That is, of course, provided Jayco’s caravan-building experience translates to a campervan layout.

That’s because this is not as simple as plonking a wheel-less caravan onto a Crafter cab-chassis; integration in the key here.

The various zones – driving, entertaining, sleeping, bathroom and cooking – need to work with each other with as many components having more than one job.

The off-grid capability is also a highlight and, in the case of the All-Terrain model with its off-road tyres, bash plates and 30mm higher ground clearance, makes getting farther off the beaten track more of a reality.

A lot of people will wonder why VW didn’t simply import a batch of the campervan conversions it already builds in Europe.

The fact is, however, that the left-hand drive layout means the sliding side door would be on the wrong side for Australia, and the integrated gas system would not have met ADR standards. So was born the idea of a local conversions which is where Jayco came in.

The Tunland is 5617mm long (with a 3355mm wheelbase), 2090mm wide and 1955mm high. It has a listed kerb weight of 2315kg.

It has a big bluff front end with chrome type front grille, chunky wheel arches, sports bar on the tub, pronounced rear and of course, its not-insubstantial all-around size. These factors give the Tunland presence on and off the road.

But that big front end is not as an in-your-face occasion as the MG U9’s is, not by a long shot.

The interior has everything you’d expect of a top-spec dual-cab interior – synthetic leather seat trim, soft-touch surfaces but also an abundance of durable plastic. And there’s colour ambient lighting front and rear.

Ultimately, the Tunland holds its own in design terms against rival such as the LDV T60 and MG U9.

The Crafter’s phone mirroring system seems to work pretty well, although it’s menu-driven layout can be a bit frustrating (it’s hardly alone there) and Android phones sometimes didn’t want to connect as simply as they should have (potential user-error here, folks).

But the rest of the interior is typically Crafter-smart including lots and lots of cupholders, USB ports and cubby-holes dotted around the front seat area.

Doubtless, a few months on the road will show up design issues according to the individual, but for now, our main comment would be the proximity of the bathroom to the food preparation area (although, to be fair, most owners will cook outside the vehicle).

The mattress is a split queen unit (rather than a single mattress) and it occupies the full width of the rearmost part of the vehicle, so making the bed might be a bit more difficult.

The location and width of the bathroom (although it feels pretty tiny once you’re in there and operates as a wet-room) also means there’s just half the rear view that the vehicle might otherwise have.

The thick pillar between the two rear barn-doors also adds to that blind spot. At least the mirrors are good; nice and wide and very clear.

It’s when the Kampervan is not being used to survey this wide, brown land that its practicality starts to come into question. Unlike a conventional four-wheel drive and caravan rig, the accommodation section of the Crafter can’t simply be unhooked and parked in the driveway.

Which means it’s not really suburb or city-friendly. Underground car-parks will soon detach the air-conditioning unit in a pretty violent way, and the almost-seven-metre length will have you looking for adjacent empty parking spaces (or the car-and-trailer section at Bunnings).

Put simply, this is the touring solution for those who want to tackle the Big Trip in one go, staying on the road for weeks or perhaps even months. Obviously, that’s an observation rather than a criticism, but it remains something to think about.

It’s the usual set-up for a ute cabin, which means a workable blend of comfort, ease-of-use, functionality and practicality.

The multimedia system is easy enough to use, but it’s not the most intuitive set-up around with cycling through menus and sub-menus required during operation. But the screen is big and colours are crisp and clearly visible.

There are four USB-A ports, a 220V/300W power socket, a x 12V/120W power outlet as well as two cupholders up front and two in the fold-down armrest in the back row.

The cabin is spacious with the Tunland's extra size used to better accommodate the driver and passengers rather than being used to expand the load space.

Speaking of load space...

In terms of packability for touring, the Tunland’s tub is 1577mm long (1240mm between the wheel arches), 1650mm wide and the load space itself is 530mm deep. Load height is 880mm.

The Tunland’s tub has four tie-down points, but they're positioned too high in the tub for my liking.

All in all, this ute is on a par with its rivals for practicality.

The Tunland V9-S (S for Supreme) is at the top of a four-variant line-up and has recommended pricing starting at $49,990, before on-road costs. The other variants are the V7-C 4x2, V7-C 4x4 and V9-L 4x4. (C - Commercial, L - Luxury.)

Standard features include a 14.6-inch touchscreen multimedia system (with wireless Apple CarPlay plus wireless charging), six-speaker stereo, 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, three-profile facial recognition, dual-zone climate control, six-way powered plus four-way lumbar adjustment heated and ventilated driver seat (with memory function), 18-inch alloy wheels and tailgate assist.

It's worth noting the test vehicle is fitted with a towbar kit (seven-pin, $1384.16 RRP fitted) and RedArc Tow Pro V3 Electric Brake Controller Kit ($871.33 RRP fitted).

Exterior paint choices include standard 'Flare White' (no cost) or you can choose from 'Titanium Grey', 'Phantom Black', 'Lightning Purple', 'Galaxy Silver', 'Fire Red', 'Diamond Blue' or 'Aurora Green', which is on our test vehicle. Each of those colours cost $690 MLP (Manufacturer’s List Price).

While the Tunland bests some of its rivals – such as the MG U9 – for price (the base spec is $52,990, the top grade is $60,990), it can’t match the value proposition of something like the LDV T60 (around $39,000 to $46,500, drive-away), no matter how stacked its features list is.

The Crafter is powered by VW’s now-familiar 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine which produces 130kW of power and 410Nm of torque thanks to a pair of turbochargers.

Driving through an eight-speed automatic transmission, the torque is then sent to all four wheels via VW’s '4Motion' permanent all-wheel-drive system.

It’s worth mentioning the automatic transmission is a conventional torque-converter unit, rather that the dual-clutch layout VW has championed for years now.

The Crafter also uses ventilated disc brakes front and rear and the however you look at it, the modern driveline of the Kampervan makes an old air-cooled Kombi look even more antiquated (which is saying something).

And while the Crafter in commercial-vehicle trim has the option of an electronic locking rear differential, the Kampervan adds this as standard.

The Tunland has a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine – producing 120kW at 3600rpm and 450Nm at 1500-2400rpm – and that’s matched to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

It also has a 48V mild-hybrid system, which is similar to the HiLux’s set-up, cannot be charged manually and does not offer electric-only driving.

This ute also has drive modes – 'Eco', 'Standard', 'Sport', 'Sand' and 'Mud/Snow' – and part-time four-wheel drive.

The engine and auto transmission combination yields a sluggish driving experience on sealed surfaces, and it feels underpowered. The pairing works better in low-speed 4WDing more than anything else.

In terms of engine outputs, the Tunland (120kW/450Nm) lags behind rivals such as the MG U9 (160kW/520Nm) and even the LDV T60 (160kW/500Nm).

Although the Crafter’s driveline boasts energy recuperation, it’s not a hybrid system. Instead, the vehicle’s alternator is able to generate electricity during braking and store that in the vehicle’s batteries for later use, rather than storing that power in a dedicated hybrid battery.

This also helps ensure the main battery is always fully charged to power the stop-start system that is also standard on the Crafter.

Because it’s a commercial vehicle, there’s no compulsion to offer an official fuel consumption figure and, indeed, Volkswagen doesn’t.

But our real world drive including some winding roads and a bit of freeway thrown in, gave us an average figure of between nine and 10 litres per 100km. This is likely to be a bit lower on a purely highway run, but is a good indicator of general use consumption.

The 75 litre fuel tank should, then, give an easy 700km of range, but don’t forget the Crafter’s engine uses AdBlue, so that extra cost needs to be factored into running costs.

Official fuel consumption is listed as 8.0L/100km on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle.

Fuel consumption on this test was 9.8L/100km, which is pretty good because I have done a lot of low-range 4WDing.

The Tunland has a 76-litre fuel tank so, going by that fuel figure, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 775km from a full tank. It also has a 12-litre AdBlue tank.

In fuel consumption terms, the Tunland holds its own against the MG U9 (up to 7.9L/100km official) and LDV T60 (up to 8.1L/100km official).

You can see the appeal of a high driving position the moment you step into (or climb into, really) the Kampervan. The view out is fabulous and even though the vehicle is just shy of seven metres long, you soon develop a bit of a sixth sense for where the back wheels are, based on what the front wheels have just done.

The glass area is huge with the exception of the view to the rear thanks to that bathroom placement.

The front seats are big and comfy, although the two rear seats are pretty flat and place the occupants quite close together. There’s enough adjustability in the seat and steering column to make anybody feel at home and the exterior mirrors are big and clear.

There’s enough performance, to be sure, but the sheer mass of the Kampervan and the fact that it’s moving a lot of air means you’ll be giving the rather long-travel accelerator a decent workout.

Taking off into traffic is the only time the VW will feel a bit sluggish, but once the engine has a few revs on board it all gets going fairly smartly.

Unlike a lot of modern cars that can feel as though they're travelling a lot slower than they really are, the Kampervan is the opposite. Not that it’s spooky to drive, but there will be times you’ll be in a 100km/h zone, look down and discover you’re doing 90.

In the context of a leisure vehicle, this shouldn’t bother anybody apart from a highway patrol officer down on his or her monthly quota.

The engine is smooth and the transmission is refined and possesses enough smarts to make a better job of shifting itself than the driver ever will.

It’s not exactly silent inside, though, with a smattering of clicks and clatters from some of the less-automotive furniture, but it’s a fair bet even a brand-new house would likewise rattle a bit if you hurled it down a bumpy road at 100km/h.

The biggest source of noise pollution, though, is in the All-Terrain model and consists of a chorus of sucking, sobbing, choking and burping noises from the snorkel which is placed right near the driver’s right ear. Obviously, it’s worse with the window open.

Ride quality is very good. Clearly, having a bit of weight on board doesn’t hurt, but even so, the Kampervan refuses to pitch or wallow despite that ride compliance. In fact, it’s very composed for such a big unit that was originally designed to carry parcels and pallets.

The Foton Tunland is compliant and comfortable and in general terms, pretty agreeable on road. In fact, ride and handling are quite impressive on sealed surfaces. A large part of the credit for that should be attributed to, a) its size and b) this top-spec model's multi-link suspension. I consists of double wishbones up the front and multi-link at the rear with coil springs, whereas lower-spec Tunlands have leaf springs.

The engine, however, is a different story. “Wheezy, laggy, underpowered,” my notes read.

This ute is underdone in terms of power and torque and though the automatic transmission the engine is paired with is cluey, the combination doesn't have the oomph you'd like in a ute of this size.

The Tunland’s driver-assist tech on road is the wrong side of annoying. It’s either over the top in its preemptive reaction to whatever it thinks is going to happen, or too intrusive or abrasive in its effectiveness. The good news is you can switch that stuff off, but you do have to do that every time you start up.

Now to the off-road.

Crucially, the engine and auto combination works better at low speeds, especially in low-range 4WDing working in partnership with the off-road drive modes – Mud/Snow and Sand – the Tunland does reasonably well.

Low range gearing is good, off-road traction control is reasonably well calibrated, and again, as an overall package it performs satisfactorily. And if you get the urge, you can use diff locks front and rear.

It is, however, somewhat hamstrung by its size – its sheer physical dimensions – and feels low in terms of how much rolling ground clearance it offers, which is listed as listed 240mm but feels like less.

It also has big chunky side steps, so those may well become rock or tree stump magnets when you tackle more challenging technical 4WDing.

For the spec nerds among us, off-road-relevant figures include a 28-degree approach angle, a 26-degree departure angle and a 21-degree rampover angle. Not sure what I’m on about? Check out some of my previous yarns where I painstakingly explain it. By the way, wading depth is a listed 700mm but my tracks weren’t that wet.

Sounds like I’m kicking the Tunland while it’s down? Well, I’m not… much.

Overall, it does reasonably well for what it is. There’s enough power and torque to get you through moderate off-roading obstacles and challenges, but it's not going to win any awards for hardcore grunt.

But this ute – like many contemporary 4WD utes and wagons on the market now – is let down by its standard tyres (Giti 4x4 AT71, 265/70Rx18 116T). If you are planning to do anything more than light to moderate off-roading in this ute one of your first ports of call will be to replace the Tunland’s showroom rubber with a decent set of more aggressive all terrain tyres.

In terms of towing capacity, the Tunland is rated to tow a 750kg unbraked trailer and 3500kg braked.

Payload is 995kg with a Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of 3310kg and Gross Combined Mass (GCM) of 6810kg.

For all-around drivability and pure off-road capability, the Tunland manages to hold its own against the likes of the MG U9 and LDV T60. That is to say, satisfactorily.

As of May 2026, the 2026 Tunland has not been rated by ANCAP.

As standard, it has eight airbags and a suite of driver-assist tech including auto emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

It also has two child seat anchor points and two ISOFIX anchor points.

In safety terms, the Tunland holds the likes of LDV T60 (unrated), but is eclipsed by the MG U9’s maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating.

The Kampervan carries Volkswagen Australia’s full five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty. That extends to not just the base vehicle, but the whole conversion including all of Jayco’s additions and other aftermarket fittings.

VW offers a version of capped price servicing called its 'Service Care Plan' that covers scheduled maintenance for the first five years and can be purchased at the time the vehicle is ordered.

No price for this was available as we went to press, but for reference, the same five-year service plan for the Amarok dual-cab ute costs $1900.

Standard service intervals are every 12 months or 20,000km, whichever comes first.

The Tunland is covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty and a seven-year roadside assistance plan.

The first service – at three months or 5000km – is free, but after that service intervals are scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km and end up totalling an estimated $4492.39 (over seven years). Those service costs are getting up there.

Foton Australia has about 30 dealerships across the country.

In terms of the warranty period, the Tunland bests the LDV T60 (seven-year/200,000km new vehicle warranty) and the MG U9’s five-year/unlimited-kilometre manufacturer warranty, but the is closer in terms of overall costs with the MG U9 costing $2395 in total for the first five years (up to 70,000km), and the LDV T60 costing between $300 to more than $750 each service.