Volkswagen Multivan vs Foton T5

What's the difference?

The Australian launch of the new generation Multivan was confined to the Life grade with the 2.0-litre diesel engine. Later in 2025 the Style grade will arrive bringing a hybrid powertrain and even more features. We’ll be able to test both more thoroughly once we have them in the CarsGuide garage.

From this first drive, however, it's clear that while slightly pricier than its Kia Carnival rival the new generation Multivan is more practical than ever, and now that it rides on a car platform, far better to drive.

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

The T5 EV would be best suited to short-haul city and suburban tasks, with daily back-to-base operations ensuring the convenient and dependable charging infrastructure required (compared to the lottery of public charging). Given Foton’s claim of upfront and operational cost reductions, the T5 EV could be what some commercial fleet managers are looking for. 

As with all Volkswagens the redesign of the new-gen Multivan is more about refining than redefining. Just like the Golf hatch which has kept its look through eight generations the Multivan is recognisable and familiar but new and modern looking, too.

Smoother lines, a more heavily raked windscreen and a flatter bonnet make for a cuter snub nose. The new Multivan is less boxy than before even though it is still a box on wheels, just a sleeker, more adorable one. 

As mentioned, the Multivan comes in two lengths: the short wheelbase, which is 4973mm from the front bumper to the rear bumper, and the long wheelbase which is 5173mm long. Height for both is 1900mm.

Inside, the cabin is modern with large screens for media and driver instruments with a minimalist design to the dash, while the lack of a centre console frees up space. The sense of roominess is enhanced by daylight flooding in through oversized windows which can be taken a step further when combined with the optional panoramic (split panel) glass roof. 

There are nine body colours to pick from including 'Candy White', 'Pure Grey', 'Reflex Silver Metallic', 'Copper Bronze Metallic', 'Deep Black Pearlescent', 'Energetic Orange Metallic', 'Medium Blue Metallic', 'Mono Silver Metallic' and 'Starlight Blue Metallic'.

The T5 EV has a 3360mm wheelbase and steel ladder-frame chassis, with a leaf-spring solid front axle, leaf-spring rear axle and rear-wheel drive. Braking is by front discs and rear drums.

Its 81.14kWh of energy capacity is provided by two 60Ah lithium-ion batteries, one on each side, mounted in long parallel cradles. Drivetrain maintenance items, including motor and battery cooling systems, are accessed by unlocking and tilting the hinged cab forward.

The cab offers sufficient head, shoulder and legroom for up to three occupants, including tall people in the often-compromised centre seat. However, the centre seat is only equipped with a lap-belt.

Practicality is the Multivan's greatest strength. Seven seats come standard and the rear five can be configured into numerous variations. If you like you could have those rear seats facing each other or you can just have a second row with a large boot area or you could have two in the middle row and two in the third row or whatever other variation you can think up. Yes, you can remove all five rear seats and now that they're 25 per cent lighter it’s easier to do so.

People space is excellent and at 189cm tall I found it possible to not only sit comfortably in the second row behind my driving position, but also behind that in the third row with plenty of leg and headroom.  

An optional multi-functional table is also available and this can slide on rails from the third row all the way up to between the driver and front passenger.

Second row cabin storage is outstanding. You’ll find drawers under the seats big enough for a pair of shoes, hidey holes and cupholders everywhere, seat-back tray tables and gigantic door pockets.

Up front is a double glove box, a dash-top storage bin, more cupholders as well as a multitude of pockets and small storage holes for bits and pieces.

For devices there’s a wireless phone charger and four USB ports.

You’ll also find three-zone climate control with air vents throughout the cabin and dark-tinted glass for the side windows. 

Finally, the power sliding rear side doors are huge and allow easy entry and exit to and from both rear rows.

Being able to leave the driver or front passenger’s seat and walk through to the second row is also handy and fun. Not while driving, of course, although it’s tempting.

With a maximum claimed kerb weight of 2500kg, the T5 EV has a 2000kg payload rating for car licence operation and up to 3500kg for drivers with a Light Rigid truck licence (these payloads include the weight of service bodies).

Its 8000kg GCM (how much it can legally carry and tow at the same time) means car licence drivers can tow up to 3500kg of braked trailer while carrying its maximum payload. For Light Rigid drivers, the maximum trailer weight drops to 2000kg, given the larger payload allowance.

The Pantech body fitted to our test vehicle has twin rear doors, with 270-degree opening and sturdy hooks on the body sides to hold them in place.

Cabin storage includes narrow bins but no bottle-holders in the doors, an overhead storage shelf on the driver’s side, a small compartment with spring-loaded lid in the dash and a single glovebox.

The centre console only offers a single bottle-holder. However, the centre seat backrest folds forward and flat to reveal a small desk on the back of it, complete with a hidden storage compartment and two cup/bottle-holders.

The T5 EV cab-chassis comes equipped with a single electric motor and 81.14kWh battery capacity for MSRP of $139,450 plus GST. 

Standard equipment includes 16-inch alloy wheels (dual rears) with 205/75R16 LT tyres and a full-size spare, seating for three, remote central-locking and height/reach adjustable steering wheel.

There’s also a reversing radar and camera, cabin roof air-deflector, lower rear and side guards, 24-volt dash socket and basic multimedia including radio, Bluetooth and MP3/MP5 connectivity.

At the moment there’s just the one grade of Multivan, the Life, and it's powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder diesel making 110kW and 360Nm. Transmission is a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic which sends drive to the front wheels.

Coming later in 2025 will be a petrol-electric variant but it will only be available in a more premium Style grade.

The T5 EV’s single electric motor has a peak power output of 115kW and maximum torque of 300Nm. It also offers two drive modes: ‘Eco’ which minimises energy use with a top speed of 73km/h and ‘Power’ which uses more battery charge but increases top speed to 94km/h (both speeds achieved during our test).

Volkswagen says that after a combination of open and urban roads the Multivan Life should use 6.4L/100km. While on the launch the trip computer was recording an average of about 8.5L/100km, but we’ll assess fuel efficiency again when this VW comes into the CarsGuide road test garage. 

In theory, if you do use 6.4L/100km, the Multivan's 80-litre tank should give you 1250km of range.

The score for efficiency looks quite low here and that's because without having driven the Style grade and the hybrid powertrain all we have to go by currently is the diesel.

Foton does not publish an official kWh/100km consumption figure, but claims a fully loaded driving range of 180km from its 81.14kWh battery capacity.

According to the dash readouts at the end of our test, which we did on a single charge, we drove 142km with 38km of estimated range remaining. Our displayed average consumption was 51.3kWh/100km, so based on that figure you could expect a driving range of around 160km, which is less than the dash estimate.

Our testing was conducted without a load (see Driving) but it did include considerable freeway travel required to collect and return the vehicle, so regenerative braking was minimal. And we had to use Power mode to maintain freeway speeds.

Foton claims that DC fast-charging allows for a full recharge in 1.5 hours, while the 11kW onboard AC charger takes 7.2 hours which is suitable to overnight turnarounds.

The missing piece of the Multivan puzzle for me has been the way it drives. Past versions have been less 'car-like' than rivals like the Kia Carnival. It felt like a commercial van to drive, because essentially it was. But that's been fixed.

One of the biggest changes to this new-generation Multivan is the platform on which it's built. Volkswagen has decided to swap the truck-like platform from the past for the 'MQB' platform which underpins vehicles such as the Golf and Tiguan. 

Having spent a few hours driving this new generation Multivan around some great country roads during the launch I can testify that not only is the ride comfortable and composed but this van handles way better than you might imagine.

While the Multivan is in no way a sports car, good handling adds to the fun factor. It's easy to drive with light, accurate and direct steering, good acceleration and smooth gear changes from the transmission, great pedal feel under your feet and superb visibility from the high seating position and oversized windows all around.

That said, I enjoyed driving the previous generation Multivan. I loved its fun and easy piloting factor and the change in platform for this new-gen model makes the experience even more pleasurable.

There are large handles on the windscreen pillars to assist climbing aboard and the driving position offers adequate comfort, with its steering wheel adjustments and left footrest. However, some rake adjustment in the flat base cushion would be welcome, as it can feel like you're sliding forward at times.

The drive selector dial on the console has three settings (Reverse, Neutral, Drive) marked by the letters R-D-N, so it’s simple to use. Because of its near-silent operation at low speeds, the T5 EV is equipped with an audible pedestrian warning system. This activates at speeds below 30km/h and makes a unique sound that defies description.

We drove in Eco mode when not on the freeway and found that its quiet and smooth surge of acceleration was more than adequate for a vehicle weighing more than 2.5 tonnes. We did briefly try the Power mode but did not detect a significant boost in performance.

It has good steering feel (with electric power assistance) and its noticeable lightness at low speeds is appreciated when manoeuvring in tight spots. The brake pedal provides vigorous response and a strong regenerative effect (as displayed on the energy gauge) that optimises battery range.

The instrument display shows drive mode, estimated driving range, battery charge and temperature, energy use, average energy consumption and other useful data relating to drivetrain operation. Useful enhancements would be speed-sign recognition and a clearer image for the reversing camera.

Although almost silent under 60km/h, increased noise at freeway speeds includes some faint drivetrain hum and wind-buffeting around the large door mirrors, which compensate by offering excellent rear vision.

We didn’t get to do our usual GVM test, due to a software glitch in the public charging facilities we arranged to use on the day. Back-to-base operations with in-house charging would avoid these issues.

Includes driver and passenger airbags plus AEB, lane departure warning, hill-start assist, traction control and other active safety features. There’s also the low-speed pedestrian warning system, reversing camera/radar/buzzer, fire extinguisher, unlocked cab warning and more. The lap-belt for the centre passenger seat, though, needs upgrading to a full lap-sash type.

The Multivan is covered by Volkswagen’s five year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

Servicing is recommended every 15,000km or annually and will cost you between about $600-800 a year.

Five years/200,000km warranty plus an eight years/300,000km traction battery warranty. Also 24/7 roadside assist. Scheduled servicing every 12 months/20,000km whichever occurs first. Total scheduled servicing cost for five years/200,000km is $7850 or a pricey average of $1570 per year. No capped-price servicing is offered.