Volkswagen Crafter: the large van that grew up

The Volkswagen Crafter is the largest van of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, a three- to five-tonne model introduced in 2006. It officially replaced the Transporter LT of 1975, although it is known internally as the LT3. The first generation was a rebadged Mercedes-Benz Sprinter built by Daimler with Volkswagen powertrains; the second generation of 2017 was designed and built by Volkswagen itself.

Volkswagen Crafter at a glance

History of the Volkswagen Crafter

The Crafter of 2006 was, like the second-generation LT before it, a rebadged Mercedes-Benz Sprinter: Daimler built it at Ludwigsfelde and Düsseldorf, the same plants as the Sprinter, while Volkswagen supplied the powertrain. Its frontal design was the work of the French designer Laurent Boulay and took cues from the Volkswagen Constellation truck. From launch until 2010 all engines were based on Volkswagen’s re-engineered 2.5-litre R5 TDI, a five-cylinder common-rail turbodiesel of 2,459 cm³ with piezoelectric injectors and a diesel particulate filter that let every version meet Euro IV; the 2010 version was redesigned to cure earlier turbo failures. A Blue TDI variant used AdBlue with the particulate filter to reach the Euro V EEV standard.

The van came with three wheelbases of 3,250, 3,665 and 4,325 mm, front airbags as standard and side and curtain airbags as options, along with ABS, a load-adapting ESP, anti-slip regulation and an electronic differential lock that brakes a slipping wheel to send torque to the other side. Payloads ranged from 1,472 to 3,026 kg on chassis and double cab models, with gross vehicle weights of 3.5 or 5.3 tonnes, and the Crafter became a popular base for minibus conversions. It collected awards in Britain and Australia in 2006, 2007 and 2008. In April 2011 came a facelift with a grille in the current Volkswagen style and new 2.0 TDI engines of 80, 100 and 120 kW meeting Euro 5b, with payload up by as much as 10 per cent; a 4Motion version with the 120 kW BiTDI followed in March 2012, the four-wheel-drive system supplied and fitted by the Austrian specialists Achleitner.

The second generation, the Typ SY/SZ of 2017, was developed entirely by Volkswagen after the end of the collaboration with Mercedes-Benz. It is built in Września, Poland, in a factory built for it at a cost of about €800 million, with a planned volume of 85,000 vehicles a year. The motorhome version, the Volkswagen Grand California, was shown at the 2018 Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf in lengths of 6.0 and 6.8 metres and went on sale at the beginning of 2019. In September 2016 Volkswagen had already shown the e-Crafter at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover: an electric van with a 43 kWh battery, an estimated range of 208 km, a 100 kW (136 PS) motor of 290 N·m, a payload of 1,709 kg and 11.3 m³ of cargo space, released in 2017.

Design and features

• Largest Volkswagen van: a three- to five-tonne model above the Transporter.
• Sprinter origins: the first generation was built by Mercedes-Benz with Volkswagen engines.
• Three wheelbases: 3,250, 3,665 and 4,325 mm, with payloads up to 3,026 kg.
• 4Motion: four-wheel drive with the 120 kW BiTDI from 2012.
• e-Crafter: an electric version with a 43 kWh battery and 208 km of range.

Volkswagen Crafter versions

• First generation (2006–2017): the Sprinter-based van with 2.5 R5 TDI and later 2.0 TDI engines.
• Facelift (2011): new grille and 2.0 TDI engines of 80 to 120 kW.
• Crafter 4Motion (2012): four-wheel drive with the BiTDI engine.
• Second generation (2017): Typ SY/SZ, designed and built by Volkswagen in Poland.
• Grand California (2019): the motorhome version in 6.0 and 6.8 metre lengths.
• e-Crafter (2017): the electric van.

The Crafter replaced the LT and sits above the Transporter in the van range, below the heavy Constellation trucks. More cars are in the Volkswagen collection.

Sources

• Volkswagen Crafter, English Wikipedia: generations, engines, equipment, plants, e-Crafter