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By Jonathan Crouch

Volkswagen's Multivan arguably makes most sense in eHybrid form. Jonathan Crouch drives it.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 54

Volkswagen's Multivan eHybrid brings PHEV efficiency to the big People Carrier segment and does so in surprising style. It's more than a large MPV but not quite as gargantuan as the biggest van-based People Carriers. Possibly, it's an ideal combination of both - with efficiency that could make more sense than driving a diesel.

Backgroundword count: 118

We've never seen a Plug-in Hybrid Volkswagen MPV before. But that's what we've got here in the sleekly squarical shape of the brand's Multivan eHybrid. People Carriers may be a dying genre with most brands but they're still very much in vogue with Volkswagen - though with an emphasis on electrification. We've already got the all-electric ID. Buzz. And the next generation Transporter Shuttle will be engineered with a PHEV option. But the electrified VW People Carrier that you're most likely to see is this one. You can still choose a Multivan with the 2.0-litre TDI diesel, but before you sign up for one of those, check this eHybrid version out - as we're going to do here.

Driving Experienceword count: 320

The drive system here certainly isn't one you'd typically expect to find in a van (or of a VW MPV come to that) - a Plug-in Hybrid set-up offering 218PS from the combination of a 1.4 TSI petrol engine and an 85kW electric motor. Nor is the silence of this big Volkswagen's progress when forward motion is being sourced purely from the 13kWh lithium-ion battery - which is said to be possible when fully charged for up to 31 miles. When the transition to combustion power does come - more likely to be around the 25 mile mark - it's pleasantly seamless. Changing gear, as with all Multivans, is done via a dash-mounted auto selector so small you might miss it, though with this eHybrid model there are six ratios, rather than the usual seven. The transmission shifts smoothly, but occasionally exhibits the usual DSG system hesitation at times when you really need it to be assertive - when trying to nip into a fleeting space on a roundabout for instance. We're not quite sure why gearchange paddles are provided because typical customers are unlikely to ever be much interested in using them. If you did and were quick with the changes, then 62mph would theoretically be 9.0s away from rest in this eHybrid variant on the way to 119mph, though you wouldn't willingly want to ever try and replicate those figures because straining the TSI engine in this manner really shows it at its worst. As with other Volkswagen Plug-in Hybrids that use the same engine set-up, various selectable settings govern the way that the eHybrid powertrain works. The vehicle always starts off in fully-electrified 'E-Mode', before switching to a more normal 'Hybrid' mode that sees the electric motor and the combustion engine combining together. You've also a 'Reserve Charge Level' option that will allow you to save a pre-determined level of battery charge until later in your trip.

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