The VW Transporter 2.0 litre TDI is a very popular vehicle and certainly the ‘go-to’ van for many. The uses of a VW Transporters are endless and they’re used for work vehicles for tradesman and couriers, people carriers for growing families or as a base for camper-van conversions. Little wonder it’s in the top three bestselling vans in the UK. So, its baffling to why any Volkswagen dealer would sell a van that is sluggish with very little get-up-and-go.
Obviously, it is far cheaper for VW to use the same engine across their different model range. It also makes a larger profit selling the more desirable high spec vehicle with a better power output; however, the power difference between the higher and lower range models is staggering, to say the least.
The results
The VW T6 is very underpowered from the factory at just 102BHP as standard, but it can be remapped up to 175BHP; that is a whopping 72% increase in power...72%! or in other words a whole VW Polo 1.4 TDI BlueMotion.
The results are astonishingly good, not only does the increased horsepower make these vans quicker off the mark, but combined with the 44% gain on torque they pull like a train; say good bye to your uphill struggles. Remapped the VW Transporter goes from 250nm to 360nm. That is a huge 110nm gain.
The smoothness of the map makes these vans an absolute pleasure to drive, be it your camper on holiday or your humble workhorse. I was blown away with the results.
The good news
The great thing about knowing Volkswagen's tricks of the trade is that it can help save you a bundle of money. Power specifications on model can be the difference of thousands of pounds and you can release the same power with an ECU remap for a few hundred. Now that can’t be bad!
And the remap also smooths out the flat spots, which makes for a much better driving experience.
To summarise
Although it seems criminal for Volkswagen to sell the Transporter with such a limited performance, it does mean that customers can save money when buying their next one. Don't get me wrong - the VW Transporter is a great van and it has been since the first one landed back in 1950. In fact, VW have sold over 12.4 million vans so they must be getting something right, unfortunately, not the horsepower! People have been trying to get more power out of their VW Transporters for years with people putting larger capacity engines in the back of the early vans - even Porsche and Subaru blocks.
But the engineering and technology are far superior these days and with a simple remap your power prayers will be answered. So, Amen to that!
