Space for activities
Volkswagen’s largest commercial vehicle, the Volkswagen Crafter, will soon be updated. The most important ingredient seems to be the interior. All kinds of changes not only give it a more modern look, but also more space. Yes.
When it comes to the dashboard of a commercial vehicle like the Volkswagen Crafter, there are probably two types of people: people who see the thing every day and can therefore dream of it, and people who have never seen the inside of a Crafter. Especially for the latter category, we have pasted not only the new, but also the current dashboard of the Crafter below.
Old (above) and new
It is clearly visible that quite a lot will change in this interior, which is currently only shown in a sketched form. For example, the middle ventilation grilles move to a lower location. They make way for a storage compartment on the right and a new 10.3 or (shown) 12.9-inch infotainment system, of a kind that we know from other modern Volkswagens. For example, the new Passat and new Tiguan also have it similar, just like the ID Buzz and other models from Volkswagen’s electric ID series.
Elsewhere in the interior we also encounter many parts from other, more modern Volkswagens than the Crafter presented in 2017. The entire dashboard has been redesigned in the current style, supplemented with digital instruments, a new steering wheel and new window buttons. The major absentee from the images appears to be the gear lever or automatic transmission lever. In automatic versions of the new Crafter, this moves, as in all models mentioned, to a place on the steering column, as a counterpart to the also new combination switch on the left side of the steering wheel. This creates an extra storage compartment, a facility that Crafter drivers probably do not have too much of in daily practice. Anyone who orders a future Crafter with a manual gearbox will of course still receive a ‘normal’ lever on the peninsula next to the steering wheel.
There is also more space next to the chair. By replacing the traditional handbrake with an electronic handbrake with a dashboard switch, Volkswagen says it makes it easier to install a swivel seat. That is more convenient than it sounds, because Crafters are also used as a basis for campers.
Although Volkswagen also delights us with a picture of the exterior of the Crafter, there is little new to see. We spotted the new, thinner Volkswagen logo, but that’s about it. The facelift of the Crafter will undoubtedly also have consequences for the MAN TGE, the sister model of this large van.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl