VW T5 / T5.1 Buyers Guide
In production from 2003 – 2015, what follows is a brief VW T5 buyers guide to the VW T5 and T5.1 Transporter
VW T5 Transporter 2003 - 2010
VW T5.1 Transporter 2010 - 2015
VW T5 Transporter 2003 - 2010
The T5 is the 5th generation VW Transporter by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Produced between 2003 and 2010 it was the replacement for the T4 VW Transporter.
With the T5 Transporter, VW made an even greater leap towards higher levels of comfort and everyday usability, yet still managed to retain some of the now familiar Transporter styling cues. These now modern vans had become much easier to use on a day to day basis and able to hold their own in modern day traffic.
Specification
It is much more likely to find T5 campers with comforts such as electric windows / mirrors, cruise control, air conditioning and parking sensors, particularly on the professional from new conversions. This era of T5 Transporter sparked a huge amount of smaller converters to spring up all offering their own conversions, many of which are still trading today.
The T5 also marked the end of Westfalias long relationship with VW and amazingly in over 50 years VWs first own conversion in the form of the California. This is due to Westfalia being bought by the Mercedes group in 2001. Therefore it could be argued that the California is the only true VW camper as it is built by VW in a purpose built factory in Hannover.
Engine / Gearbox
Although offered with a V6 petrol engine option on the Caravelle, they are rare and so nearly all T5s found in the UK will be powered by one of the diesel engine options.
Initially these consisted of either a 1.9TDI four cylinder or 2.5TDI five cylinder both with varying levels of power. The 2.5TDI units didn’t have a cambelt and were instead direct drive (a series of gears).
These engines can often get a bad reputation from some, but we have always found them to be smooth and powerful if of course properly maintained. Gearboxes came in the form of 5/6-speed manuals or 6-speed Tiptronic automatic.
VW T5 Transporter Engine Options (most common UK versions)
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| Engine Type | Engine Code | Size (Ltrs/Cylinders) | Power (bhp) | Euro | Cambelt Intervals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel (TDI) | AXC | 1.9/4 | 85 | 4 | 4 years |
| Diesel (TDI) | BRS | 1.9/4 | 102 | 4 | 4 years |
| Diesel (TDI) | AXD | 2.5/5 | 130 | 4 | n/a – direct drive |
| Diesel (TDI) | AXE | 2.5/5 | 174 | 4 | n/a – direct drive |
VW T5.1 Transporter 2010 - 2015
The T5.1 Transporter was basically a facelift version of the then current T5 Transporter.
Introduced in 2010, it featured a sharper more modern front end, and the dashboard was also upgraded with different controls and gauges, although retained the same shape and overall layout.
This generation also saw the introduction of standard specification levels in the form of Startline, Trendline, Highline and Sportine models.
The Startline model could be very basic unless added to with optional extras, whilst the Highline and Sportine models came with good levels of equipment such as air conditioning and leather steering wheel as standard.
Engine / Gearbox
To combat ever tougher emissions, diesel engine choices were restricted to 2.0TDI units in varying states of tune. There was even a rare 114bhp BlueMotion which had the now common start/stop feature and returned higher mpg. Power options were 84, 102, 114, 140 and 180 bhp.
Please note: It is worth noting here that we choose not to deal in the 180bhp bi-turbo engines due to the chance of well documented oil consumption issues.
As before there were both manual and automatic gearbox options with the 5-speed manual only being available on the lower 84, 114 and 102 bhp models and either a 6-speed manual or 7-speed DSG semi-automatic on the higher 140 and 180bhp models.
This is the first generation of Transporter to be offered with the DSG dual clutch gearbox, replacing the then outdated Tiptronic gearbox.
VW T5.1 Transporter Engine Options (most common UK versions)
Swipe to view full table →
| Engine Type | Engine Code | Size (Ltrs/Cylinders) | Power (bhp) | Euro | Cambelt Intervals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diesel (TDI) | CAAA | 2.0/4 | 84 | 5 | 140,000 miles or 4 years |
| Diesel (TDI) | CAAB | 2.0/4 | 102 | 5 | 140,000 miles or 4 years |
| Diesel (TDI) | CXHB | 2.0/4 | 114 | 5 | 140,000 miles or 4 years |
| Diesel (TDI) | CAAC | 2.0/4 | 140 | 5 | 140,000 miles or 4 years |
| Diesel (TDI) | CFCA | 2.0/4 | 180 | 5 | 140,000 miles or 4 years |
The information provided within this VW T5 buyers guide is intended as a starting point for potential buyers and should be treated as a source for basic reference only.
We only deal in VW campers aged 2010 onwards and so no longer sell the earlier T5 VW campers.