How much can you fit in the boot of a VW Multivan?
Just about anything!! We set the seats so a 182cm passenger was in the driver's seat, a rear-facing child seat in the second row and a 182cm passenger in thethird-roww seats and look how much boot space there was…
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Tulsi’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
With the seats in the position I described, from empty I could fit 20 shopping bags in there.
All the strollers fitted standing up in the boot with shopping bags around them which was something quite special! Being able to put our stroller in the boot without collapsing it meant I didn't have to unpack everything out of the basket at the bottom and empty crumbs etc all over the boot floor!!
The Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller fitted standing up or collapsed with nine shopping bags around it.
The Britax Flexx tandem stroller fitted lying down with fourteen shopping bags or standing up with twelve.
The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle fitted laying down with ten shopping bags or standing up with thirteen.
The Mountain Buggy Nano stroller fitted with sixteen shopping bags around it.
You could definatley get any size dog in the back or maybe even a small horse!!!
I then moved the third row seats into their furthest back position and and I could get eight shopping bags in the boot.
Or the Mountain Buggy Duet twin stroller and three shopping bags.
Or the Britax Flexx Tandem stroller fitted but with no bags and was quite difficult to balance in the boot space.
The Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle single stroller fitted with four shopping bags beside it.
The Mountain Buggy Nano compact stroller fitted with four shopping bags beside it.
Storage in the fron tof the VW Multivan is excellent. The door bins are enormous and would hold a large refillable water bottle, an iPad, 600ml and the big rubbish bin that comes with the van. There is also a shelf below the handle, plenty big eough for my purse and a well in the top with the handle.
There are two cup holders in a pull out drawer in the middle of the dashboard. They are a good size for a disposable or re-usable coffee cup but two cups at once often rub together and juggle about, and a large refillable water bottle wouldn't fit.
In front of them is a rubber-lined well I found good for storing my phone. There is a 12V socket in there too.
Underneath the cup jolder drawer is another pull-out drawer that I found my large refillable water bottle would fit in or perhaps even a wine bottle!!
There are two glove boxes; the lower one in the usual position is felt lined and large enough to hold my wallet.
The top one, in the dash, has the USB connection points in it and the manual. Neither glove box would hold an iPad.
Also on the dash, above the media screen, is another lidded storage tray, that is also lined, but anything left in there could get quite hot in the sun.
In this model the storage in the back was minimal. There are map pockets on the back of both front seats that would hold and conceal an iPad.
The back of the second-row seats have large drawers underneath, which were excellent on a road trip for storing all our daughter's ‘things' aka small, colourful plastic things!!
That is it for the rear seats though!? No cup holders in either rear rows, which did make it super tricky with drinks cups etc on journeys. When I previously drove a short-wheelbase variant it had under-seat drawers in the third row too but this one had the only cover flaps for the drawers but they were empty.
The rear camera in the VW Multivan has quite a clear image and is vital for reversing and maneuvering such a big vehicle. The sensors can be muted with a button on the screen. I did find the Park Pilot far too sensitive in the Multivan. For example, I sat with the engine running in my daughter's Kindy car park while I gathered myself together after dropping her off in the morning and even though I was in ‘park' with the handbrake on, the park pilot was beeping constantly at any leaf, child or plant that blew anywhere near it! Even when auto-engine cut out kicked in and the engine had turned off, the sensors would beep constantly! I find in any car that is over sensitive it becomes like the boy who cried wolf.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The auto engine cut out and parking sensor switches are on the same control panel on the dashboard. On the opposite side of the aircon controls are the buttons to open and close the rear sliding doors which are handy too and I found I used them a lot to open and close the doors when picking people up.
I find this function really disturbing for sleeping babies, you have just got your baby to sleep in the car and you stop at lights and the engine turns off sometimes they will stay asleep but when the engine shudders to a start again it shakes baby awake and all your efforts are ruined!! Even coming to a stop at lights with the engine running can be enough to wake a sleeping child so turning the engine off and on again will definitely do it! I have driven routes I know have roundabouts rather than lights just to avoid coming to a stop for any length of time!!
The indicator volume in the VW Multivan is not adjustable, but it is quite a mild sound so I didn’t find it affected my daughter while she was sleeping.
There is Apple Car Play and Android Auto in the VW Multivan and I found the media system easy to navigate and use.
The front doors and windows of the Multivan were not too noisy to open and close but obviously the rear sliding doors close with an anyone waking slam! When camping in it, woe-betides anyone who needs to get up in the night to go to the toilet!!
Road and engine noise are surprisingly good in the Multivan, and the ride is much less ‘van-like' than I imagined it would be!
The seatbelt removal alarm is only for the front driver's seat which is pretty pointless because you know if you have your own seatbelt on! It's the other six passengers you can't see that you need to know about!
How many child seats fit in the VW Multivan?
Five!!! Wooo Hooo!!! There are two individual seats in the second row that both have ISOFix anchorages. They are not within plastic guides and were actually quite tricky to connect to as they were a bit buried in between the cushions of the back and base.
The top tether anchor points are on the back of the second-row seats and right at the bottom. They were easy to connect to but I found for one of the rear-facing child seats they needed an extension strap.
The second-row seats I found much easier to slide when I was inside the van, as from outside I wasn't tall enough (I'm 162cm) to have the leverage to push down on the seat while I pulled up on the bar at the front of it. Whereas my husband who's 182cm could easily do it! These seats also slide backwards and forward a large distance and you can also spin them around to create a little living room like space in the back! We did this on days out when it rained to have our picnic in the back, it was great fun!! You CANNOT drive along with the seats facing backwards if child seats are fitted though.
The third-row seats are a really nice generous bench seat that is plenty big enough for three grown adults to travel comfortably in. Three big forward-facing child seats fitted really easily or I could very comfortably travel between two child seats.
There are top tether anchor points in the top of the back of all three rear seats. There are within plastic guides and nice and easy to connect to. I tested a rear-facing child seat in the third-row seats too and the top tether strap did reach the anchor points, because they are higher up, without an extension strap.
There are ISOFix anchorages in the two outer seats but they are not within plastic guides and equally as tricky as those in the second-row seats to connect to because they are so buried in between the back and base cushions.
The third-row seats slide backwards and forward an enormous distance. You can do it from inside the van, or I found it easy through the boot too, by pulling the first tab that is behind the central drawer cover in the back of the seat bases.
I usually find with Volkswagen seats that the headrests are not removable and they push on the head section of some forward-facing child seats that I install. However, I did not find this a problem in the back of the Multivan.
Accessing all the seats was soooo easy! It was one of my favourite features that I could get in from any door and walk through to any seat! I think it changed the way I interacted with the vehicle and was much more user-friendly than a car. I could open one sliding door, lift my daughter in then I hopped up and did up her harness and walked through to my seat. It saved me time! I didn't go to my door to put things down, go to the boot, then go to her door to load and fasten her in and then go back round to my door. It was a one door process, you could step in and walk around to fasten every restraint and walk through to the driver's seat!! I did find if I tried to lift bub into her child seat from the ground I struggled because the seats of the car are quite high with deep storage in the bases, lifting in and out of any
Australia being a country of weather extremes- blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
One of the options available in some of the vehicle variants is in-built child booster seats in the second-row captain's chairs like the image below. Our test vehicle didn't have those though so I couldn't test them.
The front seats of the VW Multivan are quite comfortable, although I did find even in the driver's seats lowest position I wanted to lower it a little more (I'm 162cm). The first and second-row seats are like captains chairs, they have adjustable armrests and sit on a tall plinth-like base. They are upholstered in woven fabric which was quite inoffensive but would get spills and crumbs ground into it and be hard to clean.
I found I couldn't wear a ponytail with the headrests.
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
The second and third-row seats are comfortable too; those in the second row are individually manually adjusted and the third row slides as a whole bench. Legroom in the Multivan is exceptional but it is a long wheelbase van so there is just sooooo much room inside! I tested a 182cm driver, a rear-facing child seat in the second row and a 182cm passenger in the third row and there was room for a twin stroller standing up in the boot with all my shopping too!
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down.
The cruise control buttons are at the end of the indicator stalk, they are relatively simple but I do prefer having them on the steering wheel where I can easily see what I am doing. The cruise control was surprisingly good for a van! It was accurate at high speeds on motorways and remained within 5km of the set speed at 60km/h on undulating roads.
The digital display in front of the steering wheel shows the distance to empty for the fuel, which I find fantastic and wouldn’t want to be without!
The distance to empty display becomes extra important as a mum because getting fuel with a baby is a whole new world of difficult. If they are screaming in the car you definitely do not want your journey prolonged with a fuel stop! If they are asleep the turning off of the engine, doors opening and locking and unlocking, then re-opening the doors and closing, starting the engine again, beepers going off because you haven’t got your seatbelt on when you start the car or because you blink in the wrong direction, do you take them out of the car when you go in to pay? If you do will you get them back in the seat again or will they have a complete meltdown and you’ll be stuck on the fuel station forecourt with a screaming baby!! Hopefully you are starting to gather the anxiety that what was once a simple fuel stop can be for a mum!!!!
For this reason the distance to empty display can let you know if you have enough fuel to make it home with bub and then go out and get fuel another time when you will not have to take bub with you.
There are four large air-con vents across the front dashboard; one either side of the media screen and one at either end.
The controls are below the media screen and pretty simple to use; you can control the rear air-con from the front too which is great because you can't reach the rear vents from the front.
In the ceiling in the back are two rows of lights and aircon vents and their controls, when I travelled in the second row I found the vents a bit close to my head and I had to angle the direction of the vents so it wasn't giving me brain freeze! This would be hard to get right with little passengers who can't communicate yet exactly what they are feeling. I found it best to have the third-row vents on rather than the second row, then they weren't blowing down on anyone as they are not situated above the third-row.
The vent controls are also very easily fiddled with by small passengers and found this with the vents and the interior lights. My daughter was constantly turning them on and I didn't notice so the lights would be left on. I couldn't reach the interior lights while I was driving.
I have found Tulsi does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it’s really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON’T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a 5minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it’s not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
It is also useful when there are lights situated above the doors where the handles are usually positioned. These are good for when putting baby into their child seats when visibility is poor, so you do not have to reach across them to a light situated in the ceiling centrally etc.
Visibility for the passengers in the VW Multivan is excellent. The side windows are nice and deep and it is so spacious and open that you can see out really well. Also, with the seating position so high, children can see quite far whether they are in a forward or rear-facing child seat. If you put a rear-facing child seat in the third row and had the seats in the furthest back position you may find the sun shines into bub's eyes as the rear windscreen is flat and very big. There are in-built window shades in all the rear side windows, which is fantastic for protecting rear passengers from the sun and providing privacy.
For the driver, visibility is good to the front and sides, the higher driving position and large windows help enormously with that but there is no escaping the size of the vehicle and you have to be very careful using the side mirrors and reversing camera to make sure there is nothing in your blind spots in the back corners of the vehicle.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Tulsi has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread when we get big cars or Utes as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, the VW Multivan only just fit heightwise in our carpark and because of the length and size it was tricky to reverse park.
I found when I went into car parks I had to be careful of the height restrictions and the long wheelbase meant I had to be more careful in the spiral ramp in multi-storey car parks.
In the front, both passengers have lit vanity mirrors in their sun visors. The visors are not extendable though.
I have found the VW Multivan a surprisingly fun and practical car to drive on long road trips on the open roads as well as around town. I did find myself looking for two free parking spaces next to each other when parking, as it is a big vehicle to maneuver especially in small car parks. However, when there weren't two consecutive spaces I found reverse parking the Multivan easiest.
There are handles in the ceiling above the side doors and in the third row if you line the seats up with them then they are good for hanging a child's toy on.
Generally, the interior of the VW Multivan is quite pleasant, it is not as van like as I had expected and had a lot of the creature comforts of cars with some added bonuses like being able to walk through and around the inside.
The interior surfaces would wipe clean easily too, they are all plastic or rubber and the seating and some door panels are woven upholstery fabric which would be harder to keep clean.
There are carpet floor mats in the front of the Multivan and the floor of the van is carpet throughout. It is the kind of loop carpet that is quite hard to vacuum crumbs, sand and spills out of but makes the Multivan feel much more homely like a car than a van.
I had to put the key in the ignition of the Multivan which was bizarre because most modern cars have a button start and I was constantly surprised when I got in to drive it!
The tailgate is very big, I measured it sticking out 125cm from the back of the van, so in either the long or short wheelbase variants you really need to park nose in everywhere so you have plenty of room to swing the big tailgate open.
The VW Multivan has so many options, it can be a camper with a bed in the back, Esky and table, spin the chairs around and erect a table to create a boardroom in the back or have in-built kids booster seats.
Thank you for the great review. Looking to buy the new one due out the year in AUS and was specifically trying to find info about driving with the second row facing backwards with child seats. Also loved all the pram and shopping bag boot space trials. Very helpful x