Volkswagen’s e-Transporter is getting a boost – a new larger battery, improved charging rates and optional four-wheel drive. 

The German manufacturer says that the new battery is 6kWh bigger, now with a usable capacity of 70kWh, which means 236 miles of WLTP range. VW says that’s a 13% increase on the previous range figure the van was rated for. 

Charging has been improved too – 10 minutes has been chopped off a 10–80% charge on a 125kW charge point, which now takes 30 minutes to achieve says Volkswagen. It also says you’ll be able to add around 62 miles of range with just a 10-minute charge. 

The final change is the addition of optional four-wheel drive to the e-Transporter range. Volkswagen has added a front electric motor to the minivan for computer-controlled all-wheel traction, but there’s no mechanical link between front and back. 

But wait, does this news all sound familiar? Swap out ‘Volkswagen’ for ‘Ford’ and we heard the exact same news for the e-Transit Custom last month – that’s because underneath the bodywork the Transporter and Transit Custom models share the same engineering (or rather VW has plonked its badge on the Ford). 

We’ve not driven the passenger version of the Transporter, but we rate the van highly as a practical everyday tool and there’s no reason why the e-Transporter Shuttle shouldn’t be a good family option – unless you’d prefer to go to the source and get a Ford e-Tourneo Custom (Ford’s name for the passenger version) instead. 

The e-Transporter passenger range starts from £56,129 for the eight-seater Shuttle Life SWB model with the entry level 136hp motor, while the Ford e-Tourneo Custom starts at £54,600 and has nine seats as standard.