Wimmer drives a 1971 Volkswagen T2 and 2013 Volkswagen T2c

[cawimmer430]

1971 Volkswagen T2 vs 2013 Volkswagen T2c

I had a double shoot today for Auto Classic Magazine with a1971 MG Midget and a comparison between a 1971 Volkswagen T2 Bus and a 2013 Volkswagen T2c "Last Edition" (# 0087/1200) Bus. The orange T2 bus is owned by Auto Classic Magazine whereas this T2c is a demo car and is sold through a Toyota/Lexus/Renault/Dacia Dealership in the city of Mering (www.sedlmair-autohaus.de). They were kind enough to lend the magazine this particular bus for the story.

There was one problem, however: no spare driver, which meant that I had to drive one of the buses. Naturally, I picked the T2c believing that it would be the easiest to drive. How wrong I was! Later I was also able to drive the 1971 T2 bus. The shooting location was about 7 km away from the Toyota dealership, so I was able to spend a few short minutes driving these buses.

This particular "Last Edition" T2c bus was built in Brazil. The production of the T2c bus was stopped on December 18, 2013. Whereas the original T2 bus was powered by an air-cooled engine, the T2c is propelled forward by a water-cooled1.4-liter 80-horsepower engine. I believe this same engine was used in an older Volkswagen Polo model.


2013 VOLKSWAGEN T2c "Last Edition" # 0087/1200

Anyway, let's talk about the T2c. What can I say that's positive about this car? Sadly there's not much. It's spacious inside and that water-cooled engine is slightly quieter than the old air-cooled motor found in the T2. Power was generally good. I had no problems with the performance since this isn't a sports car. The car was decent around town and even out on the country roads it accelerated respectably. The suspension is sturdy and provides a relatively comfortable ride. That's about it. Oh, and it had an MP3/CD player! Yay!



The T2c didn't impress me one bit I'm afraid. There are so many things wrong with this car it's not even funny. In fact, this car shouldn't be on the road. It's that awful. Here's why.

Let's start with the most obvious problem: the steering system. The steering system is mechanical and not power-assisted and it's downright awful. There are times when you're driving through town or on the road when it feels like the steering wheel has stopped responding. You're turning the wheel and nothing happens, then a second later you can feel the front wheels turning. Not good. Even worse, on long straightaways you're constantly turning left and right to keep this thing stable and heading straight. I'm not sure if this problem was due to the steering system, the suspension or the tires, but it was quite a chore keeping this thing on the road. It would literally veer left or right at 80 km/h. Driving at such a slow speed has never felt more unsafe! It felt like you were trying to keep a small rudder boat heading straight on the open wavy seas. Terrible. Utterly terrible.

The next problem was the transmission, a four-speed manual transmission. The shift patterns were so incredibly long and imprecise. Of course this car isn't about "speed shifting", but holy fuck - you're literally shifting "half a meter" when going from 1st to 2nd, 2nd to 3rd and 3rd to 4th! Plus, the transmission pattern was so rubbery. I was told that this is still the same transmission found in the original T2 bus. The bus did accelerate eagerly in all gears, even in 4th. But even at a mere 80 km/h, the water-cooled engine in the back was already screaming its guts out. I suspect it's possibly due to poor sound insulation seeing that the engine in the back is covered by cardboard-like materials.

I'm 6'4" and I hated the seating position in this bus. I couldn't press the clutch, brake or gas properly without my knees hitting the indicator and wiper stalk on the left and right side respectably. I am not kidding! The brakes were decent, better than in the T2, but overall still crap. Did I mention that the steering system on this thing sucked?



I hate to judge the build quality of these things based on visual observation, but while driving you could hear countless squeaks and rattles coming from the cockpit and the seats. The car did feel "solid" because of all that old-school metal body shell, but it's the finer details which appear to be of poor build quality.

Overall, TERRIBLE CAR. A terrible car to drive and in my opinion even a safety hazard. A less-experienced driver would have trouble controlling this thing on a friggin straightaway! I realize that a hardcore T2 enthusiast wouldn't care and probably would go for this thing based on nostalgia and the fact that it symbolizes the end of an era for a historic car and that's a good reason to get one. Sure. But driving this car is just awful. Awful.

I was naturally curious as to how the original T2 bus would drive. And I would soon find out.


2013 Volkswagen T2c

Pros: Spacious cabin, relatively comfortable, decent power, quieter engine

Cons: Terrible steering feel, rubbery transmission, crappy driver's seating position for tall people



1971 VOLKSWAGEN T2

After the shoot was completed, we made our way back to the Toyota dealership in Mering. I asked the chief editor of Auto Classic if I may drive the T2 back to Mering in order to compare how it stalks up against the T2c. He agreed and handed me the keys.

The T2c and T2 are not much different on the inside. For a tall guy like me, the seating position in these cars is just terrible. My knees would still hit the indicator and wiper stalks when I operated the clutch, brake and gas pedal. Bah!



Anyway, I fired up the T2 and listened to that lovely air-cooled sound coming from the rear. The first thing I noticed about this car when I reversed it was two things: first, the steering system is just as bad on the T2 as it is on the T2c, but slightly, just slightly, just miniscully better. Just by a very small margin. Also, the shift patterns are just as horrendously long and rubbery on the T2 as they are on the T2c. It truly felt like they used the same transmission.

On the road, the T2 drove slightly better than the T2c. The suspension felt the same, but due to the slightly "better" steering feel, the T2 was easier to drive. I felt slightly more at ease behind the wheel. The steering system was still vague as hell on the road, but "better" than that of the T2c!

Power was decent. I loved the rough-sounding air-cooled engine in the back. It had character that was missing from the water-cooled 1.4-l engine in the T2c. Acceleration was surprisingly brisk. The T2 pulled eagerly in 1st and 2nd and even in 3rd. No complaints from me here. The engine could always be heard and was very loud even at low speeds, but it became almost unbearable at around 70/80 km/h.



What I didn't like about the T2 were the brakes. They were weak. Very weak. And it was raining. I believe the '71 T2 still had drum brakes. They weren't very good at stopping this car. Thank the imaginary lord that I kept a safety distance to the car in front of me.

So in the end, I felt that the 1971 Volkswagen T2 is a much better drive than the 2013 Volkswagen T2c - and the chief editor of Auto Classic felt the same way. It drives slightly better and has a more charming engine sound/feel to it. Did it impress me? No. But I won't hold that against it. It's just not my type of car, but I can respect it for what it is.


1971 Volkswagen T2

Pros: Spacious cabin, relatively comfortable, decent power

Cons: Terrible steering feel, rubbery transmission, weak brakes, loud engine, crappy driver's seating position for tall people


Here are some crappy smartphone photos of me behind the wheel of the T2. The blue T2c can be seen up ahead in the last photo.
















1971 MG Midget



Oh, and here's something for the RWD fanatics on 'Spin! My BMW 1-Series and a Toyota GT-86. RWD, bitches! RWD Feel that boner grow! RWD! RWD! Drift!!! Impressing the ladies! RWD!   

I checked out the Toyota GT-86 in the showroom. Neat car. And a bargain at 22,000+ Euros!

[hotrodalex]

The terrible steering is partly the steering box, partly the alignment settings. Both are probably similar to the crappy American cars you obsess over, one of the reasons no one likes them.

[Rupert]

They still made those until last year?! Yikes.

[Payman]

Crumple zone? You are the crumple zone.

[ifcar]

They still made those until last year?! Yikes.

In Brazil, until an airbag requirement went into effect.

[FoMoJo]

How come the T2c is being sold by a Toyota/Lexus/Renault/Dacia Dealership?  Why not a VW dealership?

[MX793]

Crumple zone? You are the crumple zone.

Actually, the spare tire was the crumple zone.

[cawimmer430]

The terrible steering is partly the steering box, partly the alignment settings. Both are probably similar to the crappy American cars you obsess over, one of the reasons no one likes them.

I'm pretty sure that your typical 1970s American car drives much better than this thing. The steering might be vague, but still "responsive" enough for enjoyable and normal driving. 

[cawimmer430]

They still made those until last year?! Yikes.

AFAIK they were being made in Mexico and Brazil, except with a water-cooled VW Polo engine.

[cawimmer430]

How come the T2c is being sold by a Toyota/Lexus/Renault/Dacia Dealership?  Why not a VW dealership?

Volkswagen doesn't sell them here.

This particular Toyota/Lexus/Renault/Dacia dealership imported a handful of these T2c buses and is selling them - apparently quite successfully to. One of the salesmen mentioned that the typical buyer of these buses is generally some business, which uses these cars as "sympathetic mobile advertising media".

[cawimmer430]

Some snapshots of the T2c buses when I first arrived at the dealer lot. You can see the Renault logo on the flag in the flag mast in the background. These cars are parked on the Renault/Dacia section of the Toyota/Lexus dealer lot.

[Mustangfan2003]

Wow a new car with the wide whitewalls. 

[Madman]

This brings back fond (and not so fond) memories of my 1975 T2 (1800cc and dog-slow three speed auto).

The shitty brakes I remember very well.  In fact, it was after a close call where I narrowly avoided hitting a pole that I resolved to get rid of it.

[cawimmer430]

This brings back fond (and not so fond) memories of my 1975 T2 (1800cc and dog-slow three speed auto).

The shitty brakes I remember very well.  In fact, it was after a close call where I narrowly avoided hitting a pole that I resolved to get rid of it.

Yeah, the brakes were horrible. And the brake pedal offered so much resistance. You couldn't gently slow down the car because the resistance was so strong and you had no idea what the brakes were up to.

The Volkswagen T2 is a classic and good-looking mini bus, but it's terrible to drive.

[FoMoJo]

Yeah, the brakes were horrible. And the brake pedal offered so much resistance. You couldn't gently slow down the car because the resistance was so strong and you had no idea what the brakes were up to.

The Volkswagen T2 is a classic and good-looking mini bus, but it's terrible to drive.

Power assisted? 

[Soup DeVille]

Power assisted? 

On the old one?

No.

[Soup DeVille]

I'm pretty sure that your typical 1970s American car drives much better than this thing. The steering might be vague, but still "responsive" enough for enjoyable and normal driving. 

It does.

[cawimmer430]

Power assisted? 

Not sure. Felt "hydraulic" to me...

[cawimmer430]

It does.

What's the steering like on your Ford/Mercury wagon?