VW Transporter T5 T5.1 T6 T6.1 2003 - 2023 models explained

Right, ready for a shock ?

The VW Transporter T5 is the same van underneath from 2003 right up to 2023. This is bourne out by the fact that the part number for the front doors, sliding doors and rear wing doors is the same for all vans from 2003-2023.

There are for versions of these, the original and 3 facelift models.

They are:

T5 built from 2003 - 2010 ish

T5.1 built from 2010 - 2015 (again, ish)

T6 built from 2015 - 2019

T6.1 built from 2019 - 2023

Please note, because the entire range can be traced back to the 2003 T5, it's very very easy to 'facelift' early vans to look like later ones and there are lots and lots of vans out there that this has been done to.

T5 2003 - 2010

The T5 was the first one, built between 2003 and 2010, these came with 2 diesel engines 1.9 and 2.5 and (rare) 2.0 petrol and (rarer) 3.2 V6.

The TDi engines started to have DPF filters fitted around 2006 / 2007.

T5.1 2010 - 2015

This was the first major facelift, you can tell you have a factory T5.1 by the more sloping headlights and lower centre part of the bonnet.

These vans dropped the 1.9 and 2.5 TDi engines and moved over too all-2.0 TDi engines going from 84bhp to 180 (the terrible BiTDi, click here for a page dedicated to that nightmare engine)

The 84 and 102bhp came with a 5 speed gearbox and the 140 and 180 came with either a 6 speed manual gearbox or VW's 7 speed DSG

T6 2015 - 2019

This was yet another facelift of the previous model. Plenty of interior upgrades and the same sort of frontend facelift as the T5.1 had, on the T6 you can see they introduced wing indicator lamps which have a point front end.

The T6 initally carried over the T5.1 engine range however, in 2017 all TDI models got Euro 6 emissions classification meaning they had AdBlu systems to help keep the emissions low. The 140 was replaced with a 150bhp and the 180 BiTDi was replaced with a new, modified 204 or 199bhp BiTDi engines that (at the time of writing this blog) don't seem to have the same self destruct tendencies as the earlier ones.

These vans came with a revised front end and various trim and options changes and were avaiable to factory order with full front and rear LED lights.

T6.1 2019 - 2023

This is the final iteration of the T5 7H Transporter, basically the same recipe as before with updated front end, new headlights and various different trim options. 

You can tell you have a factory T6.1 by the black trim connecting the front headlights to the wing indicator units (again, be careful though as there's lots of  ways to upgrade your T6 to have this new look)

Interestingly, the floor has changed slightly on the 6.1 and the drivers footrest has been lost for some odd reason. 

So, there you have it. A comprehensive guide as to what Transporter / Caravelle / Kombi you have but again remember, you can facelift a T5 from 2003 to a 2023 front end quite easily.

We hold a massive stock of genuine VW parts and high quality aftermarket accessories for these vans, so if you need something, please contact us via our Contact Us form and we will sort out whatever you need.

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