By EWAN KENNEDY
5 June 2006

Volkswagen in Australia is still probably best known for two cars, the old Beetle and the Kombi surfing vans. The latter are long gone, replaced by far more modern and competent machines in the Polo and Golf but the latter has just undergone a revival, well, a revival of sorts.

Because VW Australia has introduced a model called the Kombi Beach. Based on the VW Transporter van it’s aimed chiefly at the surfing set, but will also prove most appealing to those who want the convenience of a sleep-aboard vehicle.

While the Beach is a great fun vehicle, there's one thing it is not – a people mover. Because there are now just seats for four inside. What was once the left-hand seat in the centre row is now a storage space with a large drawer underneath.

The two-seater bench can slide backwards and forwards over a huge range of movements. In it’s rearmost position there's still plenty of storage space behind it, and legroom that’s simply huge.

Combine that with front bucket seats that can swivel through 180 degrees and there's a large, sociable area inside this VW van. An area that can easily accept a folding table that cleverly stows within the sliding door. Note that there's only a door on the kerb (left) side of the van so it loses out on a little versatility. Though it gains in the road-safety stakes because of this layout as kids can’t jump out of the traffic side.

Naturally, the back seat folds down, providing a flat comfortable bed that measures a generous 2.3 metres long, and a useful 1.7 metres in width.

The rearmost area has a carpeted cover that sits at the height of the bed and there's plenty of space for luggage underneath it.

The rear seat can be removed altogether by a couple of people of average strength. Thus providing a huge-van interior, or perhaps a bench seat on the ground in a camping area or wherever else takes your fancy.

There are moulded rails above and below the rear side windows that support detachable stowage bags. These rails also hold a roof stowage net that can take things like bedding or sleeping bags, or perhaps spare clothing.

What Volkswagen calls its ‘good night package’ consists of curtains and elastic covers for privacy and security.

Air conditioning is standard in this all-mod-cons Kombi and is backed up by outlets in the rear. A pollen filter is standard. A second battery means you can still start the engine even if someone mistakenly runs the interior lights, stereo, cooling fan and so on for too long when camping overnight.

Where else to carry out our initial road tests of the VW Kombi Beach but in the Nimbin area of northern NSW? It seems to us that about half of all the old Kombis in Australia are now resident around the bright and breezy hippie centre. The guys and gals there just love the concept of the new Beach, particularly the bright colours, but also what it stands for in the way of freedom and self expression.

Though we suspect the new $54,990 Kombi Beach ($57,990 as an auto), will be beyond the purses of these peaceful folks for some time to come if a notice on a Nimbin newsagent’s window is anything to go by: "Wanted. Car. Must be clean and reliable, can pay up to $300"!

Throughout this hilly region with roads that have seen better days, the Kombi Beach performed pretty well. It’s obviously a van in its general ride and handling characteristics, but is quiet and smooth for its class and was able to soak up most of the bumps with nary a wince.

The 2.5-litre turbo-diesel is a strong unit and provided it’s kept in its area of happy torque, from 1600 to 3500 rpm it purrs along nicely and doesn’t appear to use a lot of fuel whilst doing so. We will carry out a full test later and report on the finer details of fuel use following that.

Kombi Beach is also available with Volkswagen’s 4MOTION all-wheel-drive for $58,990, only with manual transmission.

VW Kombi Beach is an interesting concept that seems sure to appeal to those looking to camp quickly and cleanly beside there favourite spots. It will be interesting to see how many baby boomers will attempt to grab back some of their youth by buying one.