Photos: Jape Tiitinen
I think it’s safe to say the modified T5 scene has gone absolutely bonkers over the last few years and has even surpassed the craze that surrounded the original Caddy. They’re everywhere! What is probably not so safe to say is that a lot of said T5 customisers (the majority, even) don’t seem to have very good taste. There, we said it. Bring on the lynch mob! Don’t get us wrong, there are some pretty sweet T5s out there and the market is huge but a lot of the owners tend to lean more towards the ‘more is more’ school of modding. Brash, OTT and in yer face is usually order of the day for most T5 owners. Not all of them though. While Shaun Lewis may have ploughed a load of time (not to mention a large chunk of his hard-earned cash) into producing the ultimate T5, it’s as much the stuff you don’t see as that which you do that separates his example from any other.
We were actually a little bit worried that with the launch of the all-new T6 might many T5 owners would jump ship and upgrade to the latest platform. However, with such subtle visual changes over the previous T5 we now don’t see that happening any time soon. The T5 is a classic VW model that ticks so many boxes and meets so many people’s needs it’s no wonder there are so many on our roads today. In shortwheelbase form, with the right spec and creature comforts in place, it makes the perfect daily driver and can happily be used as a replacement for a regular car. However, in one of the many commercial specs available (be it combi, flatbed, tipper, etc) the T5 is a totally competent workhorse, too, for those wanting to use it hard for daily business.