...if I had the money

...I'd buy a Volkswagen T4/T5

A what? A van? Are you mad? Perhaps, but then I'm not alone. The Volkswagen T4 and T5 Transporter and Caravelle are incredibly popular, and not just with the building trade. They exude the curious aura that surrounds all Volkswagens, one that allows dull cars to be cool simply because of the badge, and workhorse commercial vehicles like the Caddy and Transporter to be ravenously snapped up by tuners and those of a "lifestyle" persuasion.

The T4 was released in 1990 and ran for thirteen years before the T5 took over, but their coolness can surely be attributed to their lineage - they owe their existance to their great grandad, the Volkswagen Type 2 "Splittie", beloved and revered by hippes and surfers the world over. Despite the later vans' more utilitarian slant and the loss of the rear engined, rear drive layout, the modern vans are still supremely useable and being vans, are still ripe for converting into do-it-all camper vans and customising with big wheels, paintjobs and glitterballs in the back.

Though lacking in character compared to the earlier vans and having a distinctly more "commercial" soundtrack than the old aircooled flat-four thanks to turbodiesel engines, the T4 and T5 are still brilliant vehicles and deservedly popular on the aftermarket. You are equally likely to see a T4 or T5 at a Volkswagen show as you are to see a Beetle or Golf. Yet unlike those two classics, you can also sleep overnight in the Transporter.

Just like with my previous "if I had the money", the Alfa 146, I've actually driven a Transporter. I rented one for a day to help my flatmate move in, having been promised "A Ford Transit, or similar" by the rental company website. Thankfully for me, it was a T5, of which I'd always been curious to try out but never had the opportunity.

The T5 marked not only the first van I'd driven, but also the first Volkswagen and the first diesel. On not one of the above counts did it disappoint. Sure, I'd been given a basic, 84bhp 1.9 TDI variant rather than the significantly more potent 2.5, 5-cylinder TDI with up to 174bhp, but it still moved with impressive haste and the growly diesel was music to my ears. I tend to subconsciously readjust my expectations when I hop into new vehicles meaning that even something quite shoddy can win my affections, but as far as I could tell it was a tidy handler too, and the interior was great even with several thousand miles worth of rental driver bottoms on the seat. The dash-mounted gearshift was particularly sweet, and the pedals all pleasantly un-vanlike and light to use.

From what I've heard the T4 is a nice drive too - perhaps not as polished as the T5 and not as stylish, but the T4 makes up for it by being significantly more affordable - scruffy ones are as little as a grand, and you can get clean ex-electrician vans from about £2k. With subtle tidying up they can look great too - most original equipment VAG wheels will slot straight on, meaning your T4 can be rolling on Audi RS4 wheels in no time.

In the end I only drove the T5 for 21 glorious miles, enough for a trip around town with a back full of posessions and an Ikea trip, but it was enough to bring me well and truly out of the commercial vehicle closet and the Transporter now takes place on my ultimate garage wishlist.

In the garage: T5 2.5 TDI 174, deep black pearl, Audi RS4 wheels, a subtle drop and a camper conversion with matt silver units and a bed with red silk sheets...