Get the Best Priced Volkswagen EuroVan Parts

The Volkswagen EuroVan - a dubious successor to the classic VW bus of the 1960s - first rolled off the production line in Hannover, Germany in 1990. It was built by Volkswagen's Commercial Vehicles division to replace the Type 2, which had been produced from 1979 until 1992, primarily for official use in its home country. It was the first VW van equipped with a front-mounted, water-cooled engine, which had been very successful in its line of passenger cars such as the Rabbit and the Jetta.

One of the strong selling points of the EuroVan lie in its adaptability; because it came in so many different configurations, it could be used as a light-duty passenger bus, a camper, and even an ambulance. Three distinct body styles were available: a panel van (without windows in the back), a half-panel van with two rows of seats, and the EuroVan proper, which had three row seating.

In 1995, VW partnered with the Winnebago company to produce the EuroVan Camper. This model featured a small "pop-top" and were sold only in the U.S. and Canada. Interestingly, these Winnebago campers have developed a bit of a cult following in the U.S. In addition, Winnebago produced a series of small, Class-C motor homes based on the EuroVan platform. These were marketed under the names of "Rialta," "Vista" and "Sunstar." These mini motor homes featured virtually everything except a bathroom, including a fully-equipped kitchen.

In 1996, the EuroVan underwent an upgrade, during which a more powerful V6 engine (the VW VR6) replaced the previous five-cylinder motor. As a result, the nose was lengthened in order to accommodate the larger engine. It needed it; one of the primary complaints about the EuroVan was that it was underpowered. For some strange reason however, Volkswagen wound up detuning the engine in such a way that it only produced 140 horsepower. Between that and the rather high sticker price, sales plummeted. By the turn of the century, only about 1300 EuroVans were sold in the U.S.

The folks at VW learned their lesson from that. They replaced the original intake manifold with a variable-resonance version and added variable timing to the intake and exhaust, doubling the number of valves. The engine was then re-tuned so peak torque was reached at 2500 RPM. As a result, the horsepower was increased by 30 percent. Of course, it needed it: the new version had gained over 750 pounds. This came at a heavy cost in fuel consumption as well; in-city mileage was only 15 miles per gallon - and it required premium grade gasoline.

Despite its drawbacks, the EuroVan has remained popular. It is not a classic like its ancestor, the 1960s vintage microbus (a fully restored '62 VW bus will set you back $50,000 or more, today - and genuine Volkswagen microbus parts can be hard to come by). It nonetheless holds up well, provided proper maintenance is performed on schedule. You'll need to know about VW EuroVan part numbers and where to order them. PartsGeek.com is a good place to start, as they will have a complete inventory of Volkswagen EuroVan Camper parts as well as components for other models.