1982 Volkswagen Vanagon Westfalia from North America - Comments

My interior dashboard lights failed due to electrical problems other than the bulbs.

My clutch cable broke only 17000 miles later.

Fuel line leaked underneath the van which had to be replaced.

Seats have started to wear.

This is the most versatile machine on four wheels ever made- period. The most fun vehicle I have ever owned, and only wish that Volkswagen would not have discontinued the Vanagon after 1991, but rather improved on its engine performance and fuel economy.

Great steering radius and visibility, and unparalleled in ergonomics/space, road trip and camping comfort. Room for as many friends as you want, and no other van, truck, or luxury SUV ever made can come close to matching the amenities and uses that the 1980-1991 Vanagon Westfalias offer.

However, it is woefully underpowered- Going up any hill becomes a stressful experience. I would not want to risk going up the "Grapevine" (Interstate 5 in between Bakersfield to L.A.) or to Las Vegas (Interstate 15) from L.A. in this van.

The fuel economy is totally horrendous (91 octane only, averages approximately 9 miles per gallon city/11 miles per gallon highway best case scenario). I've met several other Westfalia owners and they have reported similar results. However, one diesel engine Westfalia owner reported averaging close to 25 miles per gallon. This makes me want to swap engines...

I totally agree, the Westfalia camper truly is a swiss army knife on wheels and I love it. But think again about the "woefully underpowered" bit before you consider the standard 48-hp diesel engine! On some hills on I-80 in California when loaded with gear I've had to downshift my '82 diesel Westy into SECOND to make it all the way up, and I'm down to 30mph when I hit the top, with trucks going 75mph roaring up behind me. Very stressful!!! That's the trade-off; mine gets around 27mpg empty, or 22mpg loaded with all my stuff. But the diesel engine is stressed beyond its ability during normal highway driving, which in my case means I need a new engine at 104k. I absolutely love everything else about the camper though, so I plan to cough up the dough to install a newer VW turbodiesel or TDI engine.

Clutch cable? I thought they had hydraulic clutches, maybe only the diesel had it, I wish my gas air cooled Vanagon had a cable operated clutch, I've had to change the slave cylinder three times and all the weird sized hydraulic lines because they rusted through. A word to the wise, don't drive your Vanagon in the winter, the road salt will kill it.

I have a '90 Westfalia full camper, with 109,000 miles. I service and take care of the vehicle, and it will get 20-22+ MPG on average country road driving 45-65 MPH. I drive the unit on vacation trips when I am not in the hurry - enjoying the scenery. The only one thing will destroy your engine if you push high speeds!! This vehicle can go 215,000 miles if you drive no faster than 70 MPH. May be I am lucky, but so far I had no problems. I agree, it is the best utility vehicle if you are not in the hurry.

I just purchased an 82 with a new gas/air cooled/2 liter fuel injected in denver and drove it home to memphis. averaged about 60 mph and got 18-20 miles per gallon using 87 octane. I agree that it is underpowered, but on two lane roads, who cares. I love the westy and wish I had gotten one years earlier. what a fantastic little vehicle.

I am a high schooler that drives my dads Vanagon. It is the best thing ever, except that there are a couple things wrong with it. The first thing is that my handle on my sliding door broke off about 5 years ago when my dad drove it. Another thing is that once my fuel tank gets to about half tank my engine starts to loose power and acts really funny. One of my friends told me that since it sat, without running for a year or two that some dirt and grime has built up in the tank so whenever I get to a half tank I am sucking dirt with my gas, but I don't know. My Vanagon also gets very poor gas mileage, but other than those flaws it is the coolest thing at school.

I'm the guy who put up the original post, and to this day (May 2008) I STILL have my Westy (its been 9 years now)! Thanks for the corrections, there's no clutch cable, it was hydraulic; I also just had a fuel line that was not securely attached, so I would leak gas; Another correction is I could use regular unleaded (87 octane), I got the "91" from looking at my owner's manual, which was the German equivalent of 87 unleaded, basically. Awesome van, I intend to keep it as long as possible.. If the engine dies, I'll upgrade to a Subaru 2.2 liter boxer engine and convert it to water-cooled! For those that never had the experience of a 2.2 (Legacy) or 3.3 liter(SVX) Subaru-powered Westfalia Vanagon, THAT is the way to go. From a true, die-hard Vanagon owner...