Volkswagen Sharan (2010) reivew
by David Morgan (30 August 2010)
They're not sexy, have the styling appeal of a van and occupy as much space on the road as most large luxury cars – but the MPV is a vital extension of the car family and Volkswagen will be bringing its latest player to the party on September 3.
The all-new Sharan will complete the Caddy, Touran and Multivan revision programme and update an old favorite with a fresh new look and, more significantly, a surprising level of refinement and improved convenience.
Since 1995 the Sharan has been Volkswagen's mighty people mover. It has sold well, but it was blighted by its clone status as one of the Ford Galaxy, SEAT Alhambra and Volkswagen Sharan trio produced by VAG's shared production facility at Palmela in Portugal. I never warmed to the first-generation Sharan – it was practical enough with good TDI diesel power, but dull to behold and uninspiring to drive.
This second generation comes in S, SE, SEL and Executive trim levels and is only a little better in the styling stakes, but after driving through Bavaria on its international debut last week I think it could be in line for some prizes for driver feedback. Slightly bigger than its predecessor it has grown into a remarkably refined vehicle that can seat seven people in genuine comfort, rides beautifully and steers with a significant amount of precision compared to the original. You can even order the Sharan with Adaptive Chassis Control with normal, comfort and sport settings – the first time ACC has been offered on this car.
Prices for the UK market have still to be announced, but it looks as if the range will climb a little from the current model with a spread from £21,500 to £31,000. At that level it occupies middle value ground, but thanks to superb build quality and its new-found level of refinement should give Ford's impressive Belgium-built Galaxy a run for its money.
MPVs are nothing if not roomy. From that standpoint Sharan leads the pack. Interior space is good and comfort and visibility from all occupants, including the driver, is excellent. Access to all seven seats on the models I drove in Germany was good thanks in part to clever seat positioning and the biggest change in Sharan design – its two large sliding rear doors.
It's not a new feature. The much smaller Citroen Berlingo Multispace family and mid-range Mazda5 have had sliding doors for years, along with the Sharan's large MPV rival, the Chrysler Grand Voyager – a vehicle that is spectacularly outclassed by this German newcomer in every respect.
Volkswagen will offer the sliding doors and Sharan's huge tailgate with both manual and powered mechanisms. Electrical assistance certainly adds convenience, but adds also complexity to the vehicle's systems, and cost. Personally I'd favour manual operation because all three apertures open and close easily with muscle power.
Which brings me to Sharan's other headline option – enhanced Park Assist. Most will already be aware of Volkswagen's development of a self-parking system that will slot a vehicle into a parallel parking spot after first scanning the space and leaving the driver to simply monitor progress and operate the throttle and brake. New Sharan takes it a step further.
By pressing the dash-mounted parallel parking system button twice, vehicles fitted with the latest advance will scan a perpendicular space and reverse the vehicle into the void if it thinks it can. My experience was that it needs several attempts to align itself with the slot and there's a fair amount of involvement on the driver shunting the Sharan back and forth until it finally parks. But it's an impressive application of technology that clearly points the way to the fully autonomous car of the future that will not only park itself but do just about everything else currently executed by the driver.
Personally I hope that day does not dawn in my time, as I'm firmly of the opinion even now that if you can't park your own car safely, should you be driving at all? That doubt apart, Sharans fitted with Park Assist demonstrate their party piece well and prove that the march of the machine has not lessened pace.
Trundling along the banks of the Tegernsee on urban and country roads just south of Munich, I could not help but reflect on the huge advances in quality of this people carrier. The old Sharan could never be accused of shoddy assembly, but the new model is remarkable.
On the road it drives with a satisfying solid feel and is almost silent, irrespective of power choice. Both the incredible 138bhp 1.4-litre TSI petrols and latest generation two-litre TDIs with either 138bhp or 168bhp were smooth and silent. Ride quality was excellent, road noise better suppressed than on some expensive premium executives and wind noise absent thanks to Sharan's surprisingly low 0.299 Cd drag figure.
The 1.4 TSI and lower-powered 2.0 TDI give good performance and can be mated with either six-speed manual or DSG automatic gearboxes. But the 168bhp TDI is the performance star – brisk, responsive, clean-burning and frugal with nearly 50mpg possible on the combined cycle. Like the other engines I drove at launch it comes with Volkswagen's BlueMotion Stop/Start system. Later this year a non-Stop/Start model will join the family – a flagship version with Volkswagen's 198bhp two-litre petrol unit linked only to DSG.
As a practical load carrier the Sharan ticks all boxes. The rear load height, like the side door entry height, is low. The standard seven flexible seats are comfortable with the centre trio of individual seats able to be moved back and forth by 160mm or folded flat to form a load surface. A six-seat version is planned.
Cargo capacity is fantastic. The man responsible for leading both the Sharan and new Touran project, Dr Hans-Joachim Bohn, told me: "With all seats in use it has 300 litres capacity, but we've designed the interior to be very flexible with the possibility of folding groups of seats including the front passenger seat. Fold them all and you get a loading surface and a maximum cargo volume of more than 2800 litres."
It adds up to a relaxed and easy driven vehicle with superb steering for a 4.85-metre long seven-seater and an ability to cruise comfortably at unrestricted autobahn speeds or amble pleasantly through country and towns.
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