(Tue 02 Mar 10)

If ever a large MPV was in urgent need of replacement, that large MPV would be the Volkswagen Sharan, and at the Geneva Show there is all the evidence you need that Volkswagen has at last got round to doing the job.

The new Sharan is larger than the old one in all dimensions (most notably it's about nine inches longer) but at the same time it's 30kg lighter. All versions have seven seats, and access to the five in the second and third rows is through sliding doors which, like the tailgate, can be operated electrically on higher-specification models.

All five of those seats can be folded flat, and the three in the centre row can be moved forwards or backwards by 160mm. The extra interior space, in comparison with the previous Sharan, allows Volkswagen to claim that seven adults can be accommodated.

The smallest engine in the range is a 1.4 TSI, though since its combination of a supercharger and a turbocharger allows it to produce a maximum of 148bhp it should certainly be strong enough. All the other engines are of two litres in size - 138bhp and 168bhp turbo diesels and a 198bhp turbo petrol which is mated as standard to a twin-clutch semi-automatic DSG gearbox.

With the exception of the 198bhp petrol, all the engines come with a stop/start system and regenerative braking. The most economical model is, as you might expect, the 138bhp diesel, which has a combined figure of 52.3mpg and a CO2 rating of 143g/km.

An Adaptive Chassic Control system, which gives the driver a choice of three settings (normal, Comfort and Sport) for the dampers, is an optional extra, and the Sharan also gets a new version of the Park Assist system which allows it to steer itself into parking spaces at right-angles to the direction of traffic.

Back in the early Bronze Age, the original Sharan was effectively the same thing as the contemporary Ford Galaxy and SEAT Alhambra. The Ford connection has long since been broken, but it's safe to say that the car we are talking about here is also the replacement for the Alhambra.

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