VW Routan

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All I can say is that it does look better than the horrible looking Chrysler Minivans.
But that’s not saying much. It looks just a bit less like a brick than its American cousins.

Same thing inside. It’s a bit cleaner. But they didn’t even try to use real VW colors, like the black/cream combo they have on all their other cars.
instead, you get the Chrysler Brown/Beige 90’s look.
And the oddly placed shifter is still there. Who ever designed that must have been on drugs. I tried it in the Chrysler version and it just made no sense at all.
Coming out of the same Chrysler factory, the engines, as expected, aren’t from VW.
You get the 3.8 Liter and the 4.0Liter V6s.

I guess this will keep a few people at the VW dealerships instead of crossing the street and walk over to Dodge o Chrysler for a Minivan.
But really, it is something so old looking they would never dare offereing it in Europe. Where the old Sharan still looks more modern….

Conversation 15 comments

  1. FUGLY!

    This thing (and other SUVs and minivans) should come with carbon footprint tax. They waste a lot of gas. And those who genuinely “need” them ie people with 2+ kids, also need to pay special tax for littering the gene pool.

  2. somehow the interior looks better than the chryslers. kind of like the old sonata interior

    damn i want the sharan! (or toyota estima)

  3. VW should have changed the shifter and gauges
    to more of the true German oriented style instead of the chubby fingers style that Kelsey Mayes(Aka Chubby Nerd) would appreciate.

  4. Wow, this is stupid as hell. A Chrysler minivan with a predictable $5,000 badge only markup.

    But then again VW would have to spend that much refitting the interior with better materials (by workers who are not blind or half retarded), so its no longer atypical Chrysler garbage.

  5. VW took full advantage of the stupid NAFTA legislation in order to build this thing. I wonder if Mexico is responsible for the parts that resemble VW in both style and function.
    I would have rather seen the Touren since I truly hate re-badge engineering which destroys the pride in creating something totally original.

  6. I would hope that being made by Chrysler that the reliability is going to be much better than if it was made by Volkswagen. Unfortunately you will still have to deal with the same arrogant people who service VW’s. Save your money and buy a Town & Country if you really have to have a minivan.

  7. VW seems to have some kind of mental block when it comes to styling minivans. First came the Sharan, which was fine, but mostly styled by Ford, and which they haven’t been able to replace after 13 years. Then the Touran, which is probably the boxiest minivan in Europe. And now this, which, as Vince says, they would never even DARE to sell in Europe. They sould take a long hard look at the Renault Espace or the Ford S-Max to learn how it’s done.

  8. First off – there is no information to suggest that the Routan is using anything but Chrysler engines. Secondly – VW says that their new Routan has a, “European tuned suspension and improved driving dynamics”. That all said… I have to say that I’m quite impressed. For a minivan – it looks pretty good. And I’m surprised by how many changes were made to the Town & Country. I guess I assumed that the Routan [Not pronounced ‘Rotten’ – is it?! lol] would have just been a T&C with a VW badge. Craig!! :o)

  9. I’m relieved to see that a decent design CAN be put on this platform….I wonder what the dimensions are though….it looks shorter, although that may just be an illusion because of the different rear side windows.

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