 2009 Volkswagen Routan Comfortline. Click image to enlarge |
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Manufacturer’s web site |
Review and photos by Grant Yoxon
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2009 Volkswagen Routan
Jordan Village, Ontario - When Volkswagen stopped selling the Eurovan after the 2002 model year, it left a big gap in VW’s model line-up. Although the Eurovan wasn’t a big seller in its last few years, being overweight, over-priced, under-equipped and under-powered, it was still an iconic vehicle, the original minivan, tracing its lineage back to the 1950 Type 2 Microbus.
Volkswagen is banking on increasing its sales in North America over the next few years, and to do this, it needs to sell vehicles in as many segments as possible. It began selling SUVs a few years ago with the Touareg and recently began selling a compact SUV, the Tiguan. A minivan, Volkswagen believes, will help it retain VW buyers who have outgrown sedans and wagons. Research showed that 15 per cent of Volkswagen owners had left the brand to purchase a minivan.
  2009 Volkswagen Routan Comfortline (top) and Routan Execline. Click image to enlarge |
While Volkswagen had given thought to bringing back the Eurovan or building a new minivan for the North American market, the economics of such a project could not be justified. Then along came Chrysler Group, then a part of DaimlerChrysler, with a better idea. Why not make use of overcapacity at Chrysler’s Windsor assembly plant to build a Volkswagen minivan based on the Dodge Grand Caravan/Chrysler Town & Country platform?
It made sense to Volkswagen, who would benefit from Chrysler’s experience and economies of scale. And they could get a minivan to market faster and at a much better price than if they did it themselves. The agreement with DaimlerChrysler was signed in 2005 and the Routan was born.
But would Volkswagen loyalists and new customers want a rebadged Chrysler minivan? Probably not, so the new Routan would have to be a Volkswagen through and through and appeal to the expectations of Volkswagen buyers.
To begin with, Volkswagen worked with Chrysler to design a version that would be unique to Volkswagen. And while the Routan is built alongside the Chrysler vans on the same assembly line, Volkswagen has its own people in place to ensure vehicles coming off the line meet their standards of build quality.
Externally, only the door panels and roof of the Routan are the same as the Town & Country’s. All other external panels are unique to the Volkswagen. While the size and shape is the same, the VW is - dare I say it? - a better looking version.
  2009 Volkswagen Routan Comfortline. Click image to enlarge |
Special attention was also paid to getting the interior right. Although the general layout - including the dash mounted shifter - carries over from Chrysler, all the soft-touch materials (seats, carpets, door panels, etc.) have been designed specifically for the Routan. And whereas Chrysler gauges and audio faceplate colours are typically green, the Routan displays are Volkswagen blue. Despite their efforts to upgrade the interior, though, there are still a few plastic bits that are unacceptable.
The Routan won’t offer Chrysler’s “stow ‘n go” seating. Although the storage bins are there, Volkswagen opted for more comfortable second row seating. Both front and second row seats are very comfortable, whether cloth covered or leather clad and second row leather equipped seats are, like the Town & Country, optionally heated, something the kids will like.
Volkswagen also made adjustments to the front and rear suspension and tweaked the steering to provide a firmer ride and improved handling. On our drive through the Niagara region, we found the Routan to be quite nimble for the large vehicle that it is, yet ride comfort has not been sacrificed.
In Canada, the Routan will be available only with the Chrysler 4.0-litre six-cylinder engine (a 3.8-litre Chrysler engine is also available in the United States). This engine produces 251 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 259 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,100 rpm. You’d think this would be plenty of power, but when the engine is pushing 2096 kg (4,621 lbs.) 251 hp is sufficient, but sufficient power is not what one expects from a German car company.
  2009 Volkswagen Routan Comfortline (top); Jil McIntosh tries out the 2009 Volkswagen Routan’s reversing 3rd row seats . Click image to enlarge |
Combined with a very smooth six-speed automatic transmission, the Routan’s fuel economy is rated at 7.9 litres per 100 kilometres on the highway and 12.2 l/100 km in the city, better than most in the minivan class.
The 2009 Volkswagen Routan is available in four levels of trim: Trendline ($27,995), Comfortline ($33,975), Highline ($39,975) and Execline ($49,975). Most buyers will likely opt for the Comfortline, a trim level that includes most popular equipment without moving to luxury options like leather seating, navigation and high-end audio equipment. Some desirable equipment, like a rear view back-up camera ($600) or rear-seat entertainment system ($1,800), can be added to any Routan you choose.
Should you choose the Execline, you will find the Routan is a luxury living room on wheels with full leather, two rear seat monitors for the 2nd and 3rd rows, 500-watt digital sound system, eight-way power front seats, navigation system, power-adjustable pedals with memory, hands-free phone system and Xenon headlights.
Volkswagen Canada has set a sales target - about 5,000 units for the 2009 model year - that could turn out to be optimistic in the current economic environment. According to DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, minivan sales in August dropped 32 per cent over August last year and are down 20 per cent on the calendar year so far. But with Ford out of the minivan market altogether, and GM still rumoured to be considering an exit, there could be room for Volkswagen to pick up a bit of the slack. Only time will tell.
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Manufacturer’s web site
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