Volkswagen Multivan test drive since 2010 Minivan

Volkswagen Multivan. That the Germans are good ...

Volkswagen Multivan. Price: 2 487 600 rub. On sale: since 2010

Readers of Auto Zeitung magazine for the fourth time in a row recognized Volkswagen Multivan the best in the mini-wen segment. What is the success? And is the cartoon so good?


Test pilot
Oleg Kalaushin, 41 years old, automobile journalist, driving experience 22 years old, personal car - Renault Logan

Agree. Multivan cannot but like it. As they say, everything is with him: appearance, functionality, and ... in general, there are many pluses. However, is everything so great and wonderful? Maybe the Germans embellish the merits of this machine somewhere? We did not guess, but took the cartoon and went on it on a rather long road. Where, if not on a long journey, you can appreciate the car! And since there was no confidence that there was no confidence in those places where we were going to go, then we decided to take Multivan in the HighLine configuration, one of the many advantages of which is the possibility of arranging a full berth for two. In addition, under the hood of this car stood an 180 -horsepower bit around diesel, working with a DSG box, which in itself has already promised a non -casual trip.

The first kilometers of the way through the city revealed the first advantages. Despite the rather large dimensions of the car, it is completely easy to drive it. The dimensions are felt literally immediately, and the review from the driver's place is an order of magnitude better than that of a car. After all, you are sitting higher. It is necessary to adopt only when reversing. However, to the one who is used to doing this, without turning back and not looking through the salon, but focusing exclusively in the mirrors, will not be up to the cartoon somewhere in the back of labor. In addition, the machine is equipped with quite sensitive parking sensors. I also liked the fact that the same 11.3 seconds to hundreds, which are just numbers in the TTX table, in reality allow you to feel completely comfortable among a rather motley car fraternity. Multivan’s dynamics at the level of a car, and in the city this quality is especially valuable.

However, it is quite good when you can quite quickly accelerate on a suburban highway. And we have repeatedly noted this when it was required to overtake in a short area. From the driver it was only necessary to stomp the gas pedal to the floor, and the car literally fired. True, if there was no ice under the wheels at that moment. And this has been infrequent for all the time of our long route. Winter suburban routes are not always cleaned and not everywhere, and therefore almost 80 percent of our path passed either along snow -covered or icy roads. However, if you do not drop the bar, then you can keep a fairly high pace of movement in such conditions. The stabilization system copes very well with its duties and does not lend itself to provocations. A couple of times for the sake of interest we tried to provoke a skid, but nothing came of it. Perhaps if the speed is higher, it would succeed. But already one thing that the system intervened in the management process was enough to understand that without it the car would have deployed.

Toward evening, the temperature overboard began to fall, icy rain fell from the sky. The phenomenon is how amazing, so unpleasant. The fact is that under this rain, the car began to be covered with a crust of ice. And even despite the fact that the salon was in full, the glass began to freeze. If with a worsened visibility in the side glasses it was possible to somehow put up, then icing of the windshield became a real disaster. I could not melt this ice and a powerful stream of hot air on the windshield. More or less, he coped with this task only in the parking lot. It was worth setting off, as visibility immediately worsened again. Most likely, if a heated windshield was a heated by a car, this would not have happened. But the fact remains.

Suppose the first remark can be attributed to spontaneous disasters, but we will define the completely unreadable backlight and the central console display as a clear design miscalculation. At first, we did not attach much importance to the backlight, but closer to midnight, when about six hours were carried out at the dark at the dark, it became clear that the readability of the icons on the keys is disgusting. Everything was blurred, and to understand what was drawn on a particular pen or button was possible only after you look at it intently. The same can be said about the blue illumination of the central monitor. In general, not buzz.

But the biggest disappointment for us was that on the roads where the perfect asphalt is missing, the salon of this expensive car rummages like some kind of tormented gazelle life. During the movement, the second pilot repeatedly tried to find the reason for this disgrace, moving from place to place, and each time he found either a stronger source or quieter.

We never had a chance to spend the night in the car. The hotel was found, but the seats were still laid out. You could get enough sleep on them without problems. In general, if we talk about the possibilities of transforming the Multivan Highline salon, they are extensive: the car can be adapted to the office on wheels with a convenient negotiation room, and for a long journey with the whole family. In general complexity, we drove about 800 km. Did we like it? In general, yes. Not without flaws, of course, a car, but we are not going to belittle its advantages. Moreover, Russia came back in the first place in the number of VW Multivan sold. And this also means something.
 

VW Multivan Highline
17-inch light-luminous discs NEVA. Automatic three -zone Climatronic air conditioning with a separate salon unit and an additional rear control panel. Dark tinting of glazing of the passenger salon. The right and left side sliding doors with electric drive and closer. The back door with the closer. Fog lights with turning lighting function. 7 seats, including a driver’s. Leather upholstery of seats with Alcantara inserts. Anti -theft alarm with the control of the cabin, autonomous siren and protection against towing. Rain sensor. A rear -view mirror with automatic dimming function.

Driving
On a good road, it is not much different from an ordinary passenger car both in comfort and in handling. The dynamics is also quite comparable.

Salon
Builds with both the volume of space and the possibilities of transformation. I was pleased with the heater.

Comfort
You can’t find fault with comfort on good coverage.

Safety
ABS, ESP, EBD, two front airbags, side combined pillows.

Price
High.


We do not love
These keys allow you to open and close the shift doors using servo drives. Comfortable
The central console resembles a Swiss knife. Everything is thought out to the details. Practical
Under the rear seats there are containers for storing various trifles. Thoughtful


Advantages and disadvantages
+ Spacious and multifunctional salon, powerful and tracted engine, excellent operation of the stabilization system.
- rattling of the salon elements on bad roads.


Specifications
Mark and Model - VW Multivan Highline
Dimensions - 4892x1904x1970 mm
Diesel engine, 1968 cm3, 180/4000 hp/min-1
Transmission - DSG, 7 -speed, automatic
Dynamics - Max 191 km/h; 11.3 s to 100 km/h
Competitors - MB Viano


Our opinion
When the number was closed, the editorial office received another press release from Volkswagen. Its essence was as follows: readers of the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport again chose Volkswagen Multivan with an indisputable favorite in the mini-wen class. This model for the eighth time in a row took first place in the competition the best cars of the year. Maybe we find fault?


Author: Oleg Kalaushin
Photo: Igor Kuznetsov

 

Source: Magazine 5 wheel [March 2011]