Test drive Volkswagen Phaeton 2002 - 2009 sedan

There is Volkswagen, and there is Phaeton

More than the flagship
The acquisition of a representative of a representative class is not only a rational, but also an emotional choice. The Volkswagen concern, displaying the Phaeton model to the market, made unprecedented efforts to give its product a special, different from other brands of aura. Only 187 million euros were invested in the construction of a glass manufactory in Dresden, at which the car was assembled. The next step taken in order to increase the status of Phaeton, the release of its long -drawn version.
Glass manufactory is the most unusual production in the world. Phaeton is assembled as if in the aquarium: the entire plant is made of glass and steel. It took 25,000 (!) Sq. m Parquet from Canadian maple. Components for the car are transported by a special tram. The factory restaurant is one of the best in Dresden: they are managed by the chef of the most expensive and prestigious hotel in Kempinski. At the glass manufactory, guests are not fed with traditional German food: simple and satisfying sausages and pork slying with cabbage. They are offered exquisite dishes of Mediterranean cuisine. Studying the menu, you can’t immediately break the where you have lunch: either in Dresden, or on the azure bank.
So with the Phaeton car. With a cursory examination, both outside and inside it is a expensive, typically German car of a representative class with all appropriate attributes. But it is worth being driving Phaeton or accommodate in its passenger chairs, as something opens up that allocates this car against the backdrop of competitors and secondary ones. Almost 1000 kilometers passed on Phaeton along Germany’s roads allowed to understand the nuances.
Serving
Outside Phaeton Long 100 percent recognizable Volkswagen. At the same time, it is difficult to note some bright details that would refer the car to more democratic models of the concern. The impressive dimensions of the machine (the length is 5.12 m, and the width is 1.9 m) is not pressed on others. The car looks very elegant, swift, but not aggressive. This is his noticeable difference from the Audi family brand. The current generation A8, and especially the top version with the W12 motor, is characterized by spectacular external details (which is at least a massive trapezoidal radiator lattice!). Phaeton is more modest, it stands out from the road flow not with a catchy appearance, but a verified style.
If the Phaeton corresponds to the designer concept of VW, then inside the belonging to the folk brand resembles only the emblem on the steering wheel. The interior design is dominated by clear straight lines. The interior designers did not spare in the decoration of the salon of the skin and wood. But this wealth does not look pompous, as, for example, in some American and Japanese cars. The Phaeton salon, despite its modernity, feels very warm and cozy rare quality for the current representatives of the representative class, the internal space of which is increasingly executed in the cold style of Hi-Tech. We can say that the Phaeton interior combines the English and German vision of the arrangement of living space.
The long-standing Phaeton is seriously equipped with a leather salon, a glazed hatch, a control panel, a 4-zone air conditioner in the rear of the cabin. It is possible to control the front passenger seat from the back row, as well as sunscreens on the rear window and rear side windows.
It does not make sense to describe numerous systems for ensuring comfort: PHATON offers the driver and passengers all conceivable and unthinkable benefits, starting from the fan that cools the salon during the parking lot (it works from the solar battery built into the hatch), and ending with massagers built -in in chairs for chairs all crew members. It is especially worth noting the climatic system that automatically maintains a comfortable temperature in four separate zones and does not create drafts. This effect is achieved due to the fact that some ventilation nozzles are hidden behind the panels of the skin and provide the so -called multiple blowing. If it is too hot or cold outside, the new Climatronic uses direct blowing from traditional ventilation holes, while ensuring rapid heating or cooling. Direct and indirect blowing modes can be changed.
Among the shortcomings of ergonomics, only the steering wheel overloaded with the buttons can be noted. The control of the navigation system, a cruise control, a radio receiver, an on-board computer is displayed. Only people who have already trained the thumbs with sending SMS messages will quickly be able to learn how to use this abundance of buttons (very impressive, by the way).
Meal
Phaeton LONG a real representative car. Its credo is as fast and comfortable as possible in the space of its passengers. But the severity, peppercorn, adrenaline when passing turns to a person who is driving this car should not wait. Even when you install the air suspension in the Sport position. In this case, the car is more tightly pressed against the road, which are invisible before the irregularities are clearly transmitted to the body. However, the connection with the machine does not improve. Soft steering interferes with the car. The sports regime of the suspension especially liked in the high -speed sections of the autobahn during a movement of 200 km/h. The car seems to be creeping along the road, not finding the slightest hints of longitudinal and transverse buildup.
Pneumatic suspension Phaeton is able to change the road clearance at the request of the driver or automatically (with speed). It works in a duet with adjustable shock absorbers and is combined with active security systems. These include ESP (an electronic course stability program), an assistant braking assistant, ABS (anti -lock system), EBV (electronic distribution of brake force), ASR (anti -bouquet regulation), four EDS (electronic location devices) and MSR (controlled engine braking). All of the listed Phaeton systems are equipped with serial. In the form of the option, an automatic tire pressure control system is proposed.
Phaeton Long also has an all -wheel drive chassis similar to Audi cars (with Torsen Intersseum differential). However, it was not possible to evaluate the possibilities of all -wheel drive in civilian conditions of spring Germany: the asphalt under the wheels was mainly dry.
But the magnificent diesel engine V10 (5 liters, 313 hp) managed to enjoy the full. On the Phaeton Long test, I also managed to test a car with a V8 gasoline engine (4.2 liters, 335 hp). According to subjective sensations, diesel Phaeton is incomparably more dynamic than gasoline. Possessing a phenomenal rod of 750 Newton meters, this motor can give tangible acceleration to the car at speeds and over 170 km/h. At the moment, none of the passenger diesel engines of the world are exceeding the V10 in power. The motor is serial aggregated with a six -speed automatic gearbox.
At the same time, the car has enviable efficiency. Even when moving at speeds at 200 km/h, he consumed (judging by the readings of the on -board computer) 11.7 liters of fuel per 100 km.
Active cruise control deserves special mention. This miracle of technology independently maintains a distance before the car walking ahead. The sensations are unrealistic: by setting the speed (on my version of the car for cruise control, a bar was installed 180 km/h), you can remove the legs from the pedals. The machine itself accelerates and slows down, focusing on the readings of the radars built into the front bumper. According to personal sensations, the threshold of trust in this system is at the level of 140 150 km/h. At higher speeds, the inertia of the system is nevertheless manifested: in some cases I personally began to brak a little earlier.
Phaeton for Volkswagen is more than the flagship. This is an exhibition of achievements of the brand as a whole, and a show car that increases the status of a brand, and, of course, a profitable commercial product. In Russia, the most luxurious version of Phaeton will cost the amount of $ 92,500 to $ 134,000. A worthy price for a worthy car.
Igor Komarov
 

Source: Wheel (company)