Test drive Volkswagen Phaeton 2002 - 2009 sedan
Six hundredth Volkswagen
By introducing Phaeton, Wolfsburg challenged StuttgartThis was one of the most intriguing premieres of the last Geneva car dealership - Volkswagen Phaeton. In any case, according to the degree of interest shown by visitors, the new flagship of the concern could well argue with the limousine revived by the efforts of Daimlerchrysler Maybach. But if the latter was hiding behind a thick glass, through which it was possible to distinguish the contours of either a real machine, or its head-graphic image, then Phaeton flaunted in the center of the stand. And the audience surrounded him tightly, marveling on the impressive size of the representative of the representative class with the letters of VW: this was not yet done in Wolfsburg. However, to be up to the end, these cars come from Dresden, where they are assembled manually at a special plant - Glaeserne Manuapactur (glass manufactory).
Comparison with Maybach is not accidental: both cars aimed at expansion at the new market segments for their manufacturers were created from scratch. Outwardly and constructively, Phaeton is as far from Passat as Maybach - from Mercedes S -class. However, having headed Mark, the Wolfsburg limousine was simply obliged to maintain family traits. Having looked at the passing Phaeton from afar, an inexperienced person can even confuse him with Passat. However, at the closest acquaintance, it becomes clear: there can be no mistake. The new flagship is much larger, more muscular and - noblesse oblige - looks emphasized solid. Powerful wings with developed wheeled arches, expressively frowned headlights, a wedge -shaped hood with an integrated false radiator grille, extending far down to a massive bumper, is all radiated, slightly heavy decisiveness. But it is worth looking at Phaeton in profile, and the feeling of heaviness retreats. Expressive wheeled arches, smoothly flowing through the rack onto the trunk, the roof line, and the wide a la sportkup itself, the rear rack evoke completely different associations. The feeling of power and dynamism is only strengthened when looking at the four impressive diameter of the nozzle of the exhaust system integrated into the rear bumper.
The kingdom of comfort
For the first time in the salon of the representative Volkswagen, you are involuntarily amazed at the abundance of free space. No, not that Passat was crowded, but compared to Phaeton, his predecessor looks no longer so bright. Nevertheless, the additional 18 cm of the wheelbase that allowed to increase the space for the legs, and 16 cm, for which the new flagship was wider, did not disappear, most of them did not disappear: most of them went to ensure that the passengers of the limousine did not feel the feeling of the elbow. By the way, in the back seat of the top version of Phaeton, this is generally impossible: having donated one landing place, the designers turned the rear sofa into two luxurious chairs separated by a console with folding armrests. The seats themselves are a masterpiece of comfort. The light access system automatically pushes the chair when opening the door, the electroregulations in all possible directions provide the most convenient landing, and the massager built into the backs, coupled with the seat integrated into the pillow, guarantee freshness and excellent well -being even after a further and tiring trip.
By the way, the conditioning of the seats is part of the new climate control system. The advanced Climatronic has several advantages. The main of them is the possibility of individual microclimate setting for each of the four passengers. Sitting from the back control the climate system from their own panel, taken to the central tunnel. Another useful innovation is scattered blowing. The outboard air, cleared by two anti -drum filters with the content of activated coal, is served with the main fan. After that, the system of 25 executive electric drives distributes the air flow through the cabin. With such a ventilation scheme, there are no drafts: the nozzles on the front panel are hidden by decorative overlays and the air circulates through the storage tape that extends throughout the width of the cabin.
Traveling in the rear seat Phaeton is a pure pleasure. The car spits magnificently above the autobahn, and only the trees merged into the green strip
yes, the speedometer arrow indicates that the concerned colleague has long exceeded 200 km/h. Regardless of the speed and nature of the road surface, pleasant silence reigns in the cabin. Double glazing, magnificent sound insulation and phenomenal rigidity of the power structure of the body pass inside only unobtrusive rumbling of the motor, and even then at full load. Perhaps the only thing that Phaeton’s dignified passenger with the W12 engine can confuse his personal driver, when, starting from a traffic light, he will press the accelerator slightly stronger than usual. In Sport mode, the Tiptronic automatic gearbox reactions are so lightning fast, and a 420-horsepower unit picks up a more than two-ton car so decisively that a person with a weak vestibular apparatus may grow up.
King of Avtobanov
However, our acquaintance with Phaeton began with a more modest front-end version equipped with a 241 hp. The first thing you experience, being behind a firm, relatively small diameter, by the steering wheel, is a sense of security. Moreover, not 12 pillows cause it, and not even perfect electronic safety systems, which is equipped in abundance. The true reason is a high waist line: the upper edge of the door fell just below the shoulder, and how many do not try to raise the seat, without leaning back too much, even almost resting your head on the ceiling, you remain to sit quite low. However, this does not interfere with driving a machine. You get used to the impressive dimensions (length - 5 m, width - 1.9 m) almost immediately. In addition, the limousine was surprisingly maneuverable. On the Phaeton highway, it was tough, without the slightest delay, reacted to the work of the steering wheel, while the car with such a magnificent hydraulic power steering, it seems, could have been able to be a child.
Having conquered, obeying the quirks of the navigation system (along with many other service functions, it is sewn into the Infotainment information center, which occupied the entire central console), along the narrow streets of a small Saxon town, we finally rang out on an autobahn. The opened operational expanse provoked a feasible to crush the trunk. Phaeton reacted instantly: a five-speed Tiptronic (Phaeton V6 can be with 6-speed mechanics, but we got an automatic machine) transferred the transmission to the step down, and the sedan rushed to Berlin. According to the passport, overclocking to hundreds takes 9.2 seconds, personal feelings left no doubt about this: the speedometer arrow quickly reached the number 100 and confidently climbed to the right, the acceleration rate slowed down only after 200. However, the roads of the former GDR are still inferior to West German, And high -speed restrictions here are a common thing. I somehow did not want to deal with the police about more than double excess, and risky experiments had to be stopped. However, the potential to achieve maximum 245 km/h of the limousine clearly remained.
If the Phaeton V6 feels equally well in city traffic jams and on a high -speed highway, then the version equipped with a powerful W12 was created exclusively for autobahns. The car supplied only with the 4Motion all -wheel drive transmission, with a herd of 420 horses under the hood and a torque of 550 Nm, which is achieved at 3,000 revolutions per minute, there is nothing to do in street. As already mentioned, by controlling the Phaeton W12 in the city, dose the force on the gas pedals must be extremely carefully. Leaving the alley, I figured the distance to the truck approaching along the main road and thought: I would have time. Of course, I managed to: to get away from the trucker, and not to hook the fence when, stunning from the unexpected agility of my limousine, I turned the steering wheel too much in a turn. No, the real element W12 is high -speed (and unlimited) autobahns. Only there, its owner will be able to truly enjoy the juicy, configured sound of the exhaust system, accompanying a hurricane acceleration. I note that Phaeton is accelerated equally intensively from almost any revolutions: from a place to 100 km/h, it shoots in just 6 seconds, and it is worth throwing the gas pedal into the kik -dowan mode at a speed of 170 km/h - and the car puts the speedometer arrow without visible efforts. on allowed electronics 250 km/h. By the way, according to Volkswagen representatives, all car systems are designed to work at speeds up to 300 km/h, so the scope for Phaeton chip tuning provides almost unlimited.
Talking about the novelty, experts were not tired of repeating that Phaeton incorporated all the latest achievements of the technical thought of the Volkswagen concern. Indeed, which of the Wolfsburg cars will you find a pneumatic suspension, automatically (or at the request of the driver) changing the size of the road clearance and the rigidity of shock absorbers, depending on the conditions of movement? And which of the cars (and not only Volkswagen) can boast of such stiffness of the body to twist? According to this indicator exceeding 37 thousand nm/city, Phaeton confidently leads in his class. By the way, having mentioned the margin of strength with which this limousine was created, I forgot to report one interesting fact: the four -ton armored Phaeton Chancellor Germ Gerhard Schroeder rides on a standard suspension.
Complex debut
A simple enumeration of all technological innovations used in the creation of Phaeton would take more than one newspaper strip. The creators of the car aimed to make the best representative of the representative class in the world, and I do not undertake to say that they did not succeed. You must admit that a machine, for which it took five years and $ 9 million, can claim successful rivalry with recognized market favorites. Now the thing is to ensure that customers understand this.
The creators of Phaeton themselves recognize the problem of overcoming image stereotypes. According to one of the developers of the limousine engineer Rolf Reineke, so that fans of prestigious brands have figured out that Volkswagen Phaeton is no worse than Mercedes S-class, BMW 7th series or Audi A8, it will take a certain period of time, it is possible for several years. However, in the fact that this will happen, he has no doubt. I am confident in the marketing potential of the novelty and top management of the concern, which established the conditions for the Warranty for the Volkswagen standards unprecedented for Phaeton. For example, in the event of a limousine breakdown, its owner is provided for free Phaeton, and not only gasoline, parking and phone calls are paid, but also hotel accommodation during the repair.
However, I repeat, for the successful implementation of the planned plans, and Volkswagen expects to sell at least 20 thousand Phaeton in the first year, it is necessary to gain customer trust. So far, the idea is not strengthened in the public consciousness that Volkswagen has overcame the middle class ceiling and is quite capable of creating prestigious cars worth 55-120 thousand euros (namely, the scatter of prices for Phaeton), the revolutionary novelty will remain only devoted fans of the Wolfsburg brand.
Andrey Tsybulsky
