This is A test drive report from Fortune City website to which Dirk van Ulden
referred us. The report is quoted below and is also published at
QUOTE
The 1999 Volkswagen EuroVan
Base Price Range: $31,300 - 32,800
* (One Star -- Substandard.)
If the new Beetle has made you fall in love with Volkswagen, the EuroVan
will make you want a divorce!
Volkswagen will only sell 1400 of the EuroVan¡¯s in the U.S. this year, and
that¡¯s good. Because if they sold any more, it may be considered an act of
war.
I thought the whole purpose of a minivan was to have the utility of a van, in
a vehicle that drives like a car. The EuroVan has few amenities. You sit
high, with cupholders on the floor that are almost out of my reach--and I¡¯m
6¡¯4¡±. The drive is very trucklike. The seats are uncomfortable.
I couldn¡¯t figure out how to open the one sliding door from the inside. And,
despite the additional room, the basic EuroVan only seats seven, just like
your average minivan.
Controls are pretty basic, with one exception, the gear shift lever. It sits
on the floor, and has no light, so you have to guess which gear you are in at
night.
I never did get comfortable in the EuroVan. Because of the wheel well¡¯s
location, there¡¯s really no place to put your left foot. The seats just
weren¡¯t comfortable.
The EuroVan has a slight resemblance to the early Chrysler minivans. It¡¯s
very boxy, but a little higher and a little skinnier, which makes it feel
unstable in corners. The steering and the brakes were very rough. The engine
was adequate.
I know Volkswagen¡¯s have a nice following, and I know I¡¯m going to get angry
e-mails from EuroVan owners saying I don¡¯t understand. You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t
understand. I don¡¯t understand why people would pay 32,000 dollars for a
vehicle that rides rough, is a menace in parking lots, and has uncomfortable
cloth seats.
There are a lot of good things happening at Volkswagen. The new Beetle is a
runaway hit. The Jetta is cute. The Passat is practical. The EuroVan needs to
be re-done, into a 21st century version of a Microbus. That would work. This
vehicle doesn¡¯t, with one exception.
There are customized versions of the EuroVan that are said to be very nice,
especially the limited edition camping version. If you camp a lot, you may
want to check out the EuroVan. But for all of the other uses that people find
for minivans these days, the EuroVan comes up short.
About that price...it¡¯s not a misprint. I did a survey with other reporters
who cover the auto industry who hadn¡¯t driven a EuroVan. I asked them to
guess the price. They fainted when they saw the sticker. Thirty-two thousand
dollars would buy a lot of comfort in a competitors minivan.
You can get the EuroVan is three trims, GLS, MV and Camper. Standard
equipment includes air conditioning, cruise control, rear window defroster,
etc. The MV gives you some extras like a folding table, florescent light over
the rear seat, and seats that fold down into beds. The camper adds a
refrigerator, a gas stove, sink countertop, screened windows, furnace and a
pop up roof with an overhead full-size bed.
While the camper sounds pretty neat, I drove the basic EuroVan, with a 32
thousand dollar sticker price. It was far from adequate, and nowhere close to
the competition.
Let¡¯s pray for the return of the Microbus, and give the EuroVan a 1 on our 1
to 5 scale.
END QUOTE
