2009 Volkswagen Routan Review

Volkswagen may claim its invitation to the minivan fest of the '80s and '90s got lost in the mail. No hard feeling for sure, perhaps not staying in step with what everyone else does is an advantage for the German automaker, which launches the 2009 Routan as its new minivan. Yes, I said -- minivan.

The iconic Volkswagen buses of the '50s and '60s are probably the most famous vehicles that aren't a car or a pickup. Their quirky exteriors looked like nothing on the road then, or now. Inside, the same story, function was in high order and the mission was clear: Move a lot of people.

The new VW Routan minivan really doesn't make any attempt to glean design cues from the legendary split-window buses. Probably the wise thing to do once the conversation moves away from marketing potential and to the actual function of the Routan.

Like its classic predecessor, Routan can move plenty of people. And, although the vehicle manages to look and feel VW-esque, it clearly is something meant to be a niche vehicle geared to younger families with little ones that maybe did not like the Passat wagon.

The Routan is a bit of a shortcut for VW, which typically engineers its own vehicles. Beneath the shining VW moniker on the front grille is the newly re-designed Chrysler minivan. Both the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country are fine products that certainly deliver VW plenty of bells and whistles as well as a pretty nice exterior - for a minivan. Just don't expect any generation to adopt it as their emblem

On the outside, the Routan is sleek and classy. The sloped nose gives the minivan an appearance that is less truck-like and more nimble and contemporary. Functional roof racks bend over the curved roofline while the enormous windows run around the entire vehicle and lighten the appearance.

Inside the Routan, because of all those big windows, you cannot help but feel that you are in a much larger cabin. Passengers in my tester commented several times about the roomy feel in the second and third rows. Not all minivans are able to pull that off. Score one for the Routan.

The cabin is comfortable and controls on the dash are easily within reach and intuitively placed where you expect them to be. With all that glass, I found the sightlines to be outstanding, a real plus when you are talking about a minivan this big. I did notice some excessive noise from the engine on occasion, but nothing too terrible.

The driver and front passenger have power seat controls that deliver wonderful comfort. There is plenty of room in the Routan and it is left up to the driver how to divvy it up. The second row has huge power windows while the third row has latch windows. Passengers found maneuvering within the second and third rows to be easy, no crazy twisting and lurching to get fore and aft.

One of the more impressive features has to be the push-button controls in the cargo area that allows you to flatten the third-row seats, fold them halfway down or turn the seats around to face the rear. I've done a lot of these changes manually and the push-buttons made it easy and simple to accomplish without any physical strains.

My Routan SEL tester had a long list of standards: pull-up sunshades on the second and third rows, eight-way power driver's seat, premium leather seats with first and second-row heated seats, second-row captain seating with reclining feature, steering wheel audio controls, heated mirrors, front and rear 12V outlets, grocery bag and purse hooks on rear back seats, LED reading lights in every row, dual-power sliding doors, three-zone automatic climate control, Bluetooth connectivity and nice 17-inch alloy wheels.

The Routan SEL features a 4.0-liter V-6 (251 horsepower) mated to a butter-smooth six-speed transmission. It takes a lot of ponies to move something this heavy (4,800 pounds), but Routan has the horsepower to get around town and jockey amid any highway traffic. Front-wheel drive is the only format available.

The Routan is available for $24,500 to $37,500, depending on your trim model: S, SE or SEL.

It is not impossible to see the Chrysler in the Routan, but luckily it is all the good things that I liked about the Chrysler minivan that shine on the Routan. The drive is comfortable and responsive while inside you can let the kids bring as much stuff as they want and not be crowded or cramped in the cabin. There are less minivans on the market this year and there will be less moving forward, so maybe there will be some growth for VW in this category, though the day of the minivan in every other driveway is clearly gone.

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2009 Volkswagen Routan

Maxivan.

John Stein