Solid as a rock

FOLLOWING yet
another drop in new car sales, Alan Nolan, Director of the Society of the Irish
Motor Industry (SIMI), described the market right now as

“extremely fragile

?.

The end of the
Government scrappage scheme is naturally having a major effect on new car
sales, but there was nothing fragile about the VW Sharan I drove last week; it
was solid as a rock.

This upgraded
version of the Sharan has been around for a while. I was due to drive it in the
spring, but it still looked and felt good in autumn. It’s much bigger than the
old model and some people I met last week thought it resembled a mini bus. And
with seven seats and two sliding back doors I suppose a mini bus would not be
too far out.

This new 2.0
litre diesel has the latest blue motion stop-start technology which improves
fuel economy. This new model is bigger, better and lighter than the old
version. It’s also a very long motor and probably could have done with reversing
sensors. Maybe there are sensors available in some models, but they were not on
the version I drove. Two roof rails add to the elongated effect. But I suppose
the most attractive part of this multi purpose vehicle is the two sliding doors
which allows for easy access. It would, I think be ideal if you were in or
thinking of going into the taxi business.

Externally the
car looks great and when you sit in it’s also very impressive. The controls on
the dash are very well laid out and easy to use. There is also a compartment
right in the top the dash to hold pens or CDs and overall there are plenty of
cubby holes to store personal items. As a radio fan I really like the decent
sized button to scroll up and down the wavelengths. No slave controls on the steering
wheel, but the cruise control stalk and the other levers are neatly tucked away
alongside the wheel. The view from the driver’s seat is excellent, but my grown
up children thought the second row of three individual seats were a bit high
and probably best suited to younger children. We didn’t really use the third
row which has two seats and I found that it was best to fold them down if I
needed to carry any bulky items. If all seven seats are in use there is very
little boot space. You can also fold down the middle row of seats if you need
extra cargo space.

Overall a very
comfortable and spacious car to travel in. The only criticism I had was the new
style handbrake which is really just a small lever near the gear stick. I think
most Irish drivers would probably prefer to have a regular style hand brake
which would I think offer peace of mind. Only available in 2.0 litre where
prices start at

?¬41,990. C02 emissions are fairly high with road tax of

?¬302. I
know it sounds expensive and there are cheaper people carriers around. But if
you want the reliability that a Volkswagen offers, then this massive
seven-seater could be the one for you.