Volkswagen’s very first full-size minivan debuted in Europe twenty years ago. It was one of the first concrete result of Autoeuropa, a 50/50 joint-venture with Ford founded in the Portuguese city of Palmela in 1991 – the others were Ford Galaxy and Seat Alhambra. The trio had very good combined sales and received its first updates in the end of that decade, but Ford ended the partnership around the same time. The Germans took ownership of the shared plant, and then each company developed their next minivans on their own. However, while Ford has had big success with the current Galaxy and its “casual counterpart” S-Max, Sharan and Alhambra bear the consequences of belonging to a company which isn’t really interested in this category.
This is part of a market approach which turns out to be actually interesting. Volkswagen never paid much attention to minivans even when they were living their best moment, which was between the 1990s and the mid-2000s. There are Golf Sportsvan (previously called Plus) and Touran, along with the multivan Caddy, but since they don’t appear much in car events or in the media between renovations, none of them sells well enough to distinguish the company in this market. As if it wasn’t enough, it seems to be doing the same with the steeply-ascending crossovers: besides Touareg, which is actually luxury SUV, the only true competitor ever released by the Germans so far is Tiguan; the baby-sized Taigun has never left the condition of concept car.
Another release made during this year’s Geneva Auto Show, the German minivan gets prepared for 2016 with quite discreet style updates. Since its design language hasn’t changed much from when Sharan’s current iteration arrived (five years ago), Volkswagen decided to work only at its rear fascia: the tail lights feature new internal layout with LEDs. There are also new 16” Jakarta wheels and two new body colors: Crimson Red and Hudson Bay Blue, both metallic. Inside, there are refreshed instrument cluster, optional Vienna leather, and three new trim designs (Platinum Silver, Piano Black and Mirror Oak), but the big news is the last-gen modular infotainment platform. This means Sharan carries more electronic safety systems than ever, and three options of multimedia central.
As nice as these news might be, Sharan’s biggest updates lie under the hood. The engine range is entirely new, and entirely composed of Euro 6-compliant options. The gasoline-burner, TSI range features a 1.4-liter producing 148 hp and a 2.0-liter good for 217 hp. Switching to diesel, the TDI team is actually one single 2.0-liter unit, which can deliver 113 hp, 148 hp or 181 hp. The DSG gearbox has dual clutch and six speeds, and received coasting function in order to save fuel. It comes as standard with the most powerful engine, is unavailable with the weakest, and is an option for the others. The second TDI, in turn, is the only one you can combine to the 4Motion all-wheel-drive. The new Sharan will go on sale in the European market in the next few months.