This Really Happened - A 2009 VW Routan Review

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 01/11/2018 at 17:30 • Filed to: review, hhfp

4

22

It has to be said, it makes an excellent place to sleep.

Back in 2005 people had kids and needed vehicles to carry those kids. VW also had nothing to sell people who had kids and wanted to carry them. So it shopped around for someone who would sell them their kid carrier and found Chrysler willing. So they struck up a deal; VW would get all the engineering of their Town and Country/Caravan but VW would rebadge, slightly modify and “rebrand” the interior and “add german engineering”....

In 2008 my father in law bought one, a gray SEL, primarily because he wanted a van and he liked the seats. He takes good care of the car, keeps up on service and despite using it as a work truck as well as a family hauler you would be hard pressed to find any Caravan with as clean and kept up interior and exterior. Its also been a fairly reliable vehicle for him, taking he and his wife cross country several times without much issue outside of abnormal brake and tire wear.

Fast forward to 2018 and this 99,100 mile example has been my ride for the week. My Land Cruiser (pictured in the background of the picture above) has been in my garage awaiting a replacement radiator and hasn’t been drivable and my father in law offered this for the week. He’s a wonderful man and I will always be grateful for his kindness so its with great respect and apologies I write this review.

Interior

Its all still together and working. Thats, about it. it feels hard, cold and cheap literally everywhere you touch and the chyrsler switchgear is starting to lose its positive click action. The seats are...poor. I mean they are still together but the “leather” is just thick vinyl and it feels it. The dash was given soft touch material, some VW switchgear is present and a few design details were given VW lip service.

Speaking of seats, Chrysler didn’t give VW Stow n Go or Swivel N go. Just Lug n go. They have seat heaters that half work though, so there’s that.

Exterior

Yeah...no.

Good effort trying to graft a german face to this wholly American body

The basic effect

Engine

Its the SOHC 4.0 with 251 hp at 6000 rpm and 259 lbs-feet at 4000 rpm

It sounds pretty good, if a little coarse, its been dead reliable and it has a nice fat torque curve.

Throttle calibration is GARBAGE though. like so

Nothing on tip in, then furious wheelspin a fraction further into the throttle. The engine has a lot of torque, a linear curve would have worked great, but they badly front loaded it to feel “peppy”

Transmission

...Where to start. Technically a 6 speed, though its ratio spread was really a 5 speed at best

First was crazy low at 4.127, but 2nd and 3rd were spaced so close together (2.842/2.284) its hard to wonder what the benefit was. There were 2 4th gears, one for going up the ladder (1.452) and one for coming down (1.57). It also had a 5th and 6th, but who cares.

Its a notoriously unreliable transmission and not well loved. This is what it feels like

You hear it whine, its jerky and thunks. Its not broken, its always felt like this.

Driving

It drives worse than you expect. When I test drove a Land Cruiser 200 series last winter I found myself going faster than I thought, everywhere I went. This is the opposite of that. I FEEL like I’m going too fast, then I look down and Im going below the speed limit. Im on eggshells driving this car.

It has the brakes of a studabaker...and original one

And did I mention it goes through pads like candy? Rear first for some reason.

Steering is connected to the front and it has okay steer ahead, but zero feel except for torque steer.

The Routan got “VW tuning” and when it was new the suspension wasn’t bad. it is now.

It generally feels like twice its mileage to drive. Again remember this is a well cared for example with mostly highway miles.

Fuel Economy

It does okay on the highway, maybe 20-22 but I looked at the long term average on the trip computer and it read 16. Wanna know what my long term average for my taller, heavier, V8 powered, Permanent 4wd 5 speed brick (gx470) is? 16.1 Its also older with more miles.

Reliability

It chomps through brakes and tires, and its had a little trouble with its cooling system early on. Aside from that and the rear seat heater connection failing...and the mechanism for the power rear sliding door failing, its been pretty good. That being said it FEELS like its about to become expensive. An automotive engineer family member of mine and I were talking once about cars and I asked him about Chrysler, “they make some really interesting cars...” he told me “...to bad they all fall apart about 80,000 miles in.”

As someone with a lisence plate plaque that reads “my other car is a prototype” I feel like I have to take his word for it, but really do I? Is it really a secret that mid 2000's Chryslers are all going to fall apart? Its a shame really, because they really do make some interesting cars.

Verdict

What do you expect me to write here? Its a VW/Chrysler joint project from the darkest periods in either manufactures recent history (excluding anything diesel related). Though it has to be said that its been reliable and its served me well while my reliable Toyota has been under the knife awaiting parts. That Toyota, however, its twice its age and with 3x its mileage and it lives a much harder life...did i also mention it drives better?

shop-teacher > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2018 at 17:43

1

That’s about what I expected.

HammerheadFistpunch > shop-teacher 01/11/2018 at 17:49

0

I think the only thing the surprised me is how quickly it started all going downhill.

Brian, The Life of > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2018 at 17:53

0

Brakes and tires ... yep. My wife’s ‘09 T&C has been through 4 sets of front pads and 5 sets of rears in its 180k miles. I’m (only just) on my second set of pads on my 152K mile ‘10 Fusion.

HammerheadFistpunch > Brian, The Life of 01/11/2018 at 17:54

0

hows your transmission? Im just curious to know how they actually hold up over time.

Brian, The Life of > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2018 at 17:57

0

The tranny has actually been rock solid. Shifting is much more predictable than my car ... especially up grades.

His Stigness > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2018 at 17:58

1

The VW guy that made that deal with Chrysler soon lost his job. I’d guess you’re not surprised by that tidbit.

HammerheadFistpunch > Brian, The Life of 01/11/2018 at 17:58

0

I get the impression its a hit or miss affair. Its not slipping or anything, maybe its downstream of the transmission thats making all the racket.

HammerheadFistpunch > His Stigness 01/11/2018 at 18:00

0

not so much. It really could have been a good deal had they...um...tried. I mean redo the dash completely, give the van a distinctly VW look and make the interiors up to the rest of the range and it could have been a decent stopgap until the Atlas arrived.

shop-teacher > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2018 at 18:59

2

I remember driving my buddy’s then 5-year old ‘99 Dakota, which he had bought new, babied, and only had like 45k miles on it. What shocked me was the detents on the column shifter had already worn out. You had to count your way down through the gars to find overdrive. Such a great looking truck. Such a piece of crap. He spent thousands trying to keep it on the road between 40 and not quite 50k miles, before he gave up and traded it in. Basically the entire front suspension and steering system was replaced, along with a bunch of other stuff.

RallyWrench > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2018 at 19:18

2

I started reading this thinking, “when is he going to mention the throttle calibr... ah yes, nailed it.” I remember the first time I drove an electronic throttle 3.8 Caravan when I was younger, and being impressed at first until I realized what they’d done.

Totally accurate, well done. We refuse to work on these, and refer them to the pit of doom from which they came. Chrysler Crossfires? Mostly Mercedes, can do. These? No way, man. From a service perspective there is no VW in these whatsoever.

When my wife and I were van shopping a couple of years ago, we I started off with these on the list because, you know, VW lifer/Vanagon owner/German shop guy, and the prices were really favorable compared to their contemporaries, even for a slightly newer van. They were quickly eliminated from that list for all the reasons you’ve covered and more, and we bought the older Sienna XLE Limited that, for our money, continues to outclass these in every way but power. 

Svend > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2018 at 19:27

0

VW had MPVs/Minivans before the Routan in the U.S. It just wasn’t cost efficient to get the Touran certified for the U.S.

In Europe we had the joint venture between VW and Ford. In 1995 we had the VW Sharan/SEAT Alhambra/Ford Galaxy.

Then in 2003 we got the VW Touran.

HammerheadFistpunch > Svend 01/11/2018 at 19:42

3

Just remember that our “mini”Vans are quite a bit larger than mpvs. This routan is significantly wider and longer than either of my land cruiser

His Stigness > HammerheadFistpunch 01/11/2018 at 20:29

1

That was the problem. So many customers they were pissed when they found out they bought a Chrysler. And I can’t blame them because your average consumer can’t spot that. And it’s not salesman are going to turn them away and tell them to go to a Chrysler dealer.

duurtlang > HammerheadFistpunch 01/12/2018 at 02:23

0

True, but the Sharan is a true 3 row vehicle launched in the mid 90s. Smaller than a US market ‘mini’van but larger than a Mazda 5 and seating more than a Passat.

Pistol Whipped Cream > HammerheadFistpunch 01/12/2018 at 17:05

0

So they struck up a deal; VW would get all the engineering of their Town and Country/Caravan but VW would rebadge

Psst... I think this is supposed to say Chrysler instead right?

Pistol Whipped Cream > HammerheadFistpunch 01/12/2018 at 17:19

1

Our 2011 Camry just hit 100K. Stock Front Brakes look great. Rear brakes are going to be due in the next 6 months or so. I have never seen any other car that goes through rears faster than the fronts...until now.

Lidia > HammerheadFistpunch 07/12/2018 at 21:37

0

I have a Volkswagen Rout an 2010. I want to go to the point:   Beatiful features, interesting with all the features l ook beautiful inside and outside and my son used to impress all his friends with 2 tv integrated and in front , BUT.....REALLY DISAPPOINTED WITH TRANSMISSION FAILING AT ITS 80K MILES AND RADI ATOR   ALREADY REPLACED, A FEW MONTHS AGO, AND 2 DAYS AGO I TAKE IT TO THE DEALER TO GET SERVICE BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN ACCELARATING, AND IT MAKE A WEIRD NOISE, THE REPAIR DEPARMENT AT VW. TOLD ME IT HAD A CODE THAT MEANS I NEED A REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION, AND IS ABOUT $ 7 000 , I CALL CUSTOMER CARE AT VW.. AND THEY WERE SORRY FOR ME AND THEY TOLDME, BUT I AM SORRY Y OUR EXTENDED WARRANTY WAS OVER IN 2015, WE CANNOT DO NOTHING FOR   YOU..

WE UNDERSTAND YOUR FRUSTRATION, BUT WE DON’T HAVE ANY OTHER COVERAGE OR MANUFACTURES RECALL, JUST FIXED AND KEEP YOUR RECEIPT IN CASE THERE IS A RECALL,,,,, HA HA THAT WAS A JOKE, IS LIKE THEY TRAYING TO TELL ME WE   DON’T CARE TO LOOSE OUR CUSTOMERS, JUST GO TO TOYOTA OR HONDA, THAT THEY REALLY MAKE GOODS CARE OF THEIR CUSTOMERS AND WE DON’T WE ALREADY HAVE ENOUGHT WE DON’T CARE IF WE LOOSE A FEW....HA HA...THANK YOU VOLSWAGEN FOR YOUR POOR LY CUSTOMER SERVICE AND FOR NEVER ADVISE ME WHEN I NEEDED THE SERVICE FOR   MY CAR TRANSMISSION, YOU SHOULDNT BE IN THIS BUSINESS. AS A PARENTS WE PUT ON YOUR HANDS OUR MOS T VALUABLE INVESTMENT OUR KIDS, OUR FAMILY, AND WHAT WE GET FOR YOU GUYS, A PIECE OF JUNK. DEFENITLY I GO BACK TO TOYOTA, ACTUALLY WE HAVE A 2017 TUNDRA, AND MY PREVIOUS CAR CAMRY 1995 LASTED ME 20 YEARS.

SO I LEARNED MY LESSON. AT THE BAD...

HammerheadFistpunch > Lidia 07/12/2018 at 22:39

1

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/this-really-happened-a-2009-vw-routan-review-1822005083

Father in law has a 2009. I keep telling him to dump it before its too late.

EDIT: we’ll Im an idiot.  I linked you to the story I wrote.  Durr.

Future Heap Owner > HammerheadFistpunch 09/09/2018 at 03:35

1

Re: throttle calibration:

The first car that I ever drove was an early aughts T&C, and reading your comment about the throttle curve gave me flashbacks to tentatively pressing down on the pedal for the first time in that empty parking lot,  taking off far faster than I expected to, then slamming down on the brakes in response and looking over sheepishly to my very patient father.

Dusty Ventures > duurtlang 09/09/2018 at 08:48

0

Late reply because I only saw this article now. In the States minivans are typically designed to target not just families, but labor-type people who need a work van but either need something smaller/more fuel efficient than a full size Sprinter type van or need to go back and forth between transporting cargo and transporting people. Therefore a standard “requirement” for a U.S. market minivan is that it can fit a sheet of 4x8 (1.2mx2.4m) plywood flat on the floor. Very few manufacturers have tried offering a minivan/MPV that couldn’t meet this standard, and those who did typically found limited success compared to standard minivans.

duurtlang > Dusty Ventures 09/09/2018 at 11:14

0

We have smaller dedicated work vans for that. Vans that are smaller than a Sprinter but much more practical than a Caravan. The most obvious example being the VW Transporter. Additionally, there’s the Ford Transit Custom, Renault Trafic, Peugeot Expert and the like. So the dedicated people carriers can ignore pallet sizes and whatnot. There are people carrier versions of the work vans too, but those are typically used by taxi companies. They aren't as 'nice'.

Dusty Ventures > duurtlang 09/09/2018 at 13:03

0

That solves the “smaller than Sprinter but can still fit plywood” problem, but not the “needs to be able to switch between transporting both people and large loads” problem. For many people (ourselves included) getting one vehicle for each situation isn’t an option.