VW Routan

Here are the long awaited pictures! Front and rear clips are unique and it sports a re-worked dash. The suspension has been massaged as well. Like other folks, one has to wonder "Why now?" for an entry in the shrinking minivan segment. For example, Honda's Odyssey is down 21% when comparing January 08 to January 07. Certainly the costs are relatively low and Chrysler gets more volume for its plant. Is that enough of a reason?

Volkswagen's dealer network isn't as robust as Chrysler's and I've never heard great things about VW service departments. I presume that the Routan will have the same 4 year / 50,000 bumper to bumper warranty as other VWs, which would be 1 year and 14,000 miles over Chrysler's. However, Chrysler does offer the lifetime powertrain warranty and that could come in handy given that minivans are notorious for transmission issues.

I do like the styling changes and I look forward to more shots of the interior. I'm not sure what the "loaded" versions will be selling for. The only thing VW has said is that the Routan will start at under $25K.

To be honest with you, I was expecting a bit more on the interior side. Of course, all I've seen are the above shots, so perhaps there are move improvements that are yet to be seen. Being a minivan owner myself, I'll definitately check these vans out when I get the chance.