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Volkswagen Routan

The Volkswagen Routan is a seven-seat minivan and rebadged variant of the Chrysler RT platform, with revised styling, content features, and suspension tuning from the fifth-generation Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country.[1][2][3][4][5]

Manufactured alongside the Chrysler and Dodge minivans at Windsor Assembly and marketed in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the Routan debuted at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show and went on sale in the United States in September 2008.

The Routan's minivan nameplate variants — including the discontinued Plymouth and Chrysler Voyager (North America) along with the currently marketed Dodge Caravan, Chrysler Town & Country and Chrysler Grand Voyager (export)— have ranked as the 13th bestselling automotive nameplate worldwide, with over 12 million sold.[6]

Contents

History

The Routan resulted from a 2005 partnership between Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler. Prior to the agreement, Volkswagen had no minivan model for the United States or Canadian markets. VW announced in an early 2008 projection that the company intended for the Routan and other models to help achieve significant expansion of U.S. sales.[7] The Routan is Volkswagen's first van offered in North America since discontinuation of the Volkswagen Eurovan in 2003, and is not related to the European-market Volkswagen Touran.[8]

As with it's rebadged variants the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country, 2009 Routan models were recalled in June, 2010 for a fire hazard stemming from an improperly routed wire harness.[9]

Features

Interior

The Routan features a rebranded version of Chrysler's hard drive-based audio and navigation system — marketed by Chrysler as the MyGig system and by Volkswagen as the Joybox, but has neither Chrysler's Stow'n Go nor Swivel'n Go seating systems. Instead, the second row seats in the Routan feature the Easy Out Roller Seat system. Routans as of 2010 offer optional Wi-Fi access.

Engine

The Routan is available with the Chrysler 3.8 L V6 producing 197 hp (147 kW) and 230 lb•ft (312 N•m), and the 4.0 L V6 producing 251 hp (187 kW) and 259 lb•ft (351 N•m) — with either engine mated to Chrysler's 62TE six-speed automatic transaxle with manual shift capability (See Ultradrive#62TE).

Displacement (L) Type Valves Power (HP) Torque (lb-ft) HP/Torque Rated RPM Compression Ratio Fuel Economy (MPG)
3.8 OHV 12 197 230 5,200/4,000 9.6:1 16/23
4.0 SOHC 24 251 259 6,000/4,100 10.2:1 17/25

Markets

United States

VW of America had projected for the Routan to gain at least five percent of the US minivan market,[10] or 45,000 units of the 700,000 minivans sold currently. In January 2009, VW of America asked Chrysler Canada to stop production of the Routan for the month of February after 29,000 Routans had been shipped to US dealerships. 11,677 units had sold by July 2009. [11]

Trims

Trim Engine MSRP (USD)
S 3.8L V6 $25,200
SE 3.8L V6 $29,700
SEL 4.0L V6 $33,600
SEL Premium 4.0L V6 $38,500

Sales

Jan 2008 Feb 2008 Mar 2008 Apr 2008 May 2008 Jun 2008 Jul 2008 Aug 2008 Sep 2008 Oct 2008 Nov 2008 Dec 2008 Total 2008
— — — — — — — — 375[12] 789[13] 1,324[14] 899[15] 3,387
Jan 2009 Feb 2009 Mar 2009 Apr 2009 May 2009 Jun 2009 Jul 2009 Aug 2009 Sep 2009 Oct 2009 Nov 2009 Dec 2009 Total 2009
663[16] 503[17] 1,029[18] 2,606[19] 1,390[20] 2,099[21] 1,350[22] 2,098[23] 901[24] 12,639

Mexico

Volkswagen de México markets the Routan alongside the Transporter (marketed locally as the Eurovan), replacing the European-built Volkswagen Sharan minivan in the autumn of 2008.

Trims

Trim Engine MSRP (MXP)
Prestige 3.8L V6 $36,270
Exclusive 3.8L V6 $40,397

Canada

Volkswagen Canada began selling the Routan during the autumn of 2008. Like its United States counterpart, VW Canada had not featured a minivan in its vehicle lineup since the discontinuation of the Eurovan. For the four months that the Routan minivan was on sale in Canada in 2008 (September through December), the company sold 335 units.[25]

Trims

Trim Engine MSRP (CAD)
Trendline, S 4.0L V6 $27,975
Comfortline, SE 4.0L V6 $33,975
Highline, SE w/ RSE 4.0L V6 $39,975
Execline, SEL 4.0L V6 $49,975

References

  1. ^ "Chicago 2008: Volkswagen unveils the newish Routan minivan". Autoblog.com, Jeremy Korzeniewski, Feb 6 2008. http://www.autoblog.com/2008/02/06/chicago-2008-volkswagen-unveils-the-newish-routan-minivan.
  2. ^ "2009 Volkswagen Routan Minivan - - What's New for 2009". About.com, Jeff James. http://minivans.about.com/od/manufacturer/a/09VWminivan.htm.
  3. ^ "2009 Volkswagen Routan". Motor Trend, Bob Nagy. http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/minivans-vans/112_0811_2009_volkswagen_routan_first_drive/index.html.
  4. ^ "2009 Volkswagen Routan". Road and Track. http://www.roadandtrack.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=6436.
  5. ^ "2009 Volkswagen Routan SE: The best Chrysler minivan wears a VW Routan badge". Myride.com. http://www.myride.com/review/2009_volkswagen_routan-review-4292-page1.html.
  6. ^ "Chrysler LLC Celebrates 25th Anniversary of the Minivan". Autonew24h.com. http://www.autonews24h.com/Auto-Industry/Chrysler/2885.html.
  7. ^ "VW Plans to Triple U.S. Vehicle Sales". Car & Driver. September 2007. http://www.caranddriver.com/news/car_news/vw_plans_to_triple_u_s_vehicle_sales_car_news. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  8. ^ Vander Doelen, Chris (2008-01-22). "VW's Routan to roll off Windsor Assembly". Windsor Star. http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/business/story.html?id=c728f842-dbdf-4a17-a637-88c7b33b8610. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  9. ^ "Volkswagen Routan added to recall list over fire risk". Leftlanenews.com, Mark Kleis, June 11, 2010. http://www.leftlanenews.com/volkswagen-routan-added-to-recall-list-over-fire-risk.html.
  10. ^ "Chrysler-built Routan has VW look". St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Christopher Boyce, 2/07/2008. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/business/stories.nsf/story/2E990D46B69D9EAE862573E8000F5CD5?OpenDocument.
  11. ^ "Routan Bust? VW asks Chrysler to stop building minivans for February". Autoblog.com Chris Paukert Jan 30, 2009. http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/30/routan-bust-vw-asks-chrysler-to-stop-building-minivans-for-febr/.
  12. ^ "Volkswagen Reports September 2008 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, October 1, 2008. http://www.media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10400.
  13. ^ "Volkswagen Reports October 2008 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, November 3, 2008. http://www.media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10414.
  14. ^ "Volkswagen Reports November 2008 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, December 2, 2008. http://www.media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10433.
  15. ^ "Volkswagen Reports December 2008 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, January 5, 2009. http://www.media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10434.
  16. ^ "Volkswagen Reports January 2009 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, February 3, 2009. http://www.media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10442.
  17. ^ "Volkswagen Reports February 2009 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, March 3, 2009. http://media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10453.
  18. ^ "Volkswagen Reports March 2009 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, April 1, 2009. http://www.media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10468.
  19. ^ "Volkswagen Reports April 2009 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, May 1, 2009. http://www.media.vw.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=10493.
  20. ^ "Volkswagen Reports May 2009 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, June 2, 2009. http://media.vw.com/index.php?s=43&item=443.
  21. ^ "Volkswagen Reports June 2009 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, July 1, 2009. http://media.vw.com/index.php?s=43&item=456.
  22. ^ "Volkswagen Reports Jul 2009 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, Aug 3, 2009. http://media.vw.com/index.php?s=43&item=477.
  23. ^ "Volkswagen Reports Aug 2009 Sales". Volkswagen Press Release, Sep 1, 2009. http://media.vw.com/index.php?s=43&item=494.
  24. ^ "Volkswagen Announces September Sales Totals". Volkswagen Press Release, Oct 1, 2009. http://media.vw.com/index.php?s=43&item=510.
  25. ^ "Volkswagen Canada December 2008 and full-year 2008 sales". VW Press Release, Canadian Newswire, Jan. 5 2009. http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2009/05/c5215.html?view=print.

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