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The new Volkswagen Routan is a minivan, its first in six years. VW's last effort in this market, the EuroVan, was panned in the U.S. This time, Volkswagen has turned to Chrysler. The seven-passenger Routan is basically a Chrysler Town & Country with a different interior, a Volkswagen exterior, and revised suspension settings.The 2009 Volkswagen Routan lacks the seating features that make Chrysler minivans unique, the Stow 'n Go and the Swivel 'n Go seating arrangements. The reason: The Routan has the underfloor storage areas that come with Stow 'n Go, but Volkswagen opted to make the second-row seats thicker and more comfortable, so they won't fit in the storage bins. The third-row seats fold into the floor, and the second-row seats can be removed to create a flat load floor that is big enough for 4' x 8' sheets of plywood. When the third-row seats are up, there is a handy well behind them that's great for groceries. The Routan is offered with two engines, the Chrysler 3.8-liter V6 and the Chrysler 4.0-liter V6. The 3.8-liter V6 is adequate for around-town duty, and the 4.0-liter V6 offers decent pickup and passing power. We found the Routan offers a smooth ride and the driver enjoys a commanding view of the road. Handling, however, is somewhat cumbersome. The ride is pleasant enough, ironing out most bumps, but it can feel a bit top heavy at highway speeds. In short, it is not as pleasant to pilot as the Honda Odyssey, Toyota Sienna, and Nissan Quest are. Entertainment features will keep the kids' attention, however. The Routan offers single and dual screen DVD rear-seat entertainment systems. Video game systems can be plugged in, and each screen can show something different, including the front navigation screen. Also offered is VW's JoyBox hard-drive radio. It has a 30-gigabyte hard drive that can hold thousands of song and picture files. The Routan is priced about a thousand dollars more model for the model than the Chrysler Town & Country. It has a much nicer interior than the Chrysler, but lacks the Chrysler's innovative seating features. Like the Chrysler, the Routan is a great rolling living room for families.
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