2009 Volkswagen Routan Consumer Reviews

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Written by: HereWeGo1 on 11/10/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SE 4dr Minivan w/Rear Seat Entertainment (3.8L 6cyl 6A)

Review

This Routan seemed to be a perfect fit. Very stylish, comfortable to ride in and best of all its European, at least until you look a little closer. The truth of the matter is that this van is made in Canada at a Chrysler plant. This is by far the worst vehicle I have ever owned. At about 700 miles the passenger side headlight began filling with moisture. The automatic doors do whatever they want, whenever they want. I woke up one morning to the side of our new van wide open getting soaked in the pouring rain. The power windows are very sporadic. Sometimes they work, most times they don’t. Our rear bumper began pulling away from the body of the vehicle.

Favorite Features

Apparently there are 3 manufactures recalls, the bumper being one of them. This is just a full on disappointment. This vehicle was not cheap by any means, but I do not feel safe putting my family in this.

Suggested Improvements

The worst part of all is that the dealer is telling us that they can’t even get the parts to fix the headlight or the computer system because it’s been back ordered. That tells me that this is not just an isolated case.

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Best looking interior among all minivans

Written by: Krishna on 11/05/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SEL 4dr Minivan w/Rear Seat Entertainment (4.0L 6cyl 6A)

Review

The drive on this minivan is absolutely fantastic. The drive feels manly and more like a car. I drove Honda Odyssey for 10 years and I loved it as well. But, it has that minivan feel which most of my friends used to joke about. Routan doesn't make you feel like you are driving a minivan. Also, the seating really helps towards that feel. I was not looking to won Routan as I wanted to stay with Japanese maker as I never had any issues with my 2000 Odyssey on which I drove over 200K. For a change I wanted to buy Sienna and almost got it but the promotions on 2009 Routan made me go to the dealer to check it out and once I test drove and saw the interior design there is no going back to Sienna.

Favorite Features

Sporty seats, 30GB hard disk touch screen GPS/Audio system (14GB wasted for maps), interior lighting, leather finish, interior styling. Beige interior is too good but we passed it for gray as we thought it will be hard to maintain it clean.

Suggested Improvements

A2DP bluetooth support to play music from cellphones without wires, Better resolution on LCDs, Album Art display on touch screen display when playing MP3 and VW style key.

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Cool Ride

Written by: Right on 11/03/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SEL Premium 4dr Minivan (4.0L 6cyl 6A)

Review

My wife LOVES the Routon and it's cool enough for dad too. Great layout in seats and consoles. Quick, smooth and excellent visibility with reasonable value. It is a family cruiser with class.We have had brakes replaced by VW at NO charge and no hassle. VW people are good to work with

Favorite Features

MOTOR! 4.0 is quick!! Power doors and rear hatch is super too.

Suggested Improvements

Raise height of steering wheel a few inches for egress.

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Hope it's just me or just this van

Written by: man-with-a-van on 11/03/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SEL 4dr Minivan w/Rear Seat Entertainment (4.0L 6cyl 6A)

Review

We bought the van cuz it seemed to have more features for the buck and that VW service would be around in case Chrysler wouldn't in the case of caravan/T&C. Only have about 1500 miles but half is because dealer drove it due to dealer trade and going in for service due to "check engine" light on for most of its life thus far. Turns out a transmission seal was compromised (at 1500 miles!!!) and in will be in shop (twice) for total of 16 days. on the bright side, i'm only 14 days from qualifying for Lemon Law. In addition, shades and interior not put together well, bumper came apart a bit. Hopefully, we'll be free of issues after it comes back. Fingers crossed.

Favorite Features

Media and 2 TVs, quiet cabin and comfortable ride, under floor storage, price (26,500 before tax, license, registration and no financing)

Suggested Improvements

adjustment middles seats back and forth, wider 3rd row, more child latches in 3rd row, better storage behind seats, better design of (bigger) buttons, gauge and computer screen can't be seen with sunlight, standard roof rails on SE or higher, trim the head so the car isn't so long.

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Great so far

Written by: Sean on 11/02/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SEL Premium 4dr Minivan (4.0L 6cyl 6A)

Review

So far, we love this van. We have put 4,000 miles on it. The seats on this van are very comfortable and it has plenty of power. Performance is fantastic and it takes sharp corners like a well-tuned sedan. Gas mileage does fantastic on the highway (27 mpg), but it only gets 14.7mpg in the city wthen the A/C is running. Rear ceiling height is a problem if you get the moon roof. The moon roof needs room to slide back, so you lose several inches of ceiling height. This means that the rear seat TV is low enough to block the rear view mirror and that the rear seats can't tip forward because they hit the ceiling. We have had four 8 hour trips with the family and we loved every minute.

Favorite Features

Seat comfort, RSE, HID headlights, Premium radio system, feel of steering wheel

Suggested Improvements

Gas mileage is not so good in the city. The tires they put on the car have problems (performance and balancing). Fit of bumper covers. Power sliding doors have issues. Ceiling height with moon roof needs to improve.

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Lovin' it

Written by: JenniferW on 11/01/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SEL 4dr Minivan w/Rear Seat Entertainment (4.0L 6cyl 6A)

Review

When we first started looking at minivans, the Routan was not even on out list. After test driving one and reading the reviews, we decided that it would be a good choice for our family. We were so right! It is so much fun to drive, and the passenger comfort is fantastic. The amount of storage space is phenomenal, as well as the drive. The only problem we have had is arguing about who gets to drive it! A great vehicle!

Favorite Features

The rear seat entertainment system works well, and the heated leather seats are great!

Suggested Improvements

Can't think of any!

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What a suprise!

Written by: Chris on 10/03/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SE 4dr Minivan w/Rear Seat Entertainment (3.8L 6cyl 6A)

Review

I have to say, when considering our first minivan, VW wasnt at the top of my list. However after reading thhe reviews here we decided to look. The first impression was shocking, WHAT A VAN! Great features for the price. Very fun and comfortable to drive. My wife who was resisting falling into the minivan crowd actually was so happy with this van she demanded we purchase it. We chose the SE w/RSE and there was an additional package that included the power rear lift gate and sunroof.

Favorite Features

RSE, Power Liftgate, Cargo Capacity, Rearview Camera

Suggested Improvements

Rear Seat Sirius TV why isnt it on ALL RSE models???? TDI Diesel... get us to 30MPG!

1 out 3 people found this review helpful

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VW Routan 09 Pulls to the right

Written by: DP on 10/01/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SEL CARB 4dr Minivan w/Rear Seat Entertainment (4.0L 6cyl 6A)

Review

I purchase VW Routan this year and immediately noticed during the first week that the van pulls to the right. Took it to the dealer and they tried few things but no luck. They balanced tires, installed new ones and still the issue still present. I have contact VW customer service and reported to them of the problem. There is also a passenger side sliding door problem. The door will not stay latched open at incline. Overall, not happy with the van. I owned odyssey before and this van doesn't really compare well to Honda for the drive.

Favorite Features

30GB harddrive, lighting, like the underbody extra storage.

Suggested Improvements

The van from the front looks a little boxy from the sides. The engine roars a bit perhaps because it is chrysler engine.

1 out 3 people found this review helpful

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Dazed and Confused

Written by: DazedConfused on 09/29/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SE 4dr Minivan w/Rear Seat Entertainment (3.8L 6cyl 6A)

Review

The 3.8L engine is horribly underpowered and the transmission is too anxious to find a home in 6th gear. Trying to accelerate to get on the freeway leaves me depressed as I watch the fuel gauge race to the left faster than the car gains speed. The ride is smooth and the entertainment features make a ride of any duration tolerable. The interior features are pleasant and the exterior looks eerily similar to the Dodge and Chrysler.

Favorite Features

The remote start is a godsend in this blistering Texas heat. The entertainment system keeps the kiddies happy happy. LED lights!

Suggested Improvements

The engine is underpowered. The gas mileage is less than advertised. The gas tank is flawed and it takes me 10 minutes to fill it up.

2 out 2 people found this review helpful

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almost there in MV leadership

Written by: sid on 09/22/2009

Vehicle

2009 Volkswagen Routan SEL 4dr Minivan w/Rear Seat Entertainment (4.0L 6cyl 6A)

Review

We bought our minivan three months ago. We have put on almost 3500 miles traveling long distances (NJ to NC and back) and we love the ride and ample storage ...our kids love the rear ent system . My gripe is with the design of the DVD player and the environment controls...too hard to read when driving. Yes I know this is a T&C with German suspension however I wish VW had input on enhancing the dash.

Favorite Features

Fun to drive. 4.0L engine, interior etc.

Suggested Improvements

Better designed dashboard, Fog lamps

1 out 1 people found this review helpful

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