Date:         Sun, 20 Feb 2005 11:10:16 -0800
Reply-To:     kayakjr@JUNO.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Reynolds <kayakjr@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Just Curious
Content-Type: text/plain

 ":It drives better than any other I have owned or driven (Dodge,
Plymouth, Ford, Chevy, Honda, Nissan, Mazda)"

I'll take issue here, owning a Honda van.  I test drove a Eurovan and
with the heavy discount, I could have had an MV (no pop-top - been on the
lot for almost a year) for the same price as the Honda, but it simply did
not handle anywhere near as good as the Honda - which is always listed as
the best handling mini van in all the comparison tests.  Of course the
Eurovan is an older design, so that stands to reason.  Look at the road
tests - no need for subjective opinion here.

The main reason for passing on the MV was it's fuel mileage (and VW
reliability). 5mpg less than the Honda, especially around town.  V6
Passats and other VW's are poor sellers in Europe due to the fuel economy
- in the van it is even worse.   We felt bad about getting out of car
that gets 30+ mpg to a van, so this was an important aspect.  I liked the
uniqueness of the Eurovan, but ignoring the mileage for the sake of image
and style would put me in the same class as the moms I meet who choose a
SUV over a mini-van for the sake of style.

The other reason I passed is I tried the bed and did not find it
comfortable and without the pop-top, we still could not sleep our family
of 4 in there - hence we kept the Vanagon and got the Odyssey van.

Removing the rear seat / bed assembly in the Eurovan would be a pain - in
the Honda, remove the rear head rests and flip the seat into the floor.
We do this all the time - it is absolutely great.   If you have a van
with this feature, you will never get one without it.   Add the VW price
problem, even after the 5K drop in price and it is no wonder Eurovans
have been slow sellers. Also the Eurovan also has only one sliding door.

I still like the Eurovan, because it is different.  I like the rear
facing jump seats - I like the interior. While I did not care for the
bed, or the way it folded, I think for a couple travling, the MV would be
great.
John