Date: Mon, 06 Feb 95 15:11:22 CST
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject: road test: 1986 vanagon camper syncro
Volkswagen Vanagon Camper Syncro
Four-wheel drive, a ride on the mild side, and gives good bed.
Car and Driver, February 1986
by Larry Griffin
The box. The box on wheels. The box on wheels as people mover. The
fancier box on wheels as people mover and camping contrivance. The
ultimate box on wheels as people mover and camping contrivance and
almost-never-get-stuck-in-the-mire-and-ice four-wheel-drive device.
One look at the new Vanagon Camper Syncro and you can see how the
brains work at Volkswagen. VW is so logical - bing, bing, bing, one
piece of logic after another, straight to the Vanagon Camper Syncro.
It pretty much does everything a camper could possibly do, carrying six
people, sleeping four on the premises, removing the rough from roughing
it, and taking you where weather or terrain would have kept you out
before. But not so simple that anybody beat VW to it.
What's interesting is how VW arrived at the Syncro solution (you'll
love the movie). Not for nothing have the company's chassis technoids
been tiptoeing around the lab playing slap-and-tickle with Audi's 4wd
fanatics. But Volkswagen's implementation of four-wheel drive propels
this box over new ground.
As in all rear-wheel-drive Vanagons, VW's flat-four engine is mounted
beneath the floor in the rear. Under normal dry conditions, the Syncro
utilizes only rear-wheel drive, just like the regular Vanagon, but the
Syncro adds a driveshaft that also makes power available to the front
wheels. The driveshaft and the power arrive between the front wheels at
a clever juncture in the evolution of four-wheel drive. Under low-
traction conditions when the rear wheels lose grip and the speed
variance between them and the front wheels exceeds six percent, a
viscous coupling between the front wheels automatically steps into
action.
The viscous coupling is filled with a silicone fluid patented by
Volkswagen. The transmission of torque to the front wheels is
continuously and infinitely variable, and the delivery is so smooth
that occupants are generally unaware of anything except nonstop motive
traction. For times when extra grunt is needed, the Syncro's willowy
shift lever can be plunked back into an extra-low gear that has been
added to the regular four-speed. For maximum mobility when the going
gets really tough, an optional system activated by a dash button locks
and unlocks the rear differential by means of a vacuum servo.
The Syncro package is also available on the regular Vanagon GL. Having
given us a way to get into and then out of the boondocks, Volkswagen
went all the way for us, kitting up our test Syncro in the all-singing,
all-dancing, Westfalia-built Vanagon Camper package, which comes with
everything but maid service. It's true that some nifty little Japanese-
built, vanlike wagons are out there puttering around on four-wheel-drive
systems that let you poke your nose into the outback, but none provides
the pop-up roof, the walk-about space, or the fold-out bed you find in
Germany's hideaway Hilton. On the other hand, none of them has the
Vanagon Syncro's drawbacks, either.
But first, the good part. When Mother Nature throws a tantrum, you can
pretty much ignore weather bulletins. Even when the clouds squat down
and extrude their yuckiest stuff, four-wheel-drivers such as the Syncro
are the best way out. We are smitten with this one's Synco-nicity. It
rides well, steers beautifully, and handles better than its height would
suggest. You feel the grappling of gravity and height, but the Camper
Syncro is vastly more stable that the tipsy-twirly VW Microbuses that
lurched astray.
The Camper Syncro's all-up weight tips in at a hefty 4000 pounds. We
look forward to the day when advancing technology reduces the 330 pounds
that the Syncro option adds to the 3670-pound Vanagon Camper, which
itself adds 350 pounds atop the base Vanagon. In Volkswagen's defense,
part of the added weight comes from protective cages and a skid plate
placed around the 4wd components. In this case, a hundred pounds of
prevention is worth hundreds of dollars of cure.
Despite the 4wd system's added weight and height, the Syncro gives a
surprisingly good account of itself over the road. Its controls are
direct, effective, and full of feel. Understeer is moderate, and the
tracking is very good, except when crosswinds buffet the box, which is
even taller than normal because of the extra inches of the pop-top
housing. (Skidpad adhesion is reasonable at 0.65 g.) Seating, especially
for passengers, is as upright as the Vanagon shell. The relationship
between the driver's seat and the pedals may make some driver's feel
vaguely ill at ease because their leg leverage is less than ideal.
The brakes - front discs and rear drums - provide outstanding stopping
power despite their burden, cinching you down from 70 mph to 0 in a
brief 191 feet, with fine behavior and no fade. Of course, the Syncro
is no ball of fire, and its lengthly trips back up to 70 mph benefit
brake cool-down. A rush down a mountain, however, might reveal brake
fade. Still, these are very good brakes.
An enlarged and upgraded engine does its best to offset the Syncro's
weight. A longer stroke stretches the horizontally opposed, water-
cooled four's displacement from 1.9 to 2.1 liters. An 8.6:1-to-9.0:1
increase in compression ratio adds punch, and a new electronically
controlled engine-management system called Digifant delivers better
drivability. The payoff is eleven percent more torque and an increase
from 82 to 95 horsepower. That's still not much in a 4000-pounder, as
borne out by the Syncro's 0-to-60-mph amble of 18.3 seconds. If the
revs drop too low, the engine pauses a moment to rest, but its overall
feel is one of purpose, not concession. Its likable ruckus is reasonably
well muted and somehow conversational, and its mid- and top-end pull
encourages you to keep after it, right up to the Syncro's 79-mph top
speed.
Although we love making good time on the way to the wilderness, we have
been spoiled at the hands of other small vans. We don't like having to
clamber up over the Vanagon's front-wheel arch to get in and out,
especially when it's coated with grime. And most people don't like
sitting right up there in the van's nose, where, if they have a bad
accident, THEY will have the accident.
We have been spoiled by the livability of, for instance, the Chrysler
vanlets, which are more carlife and comfortable to drive than any other
minivans you'll find. Then again, most little vans are not truly serious
abut being at one with the wilderness. They don't provide the Camper
Syncro's four-wheel drive, its oversized gas tank, its optional
refrigerator, its room to stand up and stretch, or its cabinets to
swallow your stuff. And, shoot fire, boys, not only do they not give
good bed, they don't give it at all.
Vehicle type:
rear engine, 4-wheel-drive, 6-passenger, 4-door van
Price as tested:
$18,940
Options on test car:
$16,875 base Volkswagen Vanagon Camper
$575 AM/FM-stereo radio/cassette
$380 power steering
$350 metallic paint
$275 locking rear differential
$165 rear wiper washer
$320 freight
Standard accessories:
rear defroster
Sound System:
VW Design AM/FM-stereo radio/cassette, 4 speakers
ENGINE
Type ............................. flat 4, aluminum blcok and heads
Bore x Stroke .................... 3.70 x 2.99 in., 94.0 x 76.0 mm
Displacement ..................... 129 cu. in., 2110cc
Compression ratio ................ 9.0:1
Engine-control system ............ Digifant electronic with port fuel
injection
Emissions controls ............... 3-way catalytic converter, feedback
fuel-air-ratio control
Valve gear ....................... pushrods, hydraulic lifters
Power (SAE net) .................. 95 bhp @ 4800 rpm
Torque (SAE net) ................. 117 lb-ft @ 3200 rpm
Redline .......................... 5400 rpm
DRIVETRAIN
Transmission ..................... 5-speed
Final-drive ratio ................ 4.86:1
Gear Ratio Mph/1000 rpm Max test speed
Low 6.03 2.5 14 mph (5400 rpm)
I 3.78 4.0 22 mph (5400 rpm)
II 2.06 7.3 39 mph (5400 rpm)
III 1.23 12.3 66 mph (5400 rpm)
IV 0.85 17.7 79 mph (4450 rpm)
DIMENSIONS AND CAPACITIES
Wheelbase ........................ 96.6 in
Track, F/R ....................... 62.4 / 61.8 in
Length ........................... 179.9 in
Width ............................ 72.6 in
Height ........................... 82.1 in
Ground Clearance ................. 8.3 in
Curb Weight ...................... 4000 lb
Weight distribution, F/R ......... 49.3 / 50.7 percent
Fuel capacity .................... 18.4 gal
Oil capacity ..................... 4.2 qt
Water capacity ................... 18.5 qt
CHASSIS / BODY
Type ............................. unit construction with 1 rubber-
isolated crossmember
Body material .................... welded steel stampings
INTERIOR
Front seats ...................... bucket
Seat adjustments ................. fore and aft, seatback angle
General comfort .................. good
Fore-and-aft support ............. fair
Lateral support .................. good
SUSPENSION
Front ............................ ind. unequal-length control arms,
coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear ............................. ind. semi-trailing arms, coil springs
STEERING
Type ............................. rack-and-pinion, power-assisted
Turns lock-to-lock ............... 3.8
Turning circle curb-to-curb ...... 37.7 ft
BRAKES
Front ............................ 10.9 x 0.5-in disc
Rear ............................. 9.9 x 2.2-in cast-iron drum
Power assist ..................... vacuum
WHEELS AND TIRES
Wheel size ....................... 5.5 x 14 in
Wheel type ....................... stamped steel
Tires ............................ Michelin MXL 205/70R-14
Test inflation pressure, F/R ..... 36 / 40 psi
CAR AND DRIVER TEST RESULTS
ACCELERATION Seconds
Zero to 30 mph ................... 4.5
40 mph ................... 7.4
50 mph ................... 12.2
60 mph ................... 18.3
70 mph ................... 30.6
Top-gear passing time,
30-50 mph ................ 17.5
50-70 mph ................ 29.0
Standing 1/4-mile ................ 20.8 sec @ 64 mph
Top speed ........................ 79 mph
HANDLING
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad .. 0.65 g
Understeer ....................... moderate
BRAKING
70-0 mph @ impending lockup ...... 191 ft
Modulation ....................... excellent
Fade ............................. none
Front-rear balance ............... good
COAST-DOWN MEASUREMENTS
Road horsepower @ 30 mph ......... 9 hp
50 mph ......... 27 hp
70 mph ......... 63 hp
FUEL ECONOMY
EPA city driving ................. 15 mpg
EPA highway driving .............. 17 mpg
C/D observed fuel economy ........ 16 mpg
INTERIOR SOUND LEVEL
Idle ............................. 53 dBA
Full-throttle acceleration ....... 81 dBA
70-mph cruising .................. 80 dBA
70-mph coasting .................. 79 dBA
