The Volkswagen Sharan – Volkswagen first premium MPV Launch in Malaysia

I was astonished by the number of awards Volkwagen swept that night at the Asian Auto Ambank Fuel Efficiency Awards 2011 (check out the winners HERE ). Granted, I’m not that close knitted with the automotive industry and thus that was an eye-opener for me.

After that night, I mentioned it in conversations with (mostly) male friends and I find that most agree that Volkswagens are superb cars.

So when Volkswagen threw a media & family day out at Carcosa Seri Negara on a Sunday afternoon, I put on my pretty Sunday dress plus a cloche and looked forward to a beautiful Sunday out .

And what a Sunday it was, with Carcosa’s famed scones with real cream, games and a launch skit plus a massage and a manicure!

True to the theme, there were ample activities for the kids. Well, Volkswagen did promise a fun family day out! 

I had my “childish” moment too

Oh, and the variety of cheeses were amazing!

Not to mention the LAMB!! Yes, I love my lamb, especially if it’s PINK.

But of course, the launch was about the the Sharan, not the food. Let me get myself re-focused.. 

So here’s Volkswagen first premium MPV.

Volkswagen Group Malaysia MD Mr. Ricky Tay said in launching this very special model in Malaysia, the company wanted to do something different, something relevant to the vehicle’s character, hence the whole media & family Sunday set-up.

Targeted obviously for families, the Sharan is a 4,854mm long 7-seater that came with a host of intelligent and safety features for optimum protection.

1st feature to be highlighted was the airbags.
A total of 9 airbags, including one knee airbag on the driver’s side, curtain airbag system for all rows of seats and side airbags for front and second row passengers ensures that any accident impact is minimalised for the passengers.

Other smart features are the electrically powered sliding doors that have a pinch protection function that ensures safety on entry and exit by sliding back if it hits/bumps into an object. Very kids and elderly- friendly yes?

The boot is “smart” too. Press this button for a few secs to set the height for the boot to stop. Great for adjusting a comfortable height for those are shorter or taller than average.

The most interesting feature was The ‘Park Assist’ parallel parking system with Park Distance Control (PDC).
Basically, this system does both parallel and reverse parking for you if you failed your parking test  lack parking skills. This is the first time the Park Assist 2.0 is being features in a Volkswagen vehicle.
If you ask me if this is the first ever vehicle to have this feature, well, that was asked during the launch as well. The answer is no, but the extent of “assistance” provided for the park assist system of the other competitor automotive was different.

Watch the video:
Look Ma! The Sharan parks itself!!

You know how kids loves to stand up and poke their heads out of the roof and enjoy having the wind blowing in their faces? Well, I like to do that too!
The Sharan comes with an electric panoramic tilt and slide sunroof just perfect for that purpose.

Basically, the Sharan aims to please.

For convenience, there’s this innovative compartment on the dashboard itself. The Sharan comes with one integrated child seat on the left side on the second row including belt tensioners for the outer seats of the second row.

Of course being a Volkswagen vehicle, the Sharan is fuel efficient as well. Full tank capacity is 70 litres, and it returns an efficient 8.5 litres/100km.

Drop me a comment if you need more “technical” specs. As you know, I try not to sound like an automotive blog writer, of which I’m not. Plus I have not driven the Sharan before.
So, here are more pictures!

Love these extended “tops”, can use your laptop/tablets or have a meal on the go!

Ample legroom.

Each seat can be ndividually adjusted, so you turn down whichever seat according to however much space you need.

The interior.

The Sharan is available in 6 shades of colours – Candy White, Toffee Brown, Reflex Silver, Night Blue, Indium Grey and Deep Black.

This latest premium MPV from Volkswagen is priced at RM245,888 for the standard option and RM269,888 for the Tech Package. Both variants are available at all authorised dealerships nationwide.
Currently there is a special launch discount but let me confirm on that.
Do leave me a comment if you have any queries!

On another note, anyone wants to take a guess what’s this?