Single-body cars with a multifunctional interior, high standard of equipment and workmanship for over 30 years they have been doing a career in the USA. In Europe, the Renault Espace was the first in this class (1984 r.). After ten years, w 1994 his competitors appeared in the year. Fiat (Ulysses), Lancia (Z), Peugeot (806) and Citroen (Evasion) developed a joint project, and the following year a car of this class hit the roads, constructed by collaborating teams of Ford designers (Galaxy) and Volkswagen (Sharan).
From its debut, Sharan was created mainly as a company vehicle, ensuring comfortable conditions, designed for the driver and six passengers. Spring 2000 year has undergone modernization, which was used to increase the audience. The rejuvenated Sharan is still classified as one of the highest class cars, but its users are sought after among companies, wealthy families and young people, who actively spend their free time.
The Sharan modernization covered the most important parts of the car. The body got a new front, in which the headlights were changed, radiator grille and bumper. At the rear, the bumper is new. Inside, there is space for a few additional ones, very inventive lockers, the possibilities of adapting the cabin to the individual needs of users have also been increased.
With young families in mind, the outer seats of the second row of seats are specially designed. There are fold-out seats in the backrests, equipped with their own harness safety belt systems, intended for small children. Older ones can use a lifting seat, which allows you to correctly fasten standard seat belts and adjust the headrest to the child's height. The design of these seats allows for the safe and comfortable transportation of two children aged 2-9 years.
There are numerous sockets in the floor, which is flat along the entire length of the car, enabling optional positioning of individual seats for passengers. A maximum of seven seats can be installed in three rows. The first row seats have a fixed position, and the middle one can accommodate three seats. The seats can be easily removed and used outside the vehicle, np. on the plot. The backrests of the seats fold down and can act as additional tables, even after removing them from the car. Removing and changing the seats allows you to adapt the interior to the transport of tourist and sports equipment, np. garden tables and armchairs, bicycles, surfing and snowboard boards and skis, without mounting roof racks. If, however, it was necessary to install a roof rack, standard rails are used for this. During business or weekend trips, you can make a conference room from the Sharan interior, a play area for children or a dining area. Just turn o 180 the steps of the front seats, fold the backrests of several second-row seats and… the rain will not disturb anyone. Extremely, after removing the second and third row seats, the car turns into a delivery vehicle with a cargo capacity of 2,6 m3.
An extensive ventilation system is installed in Sharan, heating and air conditioning, which allows all functions to be set independently for passengers in the front row of seats, and those in the rear. The air sucked into the cabin by the ventilation system is completely filtered and freed from plant pollen, which protects passengers prone to allergies.
In mechanical systems, the biggest change is the use of a new 7-speed gear – 6 forward gears and one reverse gear – gearbox. The new transmission has a "shorter" lowest two gears, and the highest gear (sixth) enables very economical driving on highways. The new gearbox has improved the dynamics of all Sharan engine versions – "Short" initial gears shortened the acceleration time of the car, and the "long" "six" contributed to a several percent reduction in fuel consumption when driving at speeds above 90 km/h. Further measures to reduce fuel consumption include narrowing all gaps, resulting from the fit of moving body parts, smoothing the joints of the glass with the sheet and hiding it into the outline of the body, disturbing the free flow of air, exhaust system components. These actions resulted, that the Sharan's drag coefficient is 0,31 and is one of the best vehicles in this class. Improved aerodynamics in addition to the measurable benefits of reduced fuel consumption, it also contributed to the reduction of noise in the passenger compartment in the entire speed range by approx. 1 dB(A).
Sharan is classified by the manufacturer as top-class cars and there is no exaggeration in it. The quality of the materials used in the interior, assembly of assemblies, finishes and fine-tuning of details justify this classification. She also enjoys comfort, how all passengers feel while driving. Each passenger has free access to handy compartments, lamps for easy reading at night, guaranteed inflow of clean air at a predetermined temperature. The suspension comfort is very high, and the characteristics of the suspension have been chosen like this, to eliminate vibrations with frequencies in the range 0,8-5-2,5 Hz, which in some people may cause disturbances in the labyrinth and symptoms of motion sickness. The soundproofing of the passenger compartment is also perfect.
A favorable image of the new Sharan is created by the power units used in it, and especially for exemplary flexibility, good performance and surprisingly low fuel consumption self-ignition engines with direct fuel injection. Two gasoline engines were prepared for drivers with more temperament. The first is a 4-cylinder, 20-valve turbocharged unit with a capacity 1,8 dm3, achieving 110 kW of power and offering 210 Nm of maximum torque in the range 1800+4200 crankshaft rpm. The second engine has 6 V cylinders, capacity 2,8 dm3, maximum power 150 kW and a maximum torque of 265 Nm at 3400 rpm. Sharan with this engine can be treated like a sports car.