New Sharan / Alhambra

[italiastar]

My beloved 2003 Alhambra, was involved in a 6 vehicle accident last Monday, which was caused by a Bus hitting the car behind ours, pushing into mine, which hit the one in front and ............... I'm sure you get the idea.

 

They've give me a brand new 2.0 Sharan Auto as a courtesy car. First the positives - the white display is easier to read at night. As for the rest of the car -

- The seats fold up very nicely, but waste so much space - about 30 cm above the floor level.

- There is no feel to the car - it is soooooo boring to drive

- The auto box is awful

- Despite being bigger externally, it's smaller inside.

- Sliding doors mean that your passenger can get whacked when you shut the drivers door.

- Sliding doors heavy to open and shut

- ICE is poor

- No rear opening windows

- No electric mirrors

- Turning circle of a double Decker bus

- absolutely boring to drive - no feel - no guts

- reduced capacity inside the car

- dash presses straight into legs - reduces legroom

- I've kept the worse till last - Appalling fuel consumption - 32 MPG on a 80 mile run at 70 mph almost all the way - about 5 miles at 30 40 or 50 MPH.

 

Give me my old car any day

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Edited December 26, 2011 by italiastar

[seatkid]

Yes, when I looked at the new Sharan my thoughts were "how could they make something thats so much bigger on the outside so much smaller on the inside?".

 

Stupid obsession for "fold into floor" seats means its a crap design. IIRC the seats even have rear covers that extend to the floor (so that when they fold into the floor, its all covered) but that means you cant put your feet under the seat - how crap is that?

 

Sliding door feels like a Van.

 

Wierd boot like a big toy box.

 

No spare wheel, expensive self sealing tyres!

 

In addition to the compulsary DPF crap that will give town dwellers nothing but expensive grief, the diesels also feature an adblue system that is expensive to maintain. From what I read, it can only be topped up by dealers (

[MadBaz]

Regarding adblue, It's available at some petrol stations next to the HGV pumps (look for AdBlue or Air1 signage) and sometimes they sell it in 5/10L containers, some of us lorry drivers have been lumbered with the system (SCR) for a couple of years, when it runs out it reduces engine power to around 40%. Adblue now costs around 60ppl and on my truck for around 20 litres of adblue I use ~1400 litres of diesel. BTW it's a PITA to fill from a pump, it's always clicking off, once took me 20 minutes to get 6L in

 

Adblue is 5% urea/water mix, which is dispensed into a separate tank, usually with a blue cap, it is not a diesel additive and must not be mixed with diesel. It is sprayed onto the CAT to reduce NOX emissions, there are lots of driver myths of it being pig p**s or peeing into the tank or just adding water will have no ill effects, this is simply not true, there are sensors which when they detect anything other than adblue, the ECM will reduce the power and illuminate a dealers deLIGHT, or put another way, a VERY expensive workshop light.

[Ivor_E_Tower]

Even if I had the money, I can't think of anything I'd like to buy to replace my 2001 Galaxy. The new Sharan/Alhambra, like the latest Galaxy, do not have any spare wheel/tyre despite being so much larger on the outside. Similarly the extra length means that they won't fit in my garage either. So much for progress :-(

[NikpV]

Even if I had the money, I can't think of anything I'd like to buy to replace my 2001 Galaxy. The new Sharan/Alhambra, like the latest Galaxy, do not have any spare wheel/tyre despite being so much larger on the outside. Similarly the extra length means that they won't fit in my garage either. So much for progress :-(

 

+1 would replace with a late mk2 model sharan or gal if I ever came into any money :(

[chrispb123456]

ooh look another Mod haven't seen you on here Ivor for umm cant remember, well come to think of it I don't think I have seen you before :(

[tim-spam]

Well, I've recently sold my 2002 Alhambra after 211000 miles. I seem to remember the prophets of doom giving all sorts of dire warnings about the 'inevitable' and expensive cam failures and how crap it was due to the special oil needed, etc. etc.

Now we see the same sort of drivel being pumped out about the latest Alhambra.

Having just bought a TDI (184) after much research and many test drives, I have to say that it is hugely better than the old model, and according to all the data I have found, much more reliable. In just about all areas it comes out as much better than average (the old model was consistently rated as below average). Just google Alhambra problems and see which models come up. Apart from one or two early issues with the adblue system, there is precious little that has been reported since 2010. By the way, topping up the adblue is a simple DIY job, not much more difficult than topping up the windscreen washer.

It is certainly bigger than my old car, but it also has more space for passengers and is overall much more comfortable. However, it is true that there is slightly less space for luggage when compared to the old model with the seats removed - after all, the seats fold rather than disappear. Some of the extra length has also been used to improve safety in case of frontal impact and also improve engine access.

As for the way it drives, there really is no comparison. Don't get me wrong - I really liked my old Alhambra, but the new one is just so much better. It's much more refined, slightly more economical and much, much quicker, both on the straights and round corners. I'm not a huge fan of sliding doors, but they do give very good access - mine are electrically powered which is quite nice.

Overall, I'm extremely impressed and very pleased with the new model - in my opinion (and that of many others), it is the best MPV out there by some margin.

[tim-spam]

Well, my ALHAMBRA is now well out of warranty and approaching 40,000 miles. What’s it like? In a word, brilliant - I’ve not regretted buying it for one minute. Now here’s the list of all of the faults I’ve had to have fixed under warranty.

 

 

 

 

None.

 

The only issue I’ve had has been crap dealer service, but now it’s out of warranty I shall be doing all servicing and repairs myself.

 

As for economy, it has averaged low to mid forties mpg, but I generally don’t hang around. I have seen over 60mpg on a couple of very gentle drives and as low as 23 mpg loaded up to the gunwales with the caravan on the back.

 

So, in summary, it’s very comfortable, quick, economical, handles very well and has been completely reliable.

[tim-spam]

Well, my ALHAMBRA is now well out of warranty and approaching 40,000 miles. What’s it like? In a word, brilliant - I’ve not regretted buying it for one minute. Now here’s the list of all of the faults I’ve had to have fixed under warranty.

 

 

 

 

None.

 

The only issue I’ve had has been crap dealer service, but now it’s out of warranty I shall be doing all servicing and repairs myself.

 

As for economy, it has averaged low to mid forties mpg, but I generally don’t hang around. I have seen over 60mpg on a couple of very gentle drives and as low as 23 mpg loaded up to the gunwales with the caravan on the back.

 

So, in summary, it’s very comfortable, quick, economical, handles very well and has been completely reliable.