1999 Volkswagen Eurovan GL review from North America

2 seatbelt ratchets have had to be replaced.

Bolt cover on the alloy wheels fell off, $45 (!!!) to replace.

1 or 2 minor fit and finish issues.

I love the car! It retails new for ~$33,000(US) as configured (GL model with sunroof, heated seats, cruise control, AC, AM/FM cassette CD-changer, ABS, traction control), but we bought it as a used car from the local dealer for $23,000, with only 200 miles on and never owned by anyone else.

Have done very comfortable vacation trip drives of 700 and 800 miles in a single day, averaging 80+ mph and ~17 mpg with the AC running. It's a terrific long distance hauler (especially with a 5 and 7 year old.) It's very stable (unlike 2 VW buses my parents had in the 60's/70's), and despite negative comments from car mags here re. acceleration, I have found it very satisfactory!

The upright driving position is very comfortable and the visibility is superb! We look DOWN at other minivans and even the monster "suburban assault vehicles" that everyone else seems to drive in the mid-west. My wife loves it!

The only down side has been the dealership service people. The manager is excellent, but:

the service techs punctured the gas tank installing the CD changer, so it was in the shop for two weeks while a new tank was shipped from Germany and installed (they gave me a loaner Jetta).

Also, I took it in for an oil change this week and they:

1) Ripped off the driver's side mirror pulling it into the shop.

2) Broke the radio antenna running it through the car wash.

All stupidity rather than VW quality issues. The service manager is extremely contrite and is (of course) fixing free of charge. I figure it gives me leverage for future service issues!

Overall, I'm delighted with the car, though would not have bought it at anything close to its list price, as at $33K it is extremely expensive by US standards vs. the competition (Chrysler, Ford, GM, Mazda and Honda).